Abstract
Being able to turn one’s attention to one’s own inner world, to recognize emotions, to be aware of what one is feeling and why, all are key elements of emotional self-awareness. A study with first-grade children investigates how they can improve their relationships with themselves, others and the world. While many curricula are designed to boost emotional intelligence, effective emotional education is unlikely to be achieved within traditional settings (Goleman & Senge, 2014). The challenge is to combine emotional education with outdoor experiences, which turn out to be generative when accompanied by reflection (Mortari, 2009). This study uses the epistemological framework of naturalistic inquiry (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) whose main principle is to conduct research in real-life contexts, which is key to developing emotional awareness. Further, this study is placed within an interpretive paradigm and adopts the methodology of research with children (Christensen & James, 2008). It is a single case study based on action-research, and makes use of multiple methods of investigation to collect different types of data for triangulation. The field research involved a first-grade class in a primary school. Parental consent and child assent were obtained after providing written/oral information. Confidentiality, anonymity, and voluntariness were respected (children could choose to stay outdoors without participating in the study). Results show that outdoor experiences, regularly followed by personal and group reflections, contributes to the building of emotional competence. This research suggests an alternative approach to early childhood emotional education, one that combines outdoor education with learning emotional self-awareness.