Affordances in outdoor environments and children's physically active play in pre‐school

Storli, Rune; Hagen, Trond Løge

doi:10.1080/1350293x.2010.525923

Cited by 79 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The increased motor competence and confidence that children gain through these experiences are likely to contribute to physical fitness and ongoing engagement in physical activity (Stodden et al 2008). However, Storli and Hagen (2010) suggest that traditional early childhood playgrounds may not provide enough challenge for children to promote physical activity or motor development. In line with this, Fjørtoft (2001) found that natural environments facilitated better balance and coordination skills than traditional playgrounds.…”

Section: Physical Activity and Risk-takingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Affordances for Risk-Taking and Physical Activity in Australian Early Childhood Education Settings

Little

Sweller

2014

Early Childhood Educ J

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Motor competence and physical activity (PA) patterns are established during the early childhood years. Early childhood education (ECE) settings are an important context for children's engagement in physically active play. This paper reports the findings from an online survey examining resources, spaces and affordances for PA and risk-taking in outdoor play provision at 245 ECE centres across Australia. Centres were generally well resourced to promote physical play and provide a diverse range of experiences that support PA and motor development, although varied in terms of opportunities for risk-taking in play. Most respondents believed the environment at their centres supported children's engagement in moderate to vigorous PA, however, regulatory restrictions relating to recommended height limits on climbing apparatus and having insufficient space were identified as factors limiting opportunities for challenging, physically active play. Outdoor space and teacher support are identified as important factors in childhood settings to promote PA and risk-taking. The emphasis on outdoor environments as a mediator of physically active play should be beneficial in directing limited resources to the provision of environments that are most likely to produce positive PA outcomes.

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Section: Physical Activity and Risk-takingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Affordances for Risk-Taking and Physical Activity in Australian Early Childhood Education Settings

Little

Sweller

2014

Early Childhood Educ J

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“…(Teacher 2) The comments made by these practitioners support a wide literature base which documents the benefits of outdoor learning on children's development (e.g. Waite and Davis 2007;Knight 2009;Storli and Hagen 2010;Eloquin and Hutchinson 2011;Tovey and Waller 2014). However, it is important to problematize the stereotypical, homogenous assumptions that some practitioners hold about who has most to gain from outdoor learning and assessment.…”

Section: Who Benefits?mentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Some argue the benefits to learning and development are so significant that an indoor based education alone is not sufficient to fully educate children (Waite 2011). The outdoor environment has much potential for promoting children's cognitive and physical development (Waite and Davis 2007;Storli and Hagen 2010); communication, social and emotional development (Knight 2009;Eloquin and Hutchinson 2011); socio-cultural identity (Aasen et al 2009); levels of concentration and motivation to learn (O'Brien 2009;Eloquin and Hutchinson 2011); and children are more likely to initiate interaction and engage in shared thinking and questioning (Waters 2013). However, it is not the intention of this paper to explore the benefits of outdoor learning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing learning in the early years’ outdoor classroom: examining challenges in practice

Davies

Hamilton

2016

Education 3-13

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The benefit the outdoor environment has for young children's development is widely documented. However, there is less literature outlining practitioners' experiences of assessing learning in the outdoors and factors which impact the level and quality of assessments undertaken. This study, based on a pragmatic mixed methods approach, undertaken in 9 early years' settings in North Wales, reports the findings of 37 practitioners. The research suggests that assessing children in the outdoors is not used to its potential. Factors impeding the use of the outdoor classroom include: lack of appropriate resources; level of staff expertise; child-staff ratio; adverse weather; and changes to curriculum policy which place emphasis on the formal assessment of children. There appears to be assumptions about learners most likely to benefit from outdoor learning and assessment: boys; children in socio-economically deprived areas; and children with additional learning needs. The paper highlights the need for broader training opportunities for practitioners on planning for learning and assessment in the outdoors that go beyond a single course focus. With creative planning, there is no reason why summative assessments of all areas of learning within the early years' curriculum, cannot be done as effectively outdoors as they may be being done indoors.

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“…However, understanding of the complexity of the impact of environmental circumstances on children's physical activity behaviour is limited. A recent study on the effects of different day care playgrounds on children's activity levels indicated little environmental impact; rather the activity levels differed on an individual basis (Storli 2010). However, the authors raised the important point that although environment affordances may have little impact on cardio-metabolic physical activity, they may be important for qualitative interpretations of skill and economy of movement (Storli 2010).…”

Section: Limiting Environmental Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent study on the effects of different day care playgrounds on children's activity levels indicated little environmental impact; rather the activity levels differed on an individual basis (Storli 2010). However, the authors raised the important point that although environment affordances may have little impact on cardio-metabolic physical activity, they may be important for qualitative interpretations of skill and economy of movement (Storli 2010). We recommend that future studies more extensively explore what types of activities and facilities in the day care context should be targeted to foster children's vigorous physical activity behaviours and gross motor skill development.…”

Section: Limiting Environmental Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Directly observed physical activity and fundamental motor skills in four-year-old children in day care

Iivonen

Sääkslahti

Mehtälä

et al. 2016

European Early Childhood Education Research Journal

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Physical activity (PA), its location, social interactions and fundamental motor skills were investigated in four-year-old Finnish children in day care. Six skills in the stability, locomotor and manipulative domains were assessed in 53 children (24 boys, 29 girls, normal anthropometry) with the APM-Inventory manual for assessing children's perceptual and fundamental motor skills (Numminen, 1995) and Total Motor Scores (TMS; 0-6 points) calculated. PA intensity, location, group composition and activity type − sitting, squatting, kneeling − were directly observed with a modified version of the Observational System for Recording Physical Activity in Children-Preschool Version (OSRAC-P) (Brown et al. 2006) during three consecutive days in 14 centres.

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Affordances in outdoor environments and children's physically active play in pre‐school

Cited by 79 publications

References 9 publications

Affordances for Risk-Taking and Physical Activity in Australian Early Childhood Education Settings

Affordances for Risk-Taking and Physical Activity in Australian Early Childhood Education Settings

Assessing learning in the early years’ outdoor classroom: examining challenges in practice

Directly observed physical activity and fundamental motor skills in four-year-old children in day care

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