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Young children’s understanding of plant life: a study exploring rural–urban differences in their drawings

Abstract Drawing activities are believed to be a useful methodology to gain insight into young children’s thoughts and ideas related to a diverse range of research topics. In this respect, the study of drawings has proven to be a valuable procedure with a view to unravelling how the natural world is conceptualised in early childhood. The present study examines the content of the drawings that 328 Spanish children aged between of 4 and 7 carried out in their bid to express their understanding of plant life and the data collected is related to the potential for connecting with nature which may be offered by the location of their educational centres. The results show slight but significant differences between the depictions undertaken by the children attending schools in rural environments, and those made by their peer group in urban centres. The evidence and conclusions of the study are coherent with the assumption that as early as kindergarten age, children are well involved in attempting to give meaning to their nature-based experiences.