Educational and Psychological Aspects of Environmental Awareness and a Sense of Belonging

Ojārs Rode
Daugavpils University, Latvia
("Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education" Žurnāla elektroniskā versija (e - ISSN 2255-7547) pieejama intertīkla vietnē http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/dcse)
 
Abstract
The research problem concerns the sphere of relationships with the environment and an individual’s awareness in the aspect of satisfying the need for belonging. This research aim is to determine the conditions of relationships with the environment and an individual’s awareness in the process of personality formation. The research is constituted by an analysis of literary sources in education, psychology, philosophy and folklore studies as well as by a study of the formation process of a sense of belonging  in Latvian folksongs or dainas. This research shows that a sense of belonging  is associated with harmony between an individual and the surrounding environment. It is developed in the space of conditions for an individual’s self-realisation that balances individual and social interests. For the development of inborn gifts, a natural environment of upbringing is needed. For the development of a sustainable education model in Latvia, the ideas found in Latvian dainas that have ascertained their sustainability may be of importance.
Key words: awareness, belonging, environment, sense of belonging, self-ascertainment  
 
Introduction
This paper is a sequel to an earlier study on values education in Latvia and its relation with the dimensions of a sustainable society (Rode, 2010) wherein we tried to locate values that are unchanging in time and space. They were found in Latvian cultural legacy – folk songs or Latvian dainas. The research argued that the sustainability of the general human values discovered in dainas points to their possible independence of the change in social formations and social development and, thus, to a congruence with the dimensions of a sustainable society. Besides, it was established that values are related to the human ability to perceive the world as a whole and that they are subjected to this ability. Equally important was the conclusion drawn from the study of dainas that the sense of human life is revealed in the necessity of self-ascertainment. In Maslow’s hierarchy of values (Maslow, 1968), for the activation of the need of self-ascertainment, the need for belonging and love must be realised at first. This issue that was merely sketched out in the previous research will be considered in this paper both by studying sources of literature and by investigating the significance of belonging in dainas.   
A sense of belonging  in this work is treated as a striving, which comes from the sense of unity, to belong to a certain environment, society or its part. This means both physical belonging – a bond with a closer or more distant physical environment (home, yard, school etc.) and social belonging – a sense of inclusion in the family, with friends, in a class etc. (Apine & Roga, 2010).
 
Significance of a Sense of Belonging and Aspects of Its Formation
 
In the vertical of Maslow’s pyramid, the level of belonging and love reveals wide horizontal, closely related fields wherein the individual psyche gets bound with the social (cultural, political etc.), ecological (physical space of objects, natural environment) and economic space. On this plane, belonging may be formed in different ranges – belonging to family, school, colleagues, region, ethnic and national belonging etc.
Orska (2006) has described a study of the impact of the environment on a learner’s conduct. She analyses both the impact of the physical (school environment, surroundings) and the psychological environment and concludes that, if the environment is unfavourable, it causes heightened excitement that decreases abilities of cognition, gives rise to impulsive emotions, inadequate aggressive conduct or avoidance of contacts. The main reasons for this entail the striving of dissatisfied adolescents for self-respect and independence as well as conflicts that come from disobedience to regulations and ignoring the expectations of teachers or parents. The study proves that approximately 50% of learners, due to the above stated causes, cannot concentrate on their learning. Similar conclusions when studying the school environment in Finland and Estonia have been made by Kuurme and Carlsson (2010) who revealed that the life quality of learners depends on the organisation of the work of learning, on the atmosphere of social relations and the learners’ awareness of the sense of learning. The necessity of forming a sense of the meaning of life at school has also been affirmed by Augškalne and Garjāne (2010) who studied the importance of the world view implication in education. They relate it to the human for self-ascertainment. World view, according to these researchers, is formed in the social environment determined by person’s practical action when he/she develops belonging to a certain social group.
Anspoka and Siliņa-Jasjukeviča (2010) have studied the space of ethnic belonging in education and conclude that learners’ awareness of their ethnic belonging is important for the formation of respect towards persons of other ethnicities. The authors argue that ethnic identity is not only knowledge of one’s origin but also of a certain action of individuals whereby they reveal and ascertains themselves. Belonging to a particular environment is formed in the family and at school as a result of childhood experience.
Every human being, even before the birth, has been allotted a certain place in the environment of social relations (Сарджвеладзе, 1989). This environment is formed by the nation, family, sometimes by the religious community, social status etc. It means that a person is already born within a certain development programme predetermined by the culture and values of the surrounding environment. Social environment expects from the individual who enters it that he/she will continue keeping up its continuity. The further fate of the individual, to a great extent, depends on the relations he/she has formed with the expectations of this environment. Sarjweladze’s investigation of the issue of belonging is based on the direction from society to an individual since in his conception a human is a ‘product of society’.
Another perspective on the relations of a person and environment was set by Adler (Хьелл & Зиглер, 2006). He sees the close bond between the individual’s essence with the social context and makes a similar judgement – an individual may attain self-realisation only in the social environment. However, his judgement is based on the assurance that humans have an inborn striving for the social environment or, according to Maslow, a need for belonging. A need for self-ascertainment and a need for belonging demand congruence between individual’s selfhood and environment. In this connection, Adler insists on a harmonious cooperation between an individual and society – a conflict between society and an individual, in his opinion, is unnatural.  
Literature analysis and the author’s observations show that a contradiction still exists. Lieģiniece (2009) in her study of children’s behavioural problems concludes that the main causes of the latter come from the social situations in family and school environment. Both of these communities fit in a wider public environment (owing to the information technology development, this is the whole world) that today is construed as ethically unsound (Valbis, 2006) and, in fact, unable to sustain beneficial conditions for an individual’s development.
Fromm (Фромм, 2010) in his analysis of the unsound environmental elements in the contemporary society states that today people distance themselves from others, thereby transforming human relations into a business between “things”. People sell themselves and buy others. They have brought down their worth to the use value of commodity. Artifice is consolidated with children since childhood, teaching them the idea of diverse roles a person plays in society. As a result, people suppress their true feelings, their thoughts; they are kind and smiling when it is required by their current role. This way not only the child-like spontaneity but also their original thinking and creative abilities get suppressed. Untruth suppresses the urge to search for the truth existing in each child, which is the only one that helps the child surely find their way in the world. Even if truth is offered, it is the truth of “authorities”, forgetting that only personal truth founded on the subjective needs of a person creates genuine interest and further stimulus for world cognition.  
Sartre (Сартр, 2000) characterises the contemporary socialisation environment as one which suppresses human need to independently project one’s life, whereas Maslow (1968) conceives it as something that forecloses a human being from her-/himself. This is also admitted by Raudupe (2002), a researcher of dainas and Vedas. She states that the condition of freedom is being beyond the borders of socialisation. Dewey’s (2002) idea, expressed at the beginning of the 20th century, that, since the birth, traditions in society set limitations in the child’s further conduct and self-development, is fully applicable today. With language acquisition the child becomes a product of its culture (Дьюи, 2002). Later, getting involved into traditional procedures of society, these traditions become the child’s own; the truths recognized in society are accepted as one’s own, and the same concerns prohibitions.  
The above described relations of environment and the individual in the contemporary society develop under unnaturally created conditions (of market economy and consumerist philosophy) where the sense of balance between the individual’s inner strength and his/her desires has been lost. In the conditions when a person has lost her-/himself, it is impossible to talk about harmonious relations between the individual and environment or a sense of belonging, since the latter is formed at the point of convergence of the essential components of the environment with the individual.
 
Possible Solutions
 
Fromm (2010) sees a solution in a spontaneous reunion of an individual with nature and society, yet, at the same time, retaining his or her individuality. Fromm (2010) considers the activity which we can observe with small children and artists to be spontaneous – it is not imposed but is self-induced in the contact of the person and the world. This is what Rousseau (Руссо, 1981) calls natural interaction of the environment and an individual in compatibility with the individual’s force. Love is the major component of spontaneity (Maslow has placed the need for love and belonging on the same level of the pyramid of needs). Without it harmonious, congruent, friendly relations with the world – the wholeness that an individual is a part of – are unimaginable. Fromm (Фромм, 2010) describes this as a situation whereby an individual takes his or her rightful place in this world and wherein doubt regarding one’s power and sense of life disappears. In this state of highest compatibility Neville’s “I = everything that is” (Neville, 1999) is realized, i.e. a sense of belonging is formed.
Fromm (Фромм, 2010) characterizes this kind of belonging as a constantly present factor within each person that is oriented at anything including oneself. Belonging means love – a person can simultaneously belong to oneself and the world.
A similar conclusion has been reached by the American psychologist Lendloff (Ледлофф, 2010) who has produced unique research in an Indian tribe living in the jungle of South America. He tried to clarify how the tribe manages to form harmonious social relations. Lendloff argues that social harmony is based on harmony between individual’s own needs or inborn expectations and the needs or expectations of the community. This research leads to the idea that, if society is formed under natural conditions, the human individuality also becomes natural, not imposed by any power incompatible with the individual, i.e. when the inborn expectations of a human are a priori harmonious with the expectations of the community the human has born into. In this situation a contradiction between individual’s self-ascertainment and community interests is impossible in principle. Lendloff’s research does not deny socialization – the community environment wherein the individual is born is absolutely necessary for his/her self-realization; yet, it should be emphasized once more, that this environment is not contrary to the individual’s essence. It follows from Lendloff’s study that each person has an individual continuum, i.e. an entity of inborn needs and corresponding development tendencies, and with the individual’s adulthood, the support of the surrounding community becomes necessary for the realization of one’s inborn expectations.
The best upbringing environment for raising a natural man, according to Rousseau (Руссо, 1981), is rural environment. As one of the major conditions of upbringing he mentions the necessity to secure an opportunity for a child to use all the powers the nature has granted him, thus teaching the child to satisfy his desires within the limits of one’s power. This is similar to the ethical ideas conveyed by Latvian folk culture legacy (Jansons, 1973) – necessity to cope on one’s own. This develops another important feature of ethics – not to subject oneself to the power of desires. Child’s natural powers can be manifested only in freedom – the child’s upbringing must be such that, according to Rousseau, the child might have a possibility of free self-expression. An educator must merely care not to distort the child’s freedom and not to turn it into its opposite – all-permissiveness.
When analysing diverse education environments, a Russian scientist Yasvin (Ясвин, 2001) states that the model of humane pedagogy develops the most optimal environment. Humane pedagogy environment is emotionally stimulating and incites self-initiative and creativity (Čehlovs, 2008). It is developed in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust that is needed for the child’s self-development. It is congruent with the child’s driving and organising force – striving for freedom, love and belonging (Амонашвили, 2003). Satisfying these needs is associated with the human’s self-understanding which, in its turn, is a necessary precondition for the realisation of self-ascertainment (Maslow, 1968).
To summarise the ideas drawn from the literature, it may be admitted that, for the formation of a sense of belonging, environment must facilitate individual freedom. This helps to perceive the world in its wholeness and grasp what is individually and socially significant. A sense of belonging incites a values orientation which is significant for both the individual and society. This, in turn, leads to the individual’s self-ascertainment in society.
 
Reflection of a Sense of Belonging  in Latvian dainas
 
The aim of this research is to determine the role of a sense of belonging  in the process of personality formation by investigating the content of the notion “belonging” as well as the conditions of the formation of a sense of belonging  in Latvian folk songs or dainas. Dainas have been studied since they were first recorded in 1695 by the chronicle writer Kelkh. Due to their sustainability, dainas have preserved, in the course of millennia, all-significant features both in the perception and understanding of the surrounding world and in the mutual communication of people, ethics and aesthetics (Kokare, 1988). Kokare, in her analysis of dainas, reveals an extremely great wealth of contexts that make dainas an inexhaustible source for investigating ethical and aesthetical ideals.
Folk art preserves only what is close and essential for the entire community of people (Bērziņa, 1989), what complies with their worldview and feelings. In folklore, a person is never opposed to others: I and the world are identical. Dainas, according to Bērziņa (1989), have accumulated, in the course of many generations, instructions for labour, everyday life, traditions and rituals that granted the congruence of human life with the highest regularities of nature and society. In his analysis of the ethics of work, Jansons (1973) reveals its relatedness with the ethics of compatibility and accord. Compatibility and accord are necessary conditions in labour – common labour is impossible without compatibility. Besides, this sphere not only includes the mutual compatibility of people but also compatibility with labour cattle, the environment – homestead, countryside, meadows, woods and even tools of labour. Compatibility meant not just compliance with traditions, rules of life and moral requirements, but a kind of fusion in unity with the object of labour wherein it is impossible to separate the subject from the object of labour – all is one.   
Hence, common work can be done in the family only if there is a mutual compatibility uniting all its members. It is manifested in mutual respect, care, empathy and caring attitude. Compatibility is the most direct expression of love in family and society (Raudupe, 2002) – love towards the environment of life and labour in general. Compatibility is revealed also in a wider group of community – during the evenings spent together and joint work. Evenings were usually spent together after all work on the farm had been finished and winter had come. People from the neighbouring homesteads came together to do some household chores, meet each other, sing and joke. Joint work was done in the spring and in the time of crop gathering (also in wood work in winter, wood clearing, cleaning stables from dung and taking it to the fields for fertilisation) when the work was hard and needed to be done fast. Both forms of common labour reveal compatibility, the joy of common work, mutual kindness and concord. People usually came to this work dressed up, with their own best tools, food and drinks to share like in big festivities.
 
To study a sense of belonging , we used the collection of dainas compiled by Krišjānis Barons (Barons & Visendorfs, 1894) containing 218,000 dainas. All folksongs of this collection are available in an electronic version, which makes them easy to select, process and study. Content analysis of 272 dainas has been produced including 96 ones that are directly or contextually related to the notion of belonging, 55 ones – related to the notion of beauty and 121 ones – related to childbirth, afterbirth procedures and child rearing. The latter (one?) …are analysed to make out the conditions of the formation of a sense of belonging . Dainas have been selected in accordance with the aim of the research: to clarify the conditions of relationship with the environment and an individual’s awareness in the process of personality formation.
In all of the analysed dainas, the verb “to belong”does not mean property rights to something – to belongmeans to be compatible, in accord, similar: Pieder pļava, kad nopļauta, Jo pieder, kad sakasta; Pieder meita ar vainagu, Jo pieder ar autiņu [The meadow belongs when it is mown and even more when it is raked; A girl belongs with a crown and even more with head-cloth] 24807-6. It should be noted that, in the samples of dainas, numerals indicate their numbers in Krišjānis Barons’ collection). In 45 dainas out of 96, human belonging is related to belonging to natural elements and phenomena, i.e. the unity of human and nature: Kam der kalni, kam der lejas, Kam der zaļi ozoliņi? Dievam kalni, Laimei lejas, Bitēm zaļi ozoliņi. Kam der puķes, kam der rozes, Kam der bēri kumeliņi?Meitām puķes, meitām rozes, Puišiem bēri kumeliņi [Whose are the hills, whose are the vales, Whose are the green oaks? God’s are the hills, Laima’s are the vales, Bees’ are the green oaks. Whose are the flowers, whose are the roses, Whose are the bay horses? Girls’ are flowers, girls’ are the roses, Boys’ are the bay horses] 33671-1.
Belonging may have several degrees: one belonging may continue in another, wider belonging: Apsedz mani, tautu meita, Tev pieder villainītes; Kad tu brauksi, es iejūgšu, Man pieder kumeliņš [Cover me, young girl, You have woollen shawls; When you go, I will yoke, I have a horse] 24839-0.
In nine dainas, when considering belonging, accord is directly revealed between a person’s inner essence and its external manifestations: Sader man ar šo puisi I dziedot(i), runājot: Saderēs miežus pļaut Celmajā(i) līdumā [I am in accord with this boy When I sing and talk: We will be in accord when reaping barley In the stubby clearance] 316-1. This idea is indirectly present in the contexts of all studied dainas. Belonging has a spatial dimension – it is manifested in space and may change depending on it: Šo naksninu man pieder(a) Visa tautu istabina; Kad es gāju plāninâ, Man plāninis piedereja; Kad es sēdu aiz galdiņa, Man galdinis piedereja [Tonight to me belongs the whole people’s room; When I go in the middle I have the middle of the room; When I sit at the table, The table belongs to me] 25126-0. It has also a temporal dimension (in eight dainas) – depending on a person’s age belonging may change, for instance, Pieder man še augot, Nepieder dzīvojot; Pieder man nolīgot Cit’ āriņu maliņâ. [It belongs to me to grow up here; It doesn’t belong to live here; It belongs to me to sing In other open spaces] 3752-0
Dainas reveal that each level of belonging has its own meaning and only similar beings are compatible: the beautiful is compatible with the beautiful, the good – with the good, the evil – with the evil; there is no compatibility between opposites. This concerns the whole realm of relations: in nature, human, human labour and any other action – singing, dancing, riding a cart and a horse, ploughing, harrowing, raking hay etc.
Perfection is revealed to the human in the beautiful (divine). The beautiful is so significant in the human life that it may be referred to one of the manifestations of human essence. It is revealed not only in the ideas and notions conveyed by texts but also in the form of dainas by means of particular expressions and words, for instance, Skaista zied kapsētiņa Dzelteniem ziediņiem; Kà ta skaisti neziedeja, Pilna dārgu dvēselišu [Beautiful is the blossoming graveyard With yellow flowers; Why would it not blossom in beauty, Full of dear souls] 27634-0. This daina describes in the first two lines the environment where abide those who have once lived – it is beautiful, covered with bright flowers. In the third line, in the form of a question, a reason for this beauty is expressed, with the idea that it cannot be otherwise since the souls held dear by the people abide here. Besides, in the quatrain of just a few words, diminutives are used three times: kapsētiņa ziediņiem dvēselišu, which conveys a sense of heartiness, kindness.
The close bond between belonging and the beautiful is revealed not only in contexts since they are often used as synonyms. In the following example two variants of dainas are provided where belong is substituted by beautiful:  
 
Pieder pļava, kad nopļauta [The meadow belongs when it is mown],
Jo pieder, kad sakasta [Even more when it is raked];
Pieder meita ar vainagu [a girl belongs with a crown],
Jo pieder ar autiņu [even more with a head-cloth] 24807-6
 

Skaista pļava, kad nopļauta [the meadow is beautiful when it is mown],
Vēl skaistaka sakasita [even more beautiful when it is raked];
Skaista meita vaiņagâ [a girl is beautiful with a crown],
Vēl skaistaka micitê [even more beautiful in a tucker] 24807-7.
 
The context of dainas reveals that belonging lies at the basis of beauty – the harmoniously related is beautiful, i.e. mutually belonging, compatible things and relations: Pieder pieši pie zābaka, Pie labà kumeliņa, Ļauna diena nepieder Pie smuidrà augumiņa [Spurs belong with the boot, With the good horse, Evil day does not belong With the stately body] 9255-0.
Harmonious accord of the environment, labour and human when praising the beautiful is revealed both in the dainas related to belonging and beauty and those dedicated to the human life course: Ai, galdiņ, ai, galdiņ, Kà tev skaisti piedereja: Visapkārt vīri sēd Kà zaļie ozoliņi [Oh, table, oh, table, How beautifully you belong: Around you men are sitting Like green oaks] 19471-2. Padzied' skaisti, līgaviņa, Manâ vagas galiņâ: Man arkliņis labi meta, Stalti gāja kumeliņš [Sing beautifully, bride, At the end of my furrow: My plough throws well, My horse has a stately gait] 635-0.
The beautiful incites, creates and multiplies the beautiful. The beautiful is compatible with virtue: Neb es tautu dēla dēļ Daiļi nesu vainadziņu: Pate sava goda dēļ, Sava daiļa bāleliņa [Not for the young boy I am wearing the crown with beauty: For my own honour, For my beautiful brother] 6010-2.
The beautiful is the criterion of compatibility: Pret vējiņu ausi griežu, Sav’ māsiņas klausities, Vaj dzied skaisti, vaj sērigi, Tautiņâs aizgajuse [I turn my ear against the wind, To listen to my sister, Is she singing beautifully or sadly, Having got married] 225-0. In this daina sisters are listening to get what song their married sister is singing, whether it is sad or joyful – from this the sisters will judge whether the environment their sister has entered is benevolent to her.
The study confirms the conclusion of Ērdmane (198) the beautiful in folk songs is manifested as one of the major positive categories evaluating the reality and human. The beautifulis so closely related to the ethically sublime that they are hard to separate and regard on their own. Lautenbahs (1848-1928), one of the first scholars who studied dainas, tried to derive the virtue expressed in dainas from the ‘cult of beauty’ that he though Latvians had worshipped, since the feelings of aesthetical and beauty are very much expressed in Latvian dainas alongside a positive acceptance of everything that exists (Bērziņš, 1935).
The educational and psychological aspects of the formation of a sense of belonging  are revealed in dainas that are related to childbirth and child rearing. This study does not include mocking dainas, those of looking for the cradle pole and hanging the cradle, pregnancy, nursing, children’s, games, riddles, or their variants.
Dainas directly or contextually reveal the great significance of the environment. An important issue was whether the environment was expecting the child being born and what was the attitude of the surrounding people to the woman’s pregnancy. The environment had to show care for the pregnant woman: Kuŗš godigs tēva dēls, - Ilgi jauna līgaviņa: Paceļ krēslu, noauj kājas Grūtajâs dieniņâs [Who is an honest father’s son, - His bride is young for a long time: He lifts the chair, takes off her footwear In the hard days] 1254-0. Pregnancy and infant’s nursing were honoured as sacred procedures: ...Tas bij labs svētu rītu Pādei braukt baznicâSvēti bija kūmu taki, Dārga pādes dvēselite [Holy were the ways of Godparents, Dear was the baby’s soul] 1303-0. To secure the highest order in the environment, the goddess Laima was summoned asking her to safeguard the place of the festivity of childbirth: Stiep, Laimite, garu jostu Garam visu istabiņu, Nule māte godu taisa Pirmajam bērniņam [Take, dear Laima, a long belt Around the whole room, The mother is making honour For her first child] 16094-1. [It was good in the holy morning To take the baby to the church] 1334-0; ...
In line with a wish to provide the newborn child’s belonging to the community of diligent, industrious, wise, virtuous people, only people possessing these qualities were allowed to be present at the birth festival: Lasitus ļautiņus kūmàm ņēmu... [Select people were invited as Godparents] 1304-0;  Labus vien, labus vien Kūmiņâs salūguši... [Only good people are invited to be Godparents] 1305-0. The Godparents were chosen from the people who had their own life in order: Ņemat mani kūmibâs, Man šķīràs, man vedàs; Ne man klupa kumeliņis, Ne man juka valodiņa [Take me as a Godparent, I do well in life; My horse never stumbles, My speech is never confused] 1306-0.
Very great importance was attributed to the invited people’s conduct when they were visiting the newborn baby: ...veselibas gribedami [desiring health] 1280-0, wishing for a child to become an industrious, well-to-do person: Atiet mana krista māte... Skaista balta villainite, Zelta puķe rociņâ [Here comes my Godmother... Nice white shawl, Golden flower in hand] 1286-3; Jūdzu zirgu, mēru kviešus Kapinaju izkaptites: Lai pādenis knašs puisitis, Labs maizites arajinis [I harness a horse, measure barley, Whet a scythe: Let the baby be a quick boy, A good plougher for the bread] 1308-0; Kūmàm iedami pussagšu sedzu, Lai mana pādite pusgadu staigà [I put on half a shawl when visiting a baby, For the baby to start walking at half a year] 1314-1; Es šodien uzsasedzu Lielu rakstu villaniti: Lai aug mana krustmeitiņa Lielu rakstu rakstitaja...[I put on today A shawl with big ornament: Let my Goddaughter Weave big ornaments] 1312-0; Kūmàm iedama Pakupli ģērbos... [Going visiting the baby I dressed well] 1316-1. Well-being was secured by, for instance, the following action: Kūmàmi iedami trīs zirgus jūdzu; Dievs doda pādiņai sešami braukti, Sešami braukti, trim ormaņiem! [When we went visiting a baby I harnessed three horses; God grant the baby ride a six-horse carriage, A six-horse carriage with three carters!] 1329-4.
And the other way round – an inimical, disharmonious, ugly human environment as well as rash actions negatively affect the child’s character, work abilities, health condition: Tava vaina krusta tēvs, Kad man bārga valodiņa: Kam tu cirti egles kārti Pirmajâ vakarâ [Your fault, Godfather, That my speech is rude: Why did you cut fir pole On the first night?] 1679-1; Nekar man, māmuļiņa, Pie durviem šūpoliša [Don’t hang, Mother dear, A cradle at the door] 1704-0; Mātes vaina, mātes vaina, Kad man mazs augumiņš: Kam ta cirta elkšņa līksti, Zemu kāra šūpuliti [Mother’s fault, mother’s fault That I am so small: Why did she cut alder pole, Hang the cradle low] 1678-1; Ta, māmiņa, tava vaina, Ka es augu netikuse: Kam mazgaji mani mazu Neskaidrâji ūdenî? [It is your fault, mother, That I grew up immoral: Why did yoy wash me small In unclear water?] 1275-1.
Compatibility, as stated earlier, has dimensions of time and space i.e. the time and place of the child’s birth are significant: Pats es dzimu piektu rītu... [I was born on the fifth morning] 1184-1;  Prieka dienâ es piedzimu... [I was born on a day of joy] 1187-0; Es piedzimu māmiņai, Kad dziedaja lakstigala... [I was born to my mother When the nightingale was singing] 1188-0; ... Pašâ ziedu laiciņâ [In the time of blossom] 1189-0; ... Vizbulišu laiciņâ [In the time of anemones] 1190-4; Laime, laime tam dēlam, Kas piedzima saulitê... [Fortunate is the son Who was born in the sun] 1176-4; Silta saule man dzimstot, Laba laime dzīvojot... [Warm was the sun when I was born, Good fortune when I live] 1180-1; Laime, laime tam dēlami, Tas piedzima laimes dienu:Viļņiem auga mieži, radzi, Bogàm bēri kumeliņi [Fortunate is the son Who was born in fortune’s day: Barley and rhye grow abundant, Whale of bay horses] 1185-0; Es piedzimu māmiņai, Rožu dārzu ravejot... [I was born to my mother While she was weeding the rose garden] 1192-0; Aiz ko manim plata galva? Es piedzimu vējputnê. Aiz ko manim daudz valodu?Tirga dienâ nokristija [Why is my head wide? I was born in the snowstorm. Why do I have many words? I was baptized on a market day] 1194-1.
What life was wished for the child is revealed in the songs of dancing with the baby (Godparents danced and sang holding the baby in their arms) and hanging the cradle: Lai slīdeja nu pādite No rociņas rociņâ: Lai pāditi drīzi auga, Drīzi rāva valodiņu [Let the baby go From hand to hand: Let the baby grow fast, Start talking soon] 1528-0; Lai pādite tà izauga, Kà rozites dārziņâ [Let the baby grow Like roses in the garden] 1542-2; Lai pādite dzīvodama Visu mūžu priekšeniece [Let the baby live All life in the fore] 1548-0; Lai mana pādite liels dravenieks [Let my baby be a great beekeeper] 1549-0; Lai mana pādite raib' audejiņa [Let my baby be a bright weaver] 1550-0; Dod', Dieviņ, pādei kūmiņas laimi: Draugam dot, ne draugu lūgt [God grant the baby the fortune of Godparents: To give to a friend, not ask from a friend] 1447-0.
The contexts of the studied dainas directly or indirectly affirm the role of love in receiving and rearing the child: Man māmiņa tà aukleja, Kà saulite zirņu ziedu [My mother nursed me Like the sun did sweet peas] 3028-0; Smalka mana māmuliņa, Smalki mani audzinaja[Fine is my mother, Finely reared me] 3023-1; Mīļa mana māmuliņa Mīļi mani audzinaja: Tina linu palagôs, Liepâ kāra šūpuliti [Sweet is my mother, Sweetly reared me: Wrapped me in linen sheets, Hanged the cradle in a lime-tree] 1708-0.
In the time of child rearing, parents tried to cultivate the spirit of sustaining traditions, respect to human and natural environment: ... Bērni, tēvu glabajat, Kà bitites savu tēvu [Children, keep your father Like bees do their father] 3053-2; Drīz es gāju, drīz teceju, Kur māmiņa man raidija... [Fast I went Where my mother sent me] 3063-0; Kuŗš bērniņis mātei klausa, Agri ēda brokastiņu... [The child that obeys mother Has breakfast early] 3077-0  and striving for wise advice: ...Tie bērniņi laipojàs, Kas klaus’ tēva, māmuliņas [Those children do well Who obey their father and mother] 3085-0; Tà, bērniņi, laipojiet, Ka pietika mūžiņam [Children, go so that You have enough for the whole life] 3086-0;Ai, bērniņi, ai, bērniņi, Klausat tēvu, māmuliņu!...[Oh children, oh children, Obey your father and mother!] 3055-0;  Kas vecà vārda klausa, Pilnu cepli maizes cepa... [Who obeys the old’s word Bakes a full oven of bread] 3070-0. In daina:  Tēvu tēvi laipas meta, Bērnu bērni laipojàs; Tà, bērniņi, laipojties, Ka laipiņas nepārlūza [Forefathers throw planks For the children to pass; Children, go so That the planks are not broken] (3086-1), sustaining of traditions is described as a plank connecting the generations.
Children were taught co-responsibility for the work in the family since early days: Maza, maza meitiņa audeklu meta... [Little little girl was warping the cloth] 2170-0; Drīz es gāju, drīz teceju, Kur māmiņa man raidija... [I went fast Where mother sent me] 3063-0; Kādu ļaužu tas bērniņš, Tas iet visu nesūtams?... [Whose is that child Who goes without being sent?] 3069-0;  Mazas meitas maltu gāja... [Little girls went milling] 8169-1; Lielas meitas linus vērpe, Mēs mazàs pakuliņas... [Big girls were spinning flax, We the small tow] 6995-0; Agri māmiņ i piecēla Savas mazas malejiņas... [Early did mother waken Her little millers] 6687-0; Sīkas mazas meitenites Pašas vērpa, pašas auda... [Fine, little girls Do spin and do weave] 7029-1.
            Dainas describe an assurance that a person is born with a certain task in life, particular character and abilities: Nemākuli nevareja I māmiņa izmācìt... [A dabbler could not be taught even by mother] 3035-0; Kādu Dievs, Laime lika, Tādu māmiņ' i aukleja... [The one given by God and Fortune Was nursed by the mother] 23021-0. The deity responsible for the human’s life task is revealed in the image of the goddess Laima: Tumss laukâ, tumss laukâ, Kur bij ņemt ceļa draugu? Dievs bij man ceļa draugs, Laime ceļa rāditaja [It’s dark outside, it’s dark outside, Where can I get a friend to go by? God is my friend to go by, Laime shows my way] 33698-0. This ascertainment emphasises that, irrespective of the environment of upbringing, human characters, abilities or gifts may differ – some people become soldiers, others – ploughmen and harrowers, still others become weavers of shawls: ... Ne tie visi mazgajàs Vienâ laimes ūdenî [Not everyone washed In one water of fortune] 1224-0; Vienas mātes mēs bērniņi, Ne visiem viena laime... [We are children of one mother, Not everyone has one fortune] 3902-0; Laime mani novēleja Lielu kara vīru... [Fortune wished me A great soldier] 31950-0; Laima gāja sētas malu, Sirpi nesa rociņâ... [Laima went along the fence Carrying a sickle in her hand] 1890-3; Laima gāja sētas malu, Arklu nesa padusê... [Laima went along the fence Carrying a plough in her hand] 1890-1; Nolēmàm cilinàt Spožu kaŗa zobentiņu... [We decided to carry The bright sword of war] 1226-0; Div ozoli, viena sakne, Katram savi zari bija; Viena māte, divi dēli, Katram sava laime bija [Two oak-trees, one root, Each with its own branches; One mother, two sons, Each with its own fortune] 3868-0.
Yet inborn qualities and gifts were insufficient without adequate rearing: Laba mana māmuliņa, Labi mani mācijusi... [Good was my mother, She taught me well] 1342-3; Iegādaju, atgādaju, Aiz ko mani māte kūla... [I realise, I recall Why my mother spanked me] 3039-0; Māte mani labi māca, Kaut es mātes klausijuse [Mother teaches me well, I wish I obeyed mother] 3079-0; Raud Laimiņa, raud māmiņa, Abas divas gauži raud; Māte saka Laimas vainu, Laima saka mātes vainu [Laima is crying, mother is crying, Both are crying bitterly; Mother blames Laima, Laima blames mother] 9258-0.
Study of belonging in dainas reveals a naturally formed model of relations between the environment and human consciousness (similar to that of Landloff) wherein a sense of belonging  is bound with harmonious accord between the individual and environment where both fuse together. Besides, the affinity of subject and object is so deep that it expresses the essence of both parties. To belong means to be in accord and that is beautiful. A sense of belonging  is not a frozen or unchanging state – it may change dynamically in time and space, yet sustaining the above mentioned features. Sense of belonging admits belonging to objects of different ‘broadness’, starting with, for instance, a flower, a stallion, the homestead, family, fatherland, the world.
Sustainability of dainas makes one think that, to create a sustainable education model, the content of Latvian dainas could be used in folk education. The focus should be placed on the formation of such educational environment which a learner would feel affiliated to. The latter is impossible without clarifying the learner’s interests and talents and organising the process of learning in accordance with them – this is the basis for mutual respect and compatibility of the learner and school. Another significant factor of compatibility is beauty. Beautiful environment (spatial, ecological, social environment), the beautiful in the people’s clothing, bodies, movements, thoughts, speech, deeds is a prerequisite for bringing up a beautiful person. This means the necessity of withdrawing all that is ugly so that the learner can perceive through sensations (visual and audial in the first place) from the learner.  
 
Summary
·         Harmonious development of an individual is possible only on condition of respecting a personality’s peculiarities and right to freedom. This would help an individual perceive the world in wholeness, i.e. perceive oneself as a member of society.
·         Public environment must be compatible with the expression of the individual’s inner essence – being part of the world and belonging to it.
·         A sense of belonging incites the values orientation which is significant both for the individual and the society; this, in turn, leads to an individual’s necessity for self-ascertainment in the society.
·         Free development of a child, in line with the child’s talents, is not separable from upbringing.
·         Educational environment must be formed as a space of social environment, ecological environment and harmonious relations of the individual with the former.
·         Forming a sustainable education model in Latvia, the ideas drawn from dainas that have already ascertained their sustainability may be of importance.
 
Acknowledgement
 
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