Envisioning the Future – A Question of Distances

Year 2013, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 1 - 16, 14.01.2013

Heli Vıllanen , Gunnar Jonsson Heli Villanen , Gunnar Jonsson

Abstract

In this paper we will examine how children view their future. Intergenerational relations are at the core of sustainable development. These concern a human’s moral responsibility to the coming generations. But, can we take for granted that future generations will have the same requirements and preferences as we do? Discussions of the future often take off from an adult perspective, but what would the visions of the future be, if children were asked? Theoretically the study is based on the life-world phenomenology. Our study was conducted in northern Sweden in 2011. Altogether, 22 children aged 11 to 12 years participated. They were asked to make a drawing to answer a question ‘what does the future look like when you are grown up?’ During the analysis, four themes emerged; technology, career, apocalypse and sameness. According to our results, we consider that there is an aspect of distance imbedded within the visions.

Keywords

children’s visions, future, education for sustainable development, intergenerational relations, phenomenology

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