The Trends and Influential Factors of Children's Use of Outdoor Environments: A Review

Abstract

In the past two decades, there has been a raft of research on children"s behaviour and their interaction with outdoor environment. The aim of this paper is to present a synthesis of 30 studies from 1985 to 2010 on children"s use of outdoor environments. The aspects taken into consideration include methodological issues and factors that influence the use of outdoor environments. The trends of the studies are discussed. In summary, the children"s place preferences and play behaviours in the outdoor environments are influenced by their developmental needs, individual, physical and social factors. Aziz, N.F., & Said, 2(5) Oct / Dec 2017 (p.97-108) 98 IntroductionIn recent years there has been a growing discourse regarding playing outdoors as both a need and right of young children, and central to their well-being. The body of the research considering children"s rights to play in the outdoor environment has raised especially investigation on children"s play behaviour and their interaction with outdoor environment. These developments have occurred in a large extent due to a range of phenomena that are hindering children"s play experiences at outdoor environments including rapid urbanisation, increase in street traffic, badly planned urban environments, pollution, pressures of educational accomplishment, creation of indoor play technologies and a lack of awareness about the importance of play for children"s development and well-being (Kernan, M. 2010). As a result of these changes, it is increasingly uncommon to see groups of children walking, running or playing on the outdoor environments without adult"s supervision. Such changes certainly have profound repercussions on the psycho-physical development of children (Castonguay, G. & Jutras, S., 2010).Children need to have the environment that addresses them, challenges them, and provides something for them to observe, to think about, to make choices, to attract their attention, to engage in their favourite activities and to give them the opportunity to meet friends. They also need the freedom to explore and to satisfy their curiosity about the world. The opportunity to be in the outdoor environment is important for the development of children"s motor and cognitive skills, interpersonal attitudes and emotions. The differences in outdoor environments such as neighborhoods, parks, playgrounds, school grounds and natural environments can comprise rich sources of stimulation and affordances for children. Affordances refer to the functional properties of the environments offering a child to interact actively with the environment (Gibson, J.J., 1979; Heft, H., 1988;Kytta, M., 2002Kytta, M., , 2004. For example, flat and smooth surfaces can allow for cycling, running and skating; smooth slopes can allow for skateboarding, while shrubs can allow for a hide and seek game. Affordances and other stimulation provided by the environment allow and support children"s exploration and play.Play has been central to the study of children"s outdoor environments. It is the prim...

Effectiveness of Kindergarten Design in Malaysia

“…Such example is in terms of the freedom of space in which renovation and expansion can occur indoor and outdoor (Corraliza et al, 2012). This promotes experiential and exploration values as a learning process when children roam about in green and large open spaces (Azlina, Aziz and Said, 2012;Dewi, 2012). In addition, the aspects of security and safety can also happen in single dwelling kindergarten as it is usually located within neighbourhood vicinity where the large community lives.…”

“…The dwelling-based design kindergarten is found to enhance children's development as it provides spacious indoor and outdoor playing area which promotes better environmental stimuli as compared to the shop lot based design kindergarten. The result of a natural setting is better focus in the classroom, better marks on standardized tests and better overall fitness of the student body (Aziz and Said, 2012;Azlina, 2012;Aziz and Said, 2012). Comfort in a child centre could be from various stimulating variables that could be played by architectural or building elements that are offered in their surroundings.…”

Repositioning Children's Developmental Needs in Space Planning: A Review of Connection to Nature

“…Physical environment such as design qualities, safety and level of affordances are another factor that cause the decline in the children's experience in the outdoor environment and nature (Aziz & Said, 2011). Trends in built environment seem to give little priority on children's developmental needs.…”

Designing an outdoor learning environment for and with a primary school community: a case study in Bangladesh

“…Children's desires and preferences are influenced by their developmental needs, physical and social factors and gender (Aziz & Said, 2012). Children want areas where they can explore (Malone & Tranter, 2003;Noradahl & Einarsdóttir, 2015), be connect with nature (Christidou et al, 2013;Jansson, Gunnarsson, Mårtensson, & Andersson, 2014;Noradahl & Einarsdóttir, 2015), be physically active (Bland & Sharma-Brymer, 2012;Christidou et al, 2013;Merewether, 2015;Noradahl & Einarsdóttir, 2015) and socialise with their friends (Clark, 2007;Merewether, 2015;Noradahl & Einarsdóttir, 2015).…”

“…The study was conducted with 29 children (16 girls and 13 boys), nine teachers and five parents in a rural Government primary school in Bangladesh. Children between the ages of 8 and 12 were included, as at this age children explore their environment and develop their own preferences for places to use and activities to perform (Aziz & Said, 2012). They also have the cognitive and language skills necessary to engage in the research process (Greig, Taylor, & MacKay, 2007).…”