Utilisation and Design of Kindergarten Outdoor Space and the Outdoor Activities: A Case Study of Kindergartens in Bergen, Norway and Anji in China

Abstract

Compared with Norwegian kindergartens that emphasize how outdoor activity benefits young children’s integrated development, Chinese kindergartens reluctantly encourage children to go outside for long time. A county named Anji in South China’s Zhejiang province has started to change this approach to outdoor play. Kindergartens there provide outdoor equipment to support children’s outdoor activities for longer periods of time. This approach is called Anji Play and has been recommended by Chinese Ministry of Education for all of the country. It has also attracted ECE experts overseas. In this chapter, we describe and analyse children’s outdoor play in an Anji setting and in a Norwegian kindergarten from the perspective of the utilisation and design of kindergarten outdoor space. The study takes an ethnographic approach. We collected photo observations, anecdotal recording and interviews from one kindergarten in Bergen, Norway and one in Anji, China. The observation results focusing on outdoor play in the two kindergartens were discussed with kindergarten teachers, principals, professors and college students from China and Norway. Our aim was to interpret the core concepts, goals and concerns of Norwegian and Anji play from multiple perspectives to understand children’s cultural formation in the two cultural contexts. We found the cultural values and traditions influence how outdoor play is performed and there are clear links between culture and children’s cultural formation.

Cultivating Young Children’s Positive Emotions: Based on Anji Play

“…For example, slopes with different angles of inclination enable children to perceive different senses of space. Moreover, Anji Kindergarten provides a wide variety and quantity of low-structure materials for children to learn to explore [27]. The comprehensive and fresh game environment is full of excitement and challenges, which can greatly arouse children's interest in games, bring them positive emotional experiences and cultivate their spirit of adventure [28].…”

“…Research has shown that both the moving and pleasant experiences of positive emotional experiences contribute significantly to creativity [30]. In the Anji game, children build their own fancy objects with various bamboo toys, crawl fearlessly on the tall climbing frame and play freely in the mud, which is enough to let children feel the great freedom and pleasure brought by the natural environment, thus stimulating creativity and enriching play experience [27].…”