Browsing by Author "Sipiläinen, Mari"

The aim of this study was to explore visual representations of the countryside made by children aged 9–10 years and living in urban and rural environments. The study investigates the children's images of the countryside: its natural and built environment, the people living there, its location in the children's opinion and the potential things to do there. In this study I also try to explain from where these images of the countryside have originated. In addition to this, the study explores the influence of the children's living area to their image of rural environments. Previous studies show that among adults the image of rural environments is usually positive. The image consists of a clean environment, peace and nature. Rural landscape is often thought to be either an agricultural or a cottage landscape. There are also idyllic images of the countryside where children are playing outside in the nature. There are no previous studies to be found on representations of rural environments concerning children from 9 to 10 years. The results of this study were based on 61 drawings and questionnaires collected from 3rd to 4th grade pupils during one lesson at their school in the spring of 2015. Out of these 61, there were 27 pupils living in rural area and 34 pupils living in urban area. This research is qualitative and executed with visual methods. The pupils were asked to draw a picture of the countryside and answer a semi-structured questionnaire. The drawings were then analysed by the visual content analysis and the questionnaires with the content analysis. Based on the results of this research, it was found that most of the representations of rural environments, regardless of the place of living of the drawer, described a summer day at the farm. Mostly there was a house, some animals, a field, the sun and a tree in the picture. The atmosphere of the countryside seemed to be considered positive because of the smiling people, the sun in the sky and the calm events drawn in the picture. The built environment of the countryside consisted of houses and animal shelters whereas the natural environment consisted of animals, trees and fields. Animals and people were understood to be the residents of the rural environments. The activities in the countryside were considered to take place outside and were related to animals or agriculture. Most of the pupils living in the city did not know or could not tell where the countryside is situated. Some of the pupils living in the rural environment did not perceive themselves living in the countryside. The images of the rural environments were mostly based on the personal experiences which 80 per cent of the pupils had and on the knowledge they have learned from the relatives. The personal experience of the countryside as a living environment was shown in detailed drawings portraying everyday actions in the pictures.