Children's meaning-making of nature in an outdoor-oriented and democratic Swedish preschool practice

Klaar, Susanne; Öhman, Johan

doi:10.1080/1350293x.2014.883721

Cited by 20 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Although this can be overcome by providing appropriate clothing/resources (Knight 2011), going out in inclement weather may remain an issue due to the child's or practitioner's personal or cultural traits. However, as Klaar and Öhman (2014) contend, with access to regular opportunities and resources, venturing out in the rain may become an internalised habit.…”

Section: Factors Hindering Outdoor Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing learning in the early years’ outdoor classroom: examining challenges in practice

Davies

Hamilton

2016

Education 3-13

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The benefit the outdoor environment has for young children's development is widely documented. However, there is less literature outlining practitioners' experiences of assessing learning in the outdoors and factors which impact the level and quality of assessments undertaken. This study, based on a pragmatic mixed methods approach, undertaken in 9 early years' settings in North Wales, reports the findings of 37 practitioners. The research suggests that assessing children in the outdoors is not used to its potential. Factors impeding the use of the outdoor classroom include: lack of appropriate resources; level of staff expertise; child-staff ratio; adverse weather; and changes to curriculum policy which place emphasis on the formal assessment of children. There appears to be assumptions about learners most likely to benefit from outdoor learning and assessment: boys; children in socio-economically deprived areas; and children with additional learning needs. The paper highlights the need for broader training opportunities for practitioners on planning for learning and assessment in the outdoors that go beyond a single course focus. With creative planning, there is no reason why summative assessments of all areas of learning within the early years' curriculum, cannot be done as effectively outdoors as they may be being done indoors.

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Section: Factors Hindering Outdoor Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing learning in the early years’ outdoor classroom: examining challenges in practice

Davies

Hamilton

2016

Education 3-13

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“…Preschool education institutes must ensure that the children contribute an aspect in protecting the nature and environment, have knowledge and awareness of the process of nature recycling and natural occurences (Klaar & Öhman, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Environment Education in Pre-School Pupils

Özburak¹,

Batırbaygil²,

Uzunoğlu³

2018

EURASIA J MATH SCI T

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"Sustainable Environmental Education" at early ages is important for creating environmental awareness. When the content of current environmental education curriculums at schools in the North Cyprus is analyzed, it is seen that only the natural environment elements are covered. Whereas environment is divided into two that are natural and the built environment. Besides the recognition and protection of the natural environment, sustainable built elements play an important role. The aim of this study is to identify through measuring the deficiency of preschool children's level of awareness of "sustainable built environment". The study was administered to 134 five year-old preschool children at a private school in the city of Nicosia by using the qualitative approach. During the study, "Interviews" were arranged and 17 questions were asked to the children. The children's level of knowledge on "sustainable built environment" was measured through a pre-test. According to the results obtained, the children are familiar with natural elements such as the trees, animals and water around their environment but are not familiar with basic building elements or related sustainable systems such as wind turbine (25.37%), solar panels (13.43%) and green roof (8.20%). These results show us the the lack of "sustainable built environment education".

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“…A glance into the early childhood education of a group of preschoolers in Sweden offers further proof that providing children with the opportunity for independent learning in nature produces significant meaning for students. Klaara and Ohman (2014) assert that while a number of studies report valuable findings relating to the democratic and the outdoor-oriented approaches of Swedish preschool culture, none had studied these criteria in combination. The authors maintain that the study of these two criteria together create specific circumstances for both how and what children learn about nature, and how they create meaning from their experiences in nature.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, the study environment favored "autonomy, experience-based explorations and creative inquiries of nature" (p. 249). Klaara and Ohman (2014) maintain that the freedom to explore and "follow their feet" not only provides enjoyment, but also is beneficial to the development of children's self-confidence. Study results also indicate that practitioners should study the outdoor-oriented and democratic approaches in tandem, and take an active role in challenging and seeking to extend the learning available through individual student experiences.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the indicative findings of the studies are important, they deserve further validation, across a wider array of settings, broader age ranges of children, and longer periods of time. The Bixler and James (2008) study involved only 20 students in the United States, in grades 4-5, over a 3-day period; the Berg et al (2020) study involved 21 students in Western Canada, ages 8-9, for 1.5 hours each month from September to June; and the Klaara and Ohman (2014) involved a single group of preschoolers in Sweden, of a very young age (1-3), over a period of 22 days. In addition to focusing on the aspects of environmental education that help make meaning for children, it would be helpful if future studies could also seek to identify, analyze, and recommend solutions to the learning barriers which are often present in outdoor environments.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Helping Children Discover Meaning through Environmental Education: A Sample Review of the Literature

Zalla¹,

Yates²

2020

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Social interaction, freedom of choice, and hands-on activities can make the difference in helping children make meaning of the world around them. This sample review of existing literature looks at three studies that explore what factors most influenced children’s ability to make meaning through participation in environmental education programs. Articles were selected based on their relevance to the topics of making meaning and environmental education programming. The studies concluded that factors critical to children’s engagement and ability to make meaning from their experiences included their opportunities for informal social interaction, freedom of personal choice, and extent of hands-on learning activities. The studies affirmed that, for maximum benefit, environmental educators can and should challenge and inspire students to pursue their own learning. Similar research should be undertaken in more environmental settings, across wider age-ranges of children, and over longer periods of time. Future studies should also explore how best to overcome the learning barriers often present in outdoor environments. As educators, the more we know about what works well, and why, the more we can tailor meaningful, impactful experiences that best fuel the curiosity, engagement and learning of our students.

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Children's meaning-making of nature in an outdoor-oriented and democratic Swedish preschool practice

Cited by 20 publications

References 26 publications

Assessing learning in the early years’ outdoor classroom: examining challenges in practice

Assessing learning in the early years’ outdoor classroom: examining challenges in practice

Sustainable Environment Education in Pre-School Pupils

Helping Children Discover Meaning through Environmental Education: A Sample Review of the Literature

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