Paper short abstract:

In this paper the purpose is to present the results of interpretative phenomenological description (IPA) analysis of the relation between human and animal by stressing the need to raise the interest and strengthen children’s connection with wildlife from an early age through the principles of outdoor pedagogy and experiential learning.

Paper long abstract:

In this paper the purpose is to present the results of interpretative phenomenological description (IPA) analysis of the relationship between human and animal. On the other hand, the invitation to raise the interest in fauna and flora from an early age by applying the principles of outdoor pedagogy and experiential learning is suggested as the solution to strengthen children’s connection with wildlife. As many scientific studies reveal, science education in EU formal education today is methodologically limited, consisting mostly of classroom work. For these reasons, children spend less and less time in nature, so the encounter with the wildlife is much more likely to happen through television rather than in natural habitats. This leads to creating the false impression that the human and animal worlds are distant and separate. According to the results of IPA analysis, in the intersubjective relation between humans and animals, such a phenomenon of alienation is based on the subject-object model, where human takes a privileged position and animal is perceived as an object or a tool. Often, confrontation with the body of the other evokes fear, while the human usually occupies a privileged position, claiming that animals need to be restrained, scared away or eliminated. However, if the ecological thinking in the early age would not be limited to recycling or recreation – that kind of person would be able to understand the entire global ecosystem and the importance of environmental protection. A short introduction of the Lithuania case will be presented.