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

Abstract

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.

Early Childhood Teachers’ Support of Children’s Play in Nature-Based Outdoor Spaces—A Systematic Review

“…The discussion of what is known from the literature about how teachers in ECEC settings support children's play in nature-based outdoor spaces is presented in the same order as the results and relates to the theory in the introduction. The theory will be used to highlight the relationship between the educational potential of natural environments [1,2,4,6,25,31,32] and the teacher's supportive actions in play [6,17,18,20,34,66].…”

“…However, our impression is that play was understood as important both in and of itself and as an instrument for more teacher-led and teacherguided learning situations. It is noteworthy that only a few papers discussed nature play as a separate concept, as suggested by Prins et al [6]. Based on the included papers, it is difficult to differentiate between play in general and play in natural environments in particular.…”

“…A diverse natural environment can provide children with opportunities to participate in different types of play that are likely to influence social, emotional, and cognitive capacities [5]. Prins et al [6] conclude that play in natural environments has high quality because of high levels of socio-dramatic, explorative, and risky play [6]. Overall, a recent review [7] concludes that nature exposure for children is beneficial for their well-being and development.…”

“…Moreover, recent studies have shown that children in ECEC settings want teachers to be present in the play to meet their emotional needs (for example, in the context of peer interactions of exclusion and rejection [20]). Prins et al [6] found that the role of the teacher influences play quality in nature-based environments. Children's play quality improved when they were given more independent mobility licenses [21] from their teachers, meaning that teachers transferred some of their nature-based affinity and initiative to the children simultaneously as they had the freedom to play without too much adult supervision [6].…”

“…Prins et al [6] found that the role of the teacher influences play quality in nature-based environments. Children's play quality improved when they were given more independent mobility licenses [21] from their teachers, meaning that teachers transferred some of their nature-based affinity and initiative to the children simultaneously as they had the freedom to play without too much adult supervision [6].…”