Children’s Discourses of Natural Spaces: Considerations for children’s Subjective Well-Being

Sabirah Adams () and Shazly Savahl ()
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Sabirah Adams: University of the Western Cape
Shazly Savahl: University of the Western Cape

Child Indicators Research, 2017, vol. 10, issue 2, No 7, 423-446

Abstract: Abstract Based on the evidence provided in the literature, it is manifest that increased time spent in nature increases various aspects of children’s well-being. Using discourse analysis on focus group interviews with 28 children between the ages of 12 and 14 years old from three socio-economically diverse communities in the Western Cape of South Africa, the study aimed to explore how children construct and assign meaning to natural spaces. More specifically the study explored how children use specific discursive resources and repertoires to construct and assign meaning to their engagement with natural spaces, and the extent to which this influences their subjective well-being. Several pertinent discourses emerged from the participants’ accounts within four themes of: Safety and natural spaces, Appreciation for natural spaces, Degradation of Nature: Thinking environmentally, acting pro-environmentally, and Natural spaces and children’s subjective well-being. The study highlights the critical role that children’s engagement in natural spaces has on their subjective well-being, and how these benefits can be harnessed to better children’s overall quality of life.

Keywords: Children’s discursive constructions; Children’s subjective well-being; Natural spaces and places; Discourse analysis; South Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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DOI: 10.1007/s12187-016-9374-2

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