All Relatives Share Empathy

Suggested Citation: Ernst, J., Underwood, C., & Nayquonabe, T. (2023). Everyone Has a Piece of the Story: A Community of Practice Approach for Supporting Early Childhood Educators’ Capacity for Fostering Empathy in Young Children through Nature-Based Early Learning. International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, 11(1), 34–62.

This work is the culmination of seven months of shared inquiry and learning by a group of fifteen practitioners in Northern Minnesota. These practitioners working at the intersections of early childhood, nature-based learning, and empathy came together to deepen our understanding of empathy through engagement with Indigenous perspectives and building capacity to foster empathy with wildlife and people. Taking a Community of Practice (CoP) approach valuing storytelling and knowledge co-construction, we offer the following with humility and gratitude for all who shaped and shared in this work.