Introduction: Animal stories – learning with animals, continuing education was made for the early childhood professional. It was organized at the University of Turku, Finland in the faculty of Education 2016-2017.
The idea of the education was to find new ways of working and make the pedagogical thinking more open, develop occupational know-how and give support to teamwork skills and welfare at work. Because of the variation of the subjects and the animals, the education was organized in a multi-professional group.
This paper opens up the process of Animal stories and reflects learning with animals.
Methodology: 18 adult students, 8 teachers and 14 animals; dogs, cats, rams and horses took part of the course. The data consist visual and textual portfolios, documented sessions and interviews as well as observation by the researcher. Interpretation lays on cultural visual analysis and bodily social interaction.
The theoretical approach is in new materialism especially in concept of otherness, eco centric world, green care and nature based interventions in education and design.
Results: The physical and social environments and human-animal encounters leaves traces in learning process. Designing this education and carrying it out produced a story in itself. Further studies and research are needed in this multi-scientific field.
Principal Conclusions and Implications for Field: This research opens critical questions about hierarchy and roles in between student and teacher as well as in between human and animal in animal assisted pedagogy. Learning to meet yourself, others and otherness should be in the centre of teacher training. - Every story is made together.