Outdoor play and learning practices from a comparative case study perspective

Georgia Gessiou; Mehmet Mart

doi:10.37291/2717638X.202343283

Authors

Georgia Gessiou Independent Researcher https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8128-6116
Mehmet Mart Necmettin Erbakan University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5055-9951

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37291/2717638X.202343283

Keywords:

Outdoor play, Practices, Case study, Early years, Comparison

Abstract

Outdoor play and learning (OPL) is emphasised differently across countries, and cultural aspects influence these practices. There are ongoing debates around outdoor learning in early years, and the communication of the value, effectiveness, and applicability of OPL across schools has encountered obstacles due to various factors. The diversity of implementations within different cultures is obvious, and there are even some variations within the same country in terms of practices and understanding of the philosophy of OPL. The current case study contributes to the gap in mapping OPL practices using a comparative approach in two types of case schools in three countries: England, Greece, and Türkiye. This study offers insights from both teachers’ and head teachers’ perspectives in addition to considering observation notes. Several themes emerged from the analysis, including ‘components of schools’ daily life outdoors, forest trips and excursions, from break time to their time, and the question of training’. In conclusion, school culture and the selected educational philosophy appear to have a more significant impact on OPL practices than environmental features alone. However, the findings indicate that schools lack a strategic and systematic approach to the deployment of OPL into the school philosophy. In terms of focusing more on the outdoors, personal values play a significant role, as does the support of stakeholders. The practical similarities and differences highlighted in this study can support the development of OPL practices and inform stakeholders in the early years to reconsider their contexts and potentially introduce transformative changes.

References

Asfeldt, M., Purc-Stephenson, R., Rawleigh, M., & Thackeray, S. (2020). Outdoor education in Canada: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 21(4), 297-397. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2020.1784767

Aşkar, N. (2021). Açık havada eğitim: Okul öncesi eğitim programı materyalleri bağlamında bir değerlendirme [Outdoor education: An evaluation in the context of preschool education program materials]. Yaşadıkça Eğitim, 35(1), 132–153. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33308/26674874.2021351236

Askerlund, P., Almers, E., Tuvendal, M., & Waite, S. (2022). Growing nature connection through greening schoolyards: Preschool teachers’ response to ecosystem services innovations. Education 3-13, 1-12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2022.2148485

Blenkinsop, S., Telford, J., & Morse, M. (2016). A surprising discovery: Five pedagogical skills outdoor and experiential educators might offer more mainstream educators in this time of change. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 16(4), 346–358. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2016.1163272

Canning, N. (2022). Implementing an empowerment framework: The significance for children’s play environments and reflective practice. Education Sciences, 12(8), 556-573. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12080556

Cheng, T., Brussoni, M., Han, C., Munday F., & Zeni, M. (2022). Perceived challenges of early childhood educators in promoting unstructured outdoor play: An ecological systems perspective. Early Years, 26, 1-17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2022.2034140

Children's Commissioner (2018). Playing out: A Children’s Commissioner’s report on the importance to children of play and physical activity. Children’s Commissioner.

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Sage Publications.

Dafermou, H., Koulouri, P., & Basagianni, E. (2006). Preschool teacher guide. Pedagogical Institute, Ministry of National Education and Religion.

DeBord, K., Hestenes, L., Moore, R. C., Cosco, N. G., & McGinnis, J. R. (2005). Preschool outdoor environment measurement scale. Kaplan Early Learning.

Department for Education. (2021). Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage: Setting the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to five. www.gov.uk/ofsted.

Dowdell, K., Gray, T., & Malone, K. (2011). Nature and its influence on children’s outdoor play. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 15(2), 24–35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03400925

Dyment, J. E., Chick, H. L., Walker, C. T., & Macqueen, T. P. N. (2018). Pedagogical content knowledge and the teaching of outdoor education. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 18(4), 303–322. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2018.1451756

Engdahl, K., Brodin, J., & Lindstrand, P. (2006). Play and Interaction in two Preschool yards. In J. Brodin & P. Lindstrand (Eds.), Interaction in Outdoor Play Environments: Gender, culture and learning (Vol. 47). Stocholm Institute of Education. http://www.buv.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.75636.1328875727!/menu/standard/file/TKH_47.pdf

Evans, N., & Acton, R. (2021). Narratives of teaching in outdoor and environmental education: What can we learn from a case study of outdoor education pedagogy?. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 22(3), 214- 227. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2021.1902828

Flannigan, C., & Dietze, B. (2018). Children, outdoor play, and loose parts. Journal of Childhood Studies, 42(4), 53–60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18357/jcs.v42i4.18103

Gelter, H. (2000). Friluftsliv: The Scandinavian philosophy of outdoor life. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 5(1), 77–92.

Gemmell, E., Ramsden, R., Brussoni, M., & Brauer, M. (2022). Influence of neighborhood built environments on the outdoor free play of young children: A systematic, mixed-studies review and thematic synthesis. Journal of Urban Health, 100, 118-150. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-022-00696-6

Gessiou, G. (2022). A follow-up review on the impact of a participatory action research regarding outdoor play and learning. Education. Sciences. 12(10), 679- 692. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12100679

Gessiou, G., & Sakellariou, M. (2015). Taking learning outdoors. Outdoor kindergarten places as educational tools for children's play, development and learning. In E. Gourgiotou, & K. Ouggrinis, (Eds.), Aρχιτεκτoνικές και εκπαιδευτικές παρεμβάσεις για τη δημιoυργία τóπων μάθησης στo Nηπιαγωγείo [Architectural & educational interventions to create learning places in kindergarten] (pp. 227–253). Disigma Publications

Ginsburg, K. R. (2007). The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds. Pediatrics, 119(1), 182–191. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2006-2697

Guest, G., MacQuenn, K. M., & Namey, E. E. (2012). Applied thematic analysis. Sage Publications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483384436

Harris, F. (2015). The nature of learning at forest school: practitioners' perspectives. Education 3-13, 52(2), 272–291. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2015.1078833

Jansson, M., & Lerstrup, I. (2021). Children’s perspectives on green space management in Sweden and Denmark. In M. Khan, S. Bell, & J. Wood (Eds.), Place, pedagogy and play: Participation, design and research with children (pp. 194–208). Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429023477-16

Josephidou, J., Kemp, N., & Durrant, I. (2021). Outdoor provision for babies and toddlers: Exploring the practice/policy/research nexus in English ECEC settings. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 29(6), 925-941. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2021.1985555

Kravtsov, G. G., & Kravtsova, E. E. (2010). Play in L.S. Vygotsky’s nonclassical psychology. Journal of Russian and East European Psychology, 48(4), 25–41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2753/RPO1061-0405480403

Leather, M. (2018). A critique of “Forest School” or something lost in translation. Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education, 21, 5–18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42322-017-0006-1

Leggett, N., & Newman, L. (2017). Play: Challenging educators’ beliefs about play in the indoor and outdoor environment. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 42(1), 24–32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.23965/AJEC.42.1.03

Lund Fasting, M., & Hoyem, J. (2022). Freedom, joy and wonder as existential categories of childhood—Reflections on experiences and memories of outdoor play. Journal of Adventure Education Outdoor Learning, 1-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2022.2066008

Lysklett, O. (2017). Nature preschools in Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Norway: Characteristics and differences. In T. Waller, E. Ärlemalm-Hagsér, E. Beate Hansen Sandseter, L. Lee-Hammond, K. Lekies, & S. Wyver (Eds.), The Sage Publications handbook of outdoor play and learning (pp. 242–250). Sage Publications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526402028.n16

Mannion, G., Fenwick, A., & Lynch, J. (2013). Place-responsive pedagogy: Learning from teachers’ experiences of excursions in nature. Environmental Education Research, 19(6), 792–809. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2012.749980

Marchant, E., Todd, C., Cooksey, R., Dredge, S., Jones, H., Reynolds, D., Stratton, G., Dwyer, R., & Lyons, R., Brophy, S. (2019). Curriculum-based outdoor learning for children aged 9-11: A qualitative analysis of pupils’ and teachers’ views. Plos One, 14(5), 1-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212242

Maynard, T., & Waters, J. (2007). Learning in the outdoor environment: A missed opportunity?. Early Years: An International Research Journal, 27(3), 255–265. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09575140701594400

McClintic, S., & Petty, K. (2013). Exploring early childhood teachers’ beliefs and practices about preschool outdoor play: A qualitative study. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 36(1), 24-43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2014.997844

Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). An expanded sourcebook: Qualitative data analysis (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.

Ministry of National Education. (2013). Okul öncesi eğitim programı [Preschool education programme]. Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı. http://tegm.meb.gov.tr/dosya/okuloncesi/ooproram.pdf

Ozturk, Y., & Ozer, Z. (2022). Outdoor play activities and outdoor environment of early childhood education in Turkey: A qualitative meta-synthesis. Early Child Development and Care, 192(11), 1752–1767. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2021.1932865

Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods (4th ed.). Sage Publications.

Payne, P., & Wattchow, B. (2009). Phenomenological deconstruction, slow pedagogy, and the corporeal turn in wild environmental/outdoor education. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 14(1), 15–32.

Potter, T. G., & Dyment, J. E. (2016). Is outdoor education a discipline? Insights, gaps, and future directions. Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 16(2), 146–159. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2015.1121767

Sandseter, E. B. H., & Kennair, L. E. O. (2011). Children’s risky play from an evolutionary perspective: The anti-phobic effects of thrilling experiences. Evolutionary Psychology, 9(2), 257–284. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491100900212

Sandseter, E. B. H., Storli R., & Sando, O. J. (2022). The dynamic relationship between outdoor environments and children’s play, Education 3-13, 50(1), 97-110. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2020.1833063

Skarstein, T. H., & Ugelstad, I. B. (2020). Outdoors as an arena for science learning and physical education in kindergarten. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 28(6), 923–938. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2020.1836590

Stevens, C. (2013). The growing child: Laying the foundations of active learning and physical health. Routledge.

Sutherland, S., Stuhr, P. T., & Ayvazo, S. (2016). Learning to teach: Pedagogical content knowledge in adventure-based learning. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 21(3), 233–248. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2014.931365

Thomas, G. J. (2019). Effective teaching and learning strategies in outdoor education: Findings from two residential programmes based in Australia. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 19(3), 242-255. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2018.1519450

Waters, J., & Maynard T. (2010). What's so interesting outside? A study of children‐initiated interaction with teachers in the natural outdoor environment. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 18(4), 473-483. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2010.525939

Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and method (4th ed.). Sage Publications Publications