Green Space as Classroom: Outdoor School Teachers’ Use, Preferences and Ecostrategies (original) (raw)
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Potentialities and Challenges of Green School Ground for Children’s Outdoor Learning: A Review
Studies on green school ground suggest that the setting provides abundance of opportunities for children to play and learn outside their classrooms, simultaneously optimize their development. The aim of this paper is to present a synthesis of 20 studies from 1990 to 2010, discussed about the outdoor activities in the school ground. The aspects taken into consideration include the relationship between school ground design and children's behaviour, and its impact on their development, and the perception of children, teachers and parents about the potentialities and challenges of green school ground for outdoor learning. In summary, green school ground plays a significant role as site for experiential learning that increases children's learning opportunity and improves their performance by providing a range of play opportunity and social interaction. However, poor school design, shortage of resources, support and initiatives, curricula requirements, teacher's expertise and weather are among the challenges for green school ground.
Using a conceptual model focused on purposes, aims, content, pedagogy, outcomes, and barriers, we review and interpret literature on two forms of outdoor learning: Forest Schools in England and udeskole in Denmark. We examine pedagogical principles within a comparative analytical framework and consider how adopted pedagogies reflect and refract the culture in which they are embedded. Despite different national educational and cultural contexts, English Forest Schools and Danish udeskole share several commonalities within a naturalistic/ progressive pedagogical tradition; differences appear in the degree of integration within national educational systems. Global calls for increased connection to nature and recent alignment of results-driven school systems in both countries influence their foundational principles, perhaps leading to greater convergence in the future. We argue that close attention to pedagogical principles are necessary to ensure better alignment of purpose and practice to elicit specific outcomes and enable comparison between different types.
Children’s perspectives on green space management in Sweden and Denmark
2020
Introduction: The work of green space managers – local authority department staff, external contractors, or caretakers employed by institutions or companies – can be expected to have a great effect on child-friendliness by affecting mainly physical, but also socio-environmental determinants. The Scandinavian countries have a history of being world- leading in work to improve the child-friendliness of environments, with much awareness of this issue during the early and mid-twentieth century. Children’s levels of independent mobility are generally high, but diminishing, probably due to urban densification and increased car traffic (Bj o rklid and Gummesson, 2013 ). The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has been ratified and promoted, but less attention has been given to later international movements, and planning in Scandinavia has been criticised for not taking a child-friendly direction (Bjorklid and Nordstrom, 2007 ), with a focus on densification, urban character and new pu...
2024
This research aims to verify the effect of outdoor green teaching experiences on school affective qualities, perceived restorativeness, school climate, and global well-being in a sample of school teachers. A comparison was conducted between teachers who work mainly indoors and those who frequently run school activities outdoors in green spaces. A sample of kindergarten and primary school teachers working in different Italian regions (n = 209) filled in an online questionnaire including the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS-11), the Scale of Affective Qualities of Place, and the Revised School Level Environment Questionnaire (RSLEQ). Zero-order correlations, preliminary descriptive analyses of variance (ANOVAs) to compare teachers conducting Outdoor Education (vs. teachers conducting only or almost always indoor education), and structural equation modeling (SEM) were carried out on the measured variables. Results from ANOVAs evidenced that teachers conducting outdoor green education show higher levels of perceived affective qualities and restorativeness than teachers working mainly indoors. The model tested through SEM analysis showed that positive affective qualities attributed to the school are associated with higher levels of restorativeness and this, in turn, is linked to a more positive perception of social relationships at school, which increases life satisfaction. Overall, these outcomes support previous research demonstrating the beneficial psychological effects of nature experiences, also in the school environment.
International Journal of Early Childhood
Children's early engagement in design of outdoor spaces can form the basis of later attitudes and responsible action for sustainability. The present study is part of a participatory action research project in an urban multi-ethnic preschool in Sweden, involving children, parents, preschool staff and management with a focus on improving the preschool playground. The methodology involved children taking pictures of the outdoor space, informal participant observation by one researcher and conversations with children and teachers. Analyses completed of selected fieldwork excerpts focus on learning opportunities for children and adults, children’s participation, cooperation and leadership for sustainability. Deeper awareness and confidence, and practical pedagogies for staff in preschools are required for effective sustainability education. A joint frame of reference on pedagogical practices and processes for reflection is needed within and across early childhood institutions. More c...
This research review has been produced at the request of Utenavet-the National Network for Promoting Outdoor-based Learning in Sweden. Utenavet distributes knowledge and inspiration about outdoor education and nature guidance and works for an introduction of outdoor education into the Swedish educational system on all levels. Utenavet communicates good examples of outdoor space based education, and one of its major intentions is to demonstrate how experiences in nature and cultural heritage can contribute to the achievement of curricular goals. In addition, Utenavet regularly arranges conferences for teachers, pedagogues, city and public health planners in Sweden and the Nordic countries.
‘Let's go outside’: Icelandic teachers' views of using the outdoors
Education 3-13, 2014
This article discusses the views of 25 Icelandic preschool and compulsory school teachers who were interviewed on the role of the outdoor environment in children's learning. The teachers reported not being afraid to take children outside. These teachers valued the learning potentials of the outdoors more than they feared the possible risks. They believed that the outdoors could provide opportunities for (a) enhancing children's play and learning (b) promoting children's health, well-being, and courage, and (c) affecting children's views, knowledge, and actions towards sustainability.
Multifunction Green Open Space for Environmental Education
KnE Social Sciences
With huge pressures from a rapidly growing population, Jakarta suffers from an increasingly low Environmental Quality Index (IKLH). In 2016 and 2017 it was the only province in Indonesia with the IKLH index “alert” according to the Ministry of Environmental and Forestry. Improving the quantity and quality of Green Open Space (GOS) is one way to counter this issue, and this initiative is undertaken by the DKI Jakarta Government to improve the quality of its environment. However, land limitations remain a challenge. The solution of the DKI Jakarta Government is to create multifunction GOS that combine various interests and facilities. The purpose of this study is to identify potential educational benefits from multifunction GOS, using qualitative analysis via literature study. The results suggest that the GOS provide economic, social and educational improvements. Most of the articles said that education through GOS is the second benefit that people can get. This study concludes that G...