Children’s experiences outdoors: Education and community contexts

Mehmet Mart; Helen Little; Helen Bilton; Michaela Kadury-Slezak

doi:10.37291/2717638X.202343339

Authors

Mehmet Mart Necmettin Erbakan University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5055-9951
Helen Little Macquarie University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2376-2601
Helen Bilton University of Reading https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2001-2530
Michaela Kadury-Slezak Levinsky-Wingate Academic College https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2091-8531

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37291/2717638X.202343339

Keywords:

Outdoor, Outdoor play, Outdoor learning, Early childhood education

Abstract

Children’s right to play is enshrined in Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 1990). The early childhood period is a time when children’s values and dispositions towards outdoor play and environments are formed. Children have an intrinsic drive and natural curiosity to explore the world around them and outdoor environments are a key context for this exploration. Outdoor play and learning provide significant benefits for all aspects of children’s development - physical, cognitive, social and emotional (Brussoni et al., 2015).

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