Sandven, Jostein (2026). Naturen som arena for læring i design, kunst og håndverk : Hvilke pedagogiske fordeler har natursløyd?

Porko-Hudd, M. (Supervisor of doctoral candidate)
Christina Nygren-Landgärds (Supervisor of doctoral candidate)

Education

Activity: Supervision, mentoring and other activities › Supervision of postgraduate students

Period	20 Mar 2026
Event title	Disputation i slöjdvetenskap
Event type	Other
Location	Vasa, FinlandShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International

Documents & Links

The thesis studies what happens to students who are taught in the natural arena with learning outcomes from design, art and craft and who must deal with interdisciplinary themes. Through four articles, the concept of nature sloyd is developed. Nature sloyd is a concept constructed and defined by the researcher. Nature as an arena is highlighted by the researcher facilitating teaching programs where the use of local materials is used. The activity itself can be linked to handicrafts, tools, local cultural anchoring, aesthetic expression, artifacts and constructions. Interdisciplinary themes such as sustainability and circular economy are used as a basis to form the students' own ecosophy. A concept that originates from the philosopher Arne Næss and the environment around him. Nature sloyd makes use of the outdoor school methodology, emphasizes experiential learning and is inspired by artists who use nature as an arena. The activity values traceless travel and facilitates students' development of respect for the diversity of nature. In nature sloyd, students usually design and build installations that nature itself breaks down. The product can be visible over a short or longer period. Nature sloyd responds to intentions in Norwegian governing documents. Choosing an arena and structuring tasks requires collaboration between students and between students and teachers during the problem-solving and execution phases. Through joint efforts with process and product work, students are dependent on each other's heads, hands and muscles. The exposure of the product is part of the learning process. During the field studies, the researcher is both a lesson planner, lecturer, supervisor and co-creator. This provides an inside perspective on what happens during the field studies described in the articles. The first article (Sandven, 2006) deals with a field study with an emphasis on skill learning that is discussed from the perspective of sociocultural learning theory. The target group was teacher students in "Design, art and crafts (grades 1–13)" an education that was replaced in 2020 with "Teacher education in practical and aesthetic subjects, grades 1–13. Design, art and crafts". The underlying research question was whether shaping in snow, constructing and experiencing surfaces reinforces learning within the school's basic skills. The results are summarized in a model that shows four different approaches to skill learning in outdoor school. The field studies were led by the researcher. The second article (Sandven, 2019) defines nature exploration based on a literature study that examines sustainability from ecosophy and experiences from various field studies in which Nordic student teachers and Norwegian students from grades 8–10 participated. Nature sloyd is described as an interdisciplinary educational activity in an outdoor school context that also finds justifications from overarching governance documents from Norway and Finland. The article discusses the content and organization of nature sloyd in relation to the school subject art and crafts (grades 1–10). The underlying research question is whether care and respect for nature's resilience are maintained through practical and aesthetic work with nature sloyd. The results are presented in a subject didactic model. The field studies were led by the researcher. The third article (Sandven, 2021) maps lecture topics that sloyd studies researchers have been interested in presenting at Nordic conferences in the forum NordFo (Nordic forum for research and development work in nature studies) over the past 35 years. The underlying research question is what themes characterize Nordic sloyd research. The results point to five different themes. Ecosophy and sustainability constitute one of these themes and can be included together with the other four when teachers plan teaching assignments in nature sloyd. The researcher has participated in the Nordic conferences since 1994. The fourth article (Sandven, 2024) uses Constructive Grounded Theory as a method to illuminate the pedagogical values of a nature sloyd project. The underlying research questions are related to the experiences, insights and skills three Norwegian teacher students in design, art and craft (grades 1–13) acquired when designing and building a bridal suite in a snow hotel in Finland. Analysis criteria provided a basis for discussing both insights and skills acquired during the field study. The researcher obtained daily focus interviews and observations and was himself a participating practitioner on an equal footing with his students. The course was led by educators from the University of Lapland. The pedagogical advantages that the thesis points to are; 1) bodily experiences from work and play with aesthetic expression in the natural world. In this recognition lies the ability to surprise and be surprised, develop the student's curiosity, wonder or be able to make transitions from one chosen perspective to another; 2) diversity, equality and inclusion which is a result of ecosophical thinking and is a necessary aspect for quality of life where the student is trained to have anchoring mechanisms; 3) wholeness and interaction between head, hands and heart and good community experiences that arouse curiosity, as a driving force for knowing more and which therefore strengthens the work with the school's basic subjects and where concentration and perseverance are a prerequisite for character formation; 4) community and scaffolding building. An active form of learning where students relate to each other. The work and the arena contribute to experiential learning through doing, acquisition of skills and knowledge that form the basis for solving the assignment.