Outdoor Learning Environments

Spaces for exploration, discovery and risk-taking in the early years

Sue Elliott

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000246759
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Early Childhood Education

Educators have a key pedagogical role in promoting early years outdoor play in natural environments. Active outdoor play involving risk-taking has been linked to positive effects on social health and behaviour, and encourages physical activity and motor skill development. At the same time, it has been recognised that opportunities for children to experience outdoor learning have been reduced in recent decades due to the impacts of technology, urbanisation and social change. This book brings together renowned authors, with research and professional experience in a range of disciplines, to provide a comprehensive guide to developing positive and engaging outdoor learning environments in the early years. Part 1 looks at pedagogy and outdoor environments, and considers the value of risk-taking and developing a young child's appreciation of the natural world. Part 2 examines the key principles involved in the design and planning of these spaces, such as applying the relevant equipment standards and regulations. Part 3 explores how educators can develop an understanding of children's own perspectives on outdoor spaces, including promoting agency and recognising the importance of private playspaces. Part 4 examines different cultural perspectives on outdoor play, including Indigenous approaches, while Part 5 considers the range of experiences possible beyond purposefully-designed spaces, from visiting nature reserves to exploring urban environments.'A much needed and comprehensive resource for pre-service teachers and educators of young children that encompasses philosophies, theories, pedagogy and practice for purposeful engagement of children in all kinds of outdoor spaces in Australia.'
- Dr Kumara Ward, Director of Academic Program: Early Childhood Education, Western Sydney University
'This seminal work will provide a shared language and framework for educators, policy developers, community builders and researchers in exploring the justifications for engaging children in well considered outdoor learning places and spaces.'
- Leanne Grogan, School of Education, Outdoor and Environmental Studies, La Trobe University.

Chapter 1
Why do outdoor play and learning matter?

Helen Little, Sue Elliott and Shirley Wyver

This chapter presents an overview of outdoor environments as spaces for promoting children’s learning, development and wellbeing. It examines the historical and contemporary outdoor play literature and looks at the status of outdoor play in the early years across early childhood education centres and schools, particularly in relation to how outdoor play is viewed within the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) (DEEWR, 2009), the National Quality Standard (NQS) (ACECQA, 2016a) and the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2015). The chapter also provides an overview of contemporary issues impacting on children’s outdoor play and the chapter perspectives presented in this book.

Provocation

When examining the history of early years education, it is apparent that the seminal thinkers understood the unique and important contribution of the outdoors in early learning and development. While the most documented early education philosophies are mainly European, it is recognised that most, if not all, cultural groups traditionally have supported children’s learning by establishing connections with nature. Rapid urbanisation and opportunities for relocation/migration have brought about many changes, but at the same time have made it more difficult for children to have high-quality outdoor experiences. Connections with nature and local communities are being lost through shifts from rural to urban contexts and immigration. For example, people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds are considered to be at high risk of drowning in Australia. This is partly because most other countries lack the surf lifesaving resources available in Australia and therefore these are not accessed; it is also due to a lack of understanding of Australian aquatic conditions (Australian Water Safety Council, 2012). When the transmission of knowledge from one generation to the next is lost, or is not as useful due to change in context, it becomes easy to see the ‘new nature’ and ‘new social communities’ as dangerous. These types of fears, along with changed traffic conditions and similar disruptions within communities, have led to reduced opportunities for children to engage in outdoor play (Carver, Timperio, & Crawford 2008; Wyver et al., 2010).

Early years education in settings such as long day care, preschools and schools has two important and sometimes conflicting responsibilities:

1. Early education settings provide holistic programs offering experiences that may stimulate all areas of children’s learning and development. Settings—particularly those prior to school—focus on key skills, such as social interaction, conflict-resolution, creativity and the development of autonomy. Outdoor environments are dynamic and offer spontaneous learning opportunities, such as finding a dead baby bird that has fallen from a nest high in a tree. Such experiences frequently elicit extended questions and discussions that are unlikely to be captured in more formal contexts, and may include questions about the perspectives of other species and the moralities of life and death in nature.
2. Early education settings may also be viewed as compensatory for deficits in other areas of children’s lives. In particular, education settings can be seen as contexts in which healthy behaviours are established (Adelman & Taylor, 2006; Keshavarz et al., 2010). A focus on sound nutrition, physical activity and other behaviours that promote lifelong health and sustainable living is therefore seen as important, and many argue that outdoor play offers the best way to achieve these outcomes (Bundy et al., 2011; Davis, 2015; Ginsburg, 2007).

Historical influences on contemporary approaches to outdoor learning

Outdoor play has been a feature of early years education for centuries. The educational philosophies and pedagogical approaches of Rousseau (1712–78) and Froebel (1782–1852) have been influential in emphasising the unique contribution of the natural environment as an important resource and context, within which children learn through their sensory interactions with the physical world. Underlying these approaches was the belief that, through their engagement and observations within the environment, children actively solved problems through play and constructed knowledge through experimentation and exploration (Änggard, 2010; Lascarides & Hinitz, 2000). In particular, through these experiences children learned to love nature early, coming to understand natural objects by using their senses, rather than through the explanations and words of their teachers (Änggard, 2010; Herrington, 2001).

Froebel’s philosophy was particularly influential in the establishment of early childhood education in Australia. Largely in response to concerns for the welfare and education of young children living in poverty, early educational pioneers, including Maybanke Anderson, Lillian de Lissa and Frances Newton, established kindergartens in New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland, while in Victoria the first free kindergartens were established mainly by church-based organisations. In keeping with Froebelian philosophy, the outdoors was prominent in these kindergartens (Press & Wong, 2013).

Access to outdoor play was also on the agenda in the wider community context. For example, in the United Kingdom, Lady Marjorie Allen of Hurtwood (1897–1976) was principally responsible for introducing the concept of adventure playgrounds after visiting this type of playground in Copenhagen, Denmark. These community playgrounds were recognised as spaces where children could enjoy being able to move things around, utilising loose parts such as sticks, stones, boxes, ropes and other open-ended play materials, and testing themselves in response to new challenges (Allen, 1968). Adventure playgrounds still thrive as community hubs for children and families in some Australian inner-city areas today. Further, as an architect, Lady Allen of Hurtwood was concerned about trends occurring in the 1960s, such as increasing housing density and the lack of open spaces, which were impinging on children’s play (Allen, 1968). One can only imagine what she might have said today.

Each of these pioneers challenged the ideas and practices of their time. They are a reminder that while traditional practices have their place, we also need to question current practices and be prepared to consider, and even argue for, alternative ways. Pedagogical and curriculum approaches in the early years are diverse and dynamic, constantly evolving in response to current contexts and issues. The chapters in this book present a range of provocations and ideas drawing on contemporary theories, research and practice to challenge the reader to adopt a critically reflective examination of outdoor learning and pedagogy.

Outdoor play in children’s lives today

A number of social and environmental factors are impacting on children’s lives today, ranging from mobility to urban planning and design, and increasingly indoor-focused attractions. A range of studies have uncovered an astonishing reduction in children’s independent mobility. For example, in England in 1971, 55 per cent of children aged under 10 years were allowed to travel alone to destinations other than school that were within walking distance, whereas almost no children were allowed to travel alone by 2010 (Shaw et al., 2015). In order to map changes over time, Schoeppe and colleagues (2016) examined five separate Australian cross-sectional studies conducted in 1991, 1993, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The studies were comparable in terms of collecting data from children and parents, and having a focus on primary school children (aged 8–13 years). The percentage of children travelling to school independently dropped from 61 per cent in 1991 to 32 per cent in 2012, and significantly fewer girls than boys travelled independently. Detailed studies with small numbers of participants have also revealed significant changes. A study of three generations from two families in Sheffield in the United Kingdom, in which a grandparent, parent and child (aged 6 and 10 years) from each family were interviewed, revealed that grandparents and parents had options of places to go ‘without permission’, a freedom no longer available to the children in this study. The number of places to which children could go independently with permission was reduced compared with parents and grandparents (Woolley & Griffin, 2015). While parents remember their positive experiences of playing outdoors and recognise the benefits, their desire to protect their children means that parents increasingly are restricting children’s unsupervised play and playspaces (Little, 2015). The mothers in Little’s (2015) study recalled their childhood play environments were many and varied, both in terms of locations and the activities in which they engaged. Exploration of their neighbourhood and the natural environment, and activities such as bike riding, bushwalking and climbing trees, were common in their descriptions of childhood play experiences. In comparison, their own children experience fairly restricted environments. Despite acknowledging that the neighbourhood in which they live was reasonably safe, many of the parents indicated that they would not allow their child to experience the same freedom they enjoyed. These studies have identified recurrent themes in the sources of parental fears, with ‘stranger danger’ figuring very strongly in their concerns, followed by hazards related to increased traffic and exposure to bullying and other anti-social behaviour from older children.

A number of other social and environmental factors have been identified to explain these changes in children’s outdoor play. Poor urban planning when neighbourhoods have been redeveloped has led to children not only having fewer outdoor places to play, but also having difficulty accessing those that are available without assistance (see Chapter 14). Housing blocks are becoming smaller and high-density housing with limited outdoor space is becoming more prevalent. In 2004, the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ analysis of building approvals demonstrated a steady decrease in the size of building blocks—in the period from 1994 to 2004, the average site area for new homes decreased by almost 70 square metres from 802 to 735 square metres. At the same time, the floor area of new houses increased by 39 square metres. In other words, we are building bigger houses on increasingly smaller blocks, and Australia currently is the world leader in house sizes. As a result, the space traditionally available for children to play in their own backyards has decreased—not to mention the negative ecological, health and wellbeing impacts of reduced backyards (Hall, 2010). When considered alongside the trend for these outdoor spaces to be entertainment areas (Wyver et al., 2010), with adults in mind, the appeal as a playspace for a child is somewhat questionable.

There are also many more indoor-focused attractions for children, whether these be organised extra-curricular classes or screen-based technologies, drawing children away from outdoor pursuits. This is an increasingly researched field and indicates some causative factors of childhood obesity along with nutrition concerns (Vandewater et al., 2007; Rutherford, Biron & Skouteris, 2011). Magarey, Daniels and Boulton (2001) found that 25 per cent of children in Australia were overweight or obese, and this level has been sustained according to more recent reports, with childhood obesity still considered an issue (Commonwealth DHA, 2014). The Commonwealth government has published Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Guidelines for Early Childhood Settings (Commonwealth DHA, 2009), among a range of resources to support educators working with families, to address this significant public health concern.

Evidence is accruing that inexpensive improvements in outdoor play can lead to increases in children’s physical activity (Engelen et al., 2013; Hyndman et al., 2014). Recently, a systematic review of eighteen separate studies of risky outdoor play—that is, outdoor play that is thrilling, exciting and has the possibility of physical injury (see Chapter 2)—found this type of play to be associated with positive effects on a range of health indicators, including social health and behaviours, injuries and lower aggression (Brussoni, Brunelle et al., 2015; Brussoni, Gibbons et al., 2015). Findings from the systematic review have led to an important position statement:

Access to active play in nature and outdoors—with its risks—is essential for healthy child development. We recommend increasing children’s opportunities for self-directed play outdoors in all settings—at home, at school, in child care, the community and in nature (Tremblay et al., 2015, p. 6476).

Outdoor learning environments in the early years

Early years settings represent a significant context for outdoor play opportunities in children’s lives. The historical traditions of valuing outdoor learning environments is reflected in the early years curriculum documents of many countries (e.g. Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Scotland); however, with the emphasis on academic outcomes-based approaches, the potential of the outdoor learning environment is often under-recognised. The Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) (DEEWR, 2009), the NQS (ACECQA, 2016a) and National Regulations (ACECQA, 2016b) all recognise the importance of outdoor play environments as an integral part of the earl...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of tables and figures
• Contributors
• 1 Why do outdoor play and learning matter?
• Part 1: Outdoor environments as pedagogical spaces
• Part 2: Designing and planning for outdoor learning
• Part 3: Children’s voices
• Part 4: Cultural perspectives
• Part 5: The outdoors and beyond
• Acknowledgements
• Index