Can playscapes promote early childhood inquiry towards environmentally responsible behaviors? An exploratory study

Wight, R. Alan; Kloos, Heidi; Maltbie, Catherine; Carr, Victoria

doi:10.1080/13504622.2015.1015495

Cited by 32 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Zamani (2013) described how the living character of nature-based zones sparked curiosity and wonder, and invited play with critters and plants. Also in the study of Wight et al (2015) the fact that nature “lives” made children caring for it. In three studies the notion of place was connected to the possibility to immerse or hide in it, for instance a shrub or high grass, or to offering objects (leaves and sticks) that can be used to transform the space into a place of imagination for sociodramatic play.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nature play in early childhood education: A systematic review and meta ethnography of qualitative research

Prins¹,

Wilt

Veen

et al. 2022

Front. Psychol.

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Play in nature-based environments in childhood education has positive benefits for child development. Although previous reviews showed the benefits of play in nature-based environments for child development they did not attempt to understand how and why nature-based environments contribute to play quality. This review aims to explore the value of play in nature-based environments compared to non-nature-based environments for developmental outcomes of young children (2–8 year). We searched for studies that investigated the relation between play and nature-based environments on the databases PsycINFO, ERIC, and Web of Science. Inclusion/exclusion criteria were: (1) the study focused on play in/on a nature based environment, (2) the study included participants between the age of 2–8 years, (3) it was an empirical study, (4) the study was conducted in the context of early childhood education (ECE), and (5) the study included participants without special needs or disabilities. Using these criteria we selected 28 qualitative studies with an overall sample size of N = 998 children aged 2–8 years. The studies were synthesized using an adaptation of Noblit and Hare’s meta-ethnographic approach. Three overarching themes were found: (1) the aspects of play quality that are related to nature-based environments, (2) the aspects of nature-based environments that support play, and (3) the aspects of teacher-child interactions that contribute to nature play quality. The meta themes resonate with play theories and theories of the restorative value of nature. We draw on the qualitative data to refine and extend these theories, and to come up with a definition of the concept “nature play.” This systematic review also sets a base for future research on play interventions in nature-based environments. We argue that (1) research will benefit from thoroughly conceptualizing the role of play in the development of young children, (2) using the affordances theory research will benefit from moving beyond the individual play actions as a unit of analysis, and (3) from an educational perspective it is important to shift the focus of nature play to its benefits for children’s cognitive development.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nature play in early childhood education: A systematic review and meta ethnography of qualitative research

Prins¹,

Wilt

Veen

et al. 2022

Front. Psychol.

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“…Besides, the pre-service teachers noted that children were more creative and imaginative while participating in nature-based activities. As demonstrated in previous studies, outdoor environments support children's creativity, imagination, curiosity and connection to nature (e.g., Carr & Luken, 2014;Cheng & Monroe, 2012;Ernst, 2014a;Jrgensen, 2017;Wight, Kloos, Maltbie, & Carr, 2016). Jrgensen (2017) reported that experiences in natural outdoor spaces arouse children's curiosity about the natural environment and develop an ecological understanding of and respect for other living creatures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Turkish pre-service early childhood education teachers’ perceptions and practices of nature-based teaching on professional experience

Semiz

Temiz

2021

Aust. J. environ. educ.

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This paper considers the perceptions and teaching practices of Turkish pre-service early childhood education teachers with regard to nature-based teaching. Nature-based activities rarely take place in Turkish early childhood education settings; accordingly, there is a clear need to develop pre-service teachers’ professional experience related to nature-based teaching to empower them to support children’s learning in natural environments. In this study, eight pre-service teachers applied nature-based teaching in a professional experience placement over a period of 10 weeks. Clarke and Peterson’s (1986) model of teachers’ thoughts and actions guided this study in terms of understanding pre-service teachers’ related perceptions and practices. Qualitative data were collected through activity plans and semi-structured interviews, the findings from which revealed that the implementation of various activities using natural materials and the natural environment increased pre-service teachers’ self-confidence related to nature-based teaching. The primary barriers to the implementation of nature-based teaching activities were reported as being the attitudes of families and school management, weather conditions and pre-service teachers’ lack of knowledge of nature-based pedagogies. These barriers could be addressed by supporting pre-service early childhood teachers’ professional development and by affording them more opportunities to perform nature-related activities in early childhood settings.

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“…Trabajos como el de Zamani (2016) indican que cuanto mayor es el grado de naturalización del espacio, mayores son las oportunidades de que se produzcan actividades orientadas a la indagación. También Wight et al (2015) constatan la gran diferencia entre un patio tradicional y uno naturalizado, ya que en casi todos los espacios de este último (un sendero, un estanque, un foso con grava y un bosque) se logran niveles elevados de indagación, que en ese estudio se cuantifica por el tipo de procesos científicos realizados por los niños. Otros estudios realizados en entornos puramente naturales como una escuela del bosque en Italia (García-González y Schenetti 2019) o una escuela que realiza salidas semanales a un parque de alto valor ecológico (McClain y Vandermaas-Peeler 2016) han evidenciado que ese contacto directo y continuo con la naturaleza también favorece el uso de los procesos científicos y promueve un razonamiento científico temprano.…”

Section: Espacios Al Aire Libre: Donde Se Relacionan El Juego Y La Cienciaunclassified

“…Por último, el evaluador identificará y categorizará mediante observación directa (O'Brien y Murray 2007) los procesos científicos que los niños desarrollen en sus actividades (Martin 2001). De acuerdo con Wight et al (2015), estas operaciones tienen implícito un orden jerárquico en relación al grado de indagación científica, desde el nivel más bajo (observar) hasta el más alto (explorar e investigar) pasando por procesos intermedios como la clasificación y la comparación. A diferencia de la observación, en la exploración el niño actúa con los objetos para responder a una predicción o a la necesidad de comprobar la causa-efecto de alguna acción, de manera 2203-5 natural o alentada por el docente.…”

Section: Fase 1 Diagnóstico De La Competencia Científicaunclassified

¿Promueven los patios naturalizados el desarrollo de la competencia científica? Un estudio de caso en la educación infantil

Alonso

Zuazagoitia

Recio

et al. 2021

Rev.Eureka enseñ.divulg.cienc.

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Resumen: En los últimos tiempos muchas escuelas de infantil están realizando actuaciones para naturalizar sus patios escolares, potenciando su uso educativo. Este podría ser un espacio idóneo para trabajar contenidos y fomentar procesos científicos con los más pequeños. En este trabajo se propone un modelo de evaluación de la capacidad y potencialidad de este tipo de espacios para trabajar la competencia científica. Con dicho modelo se ha analizado el uso que dos escuelas de infantil están haciendo de sus patios naturalizados para hacer ciencia. Los resultados muestran que para aprovechar verdaderamente estos espacios hay varios factores a tener en cuenta. Por un lado, valorar el potencial educativo del patio y por el otro, y muy especialmente, fomentar la intencionalidad de los docentes de infantil para trabajar en una clave científica.

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Can playscapes promote early childhood inquiry towards environmentally responsible behaviors? An exploratory study

Cited by 32 publications

References 40 publications

Nature play in early childhood education: A systematic review and meta ethnography of qualitative research

Nature play in early childhood education: A systematic review and meta ethnography of qualitative research

Turkish pre-service early childhood education teachers’ perceptions and practices of nature-based teaching on professional experience

¿Promueven los patios naturalizados el desarrollo de la competencia científica? Un estudio de caso en la educación infantil

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