Learning while playing: Children's Forest School experiences in the UK

Abstract

Children's outdoor play is declining, despite clear links between play, learning and development. Alternative learning initiatives which provide children with a diversity of play opportunities, including the chance to play outdoors, are therefore needed. One such programme, Forest School, is increasing in popularity in the UK and internationally, yet little is understood about its impact on children's learning, or how alternative approaches are informing learning in mainstream settings. This novel study examined primary school children's experiences of engaging in a Forest School programme in relation to this intersection between formal and informal approaches to learning. It explored how children interpret their experiences when faced with a fusion of learning environments and critically evaluates the benefits children realise, when asked to reflect on their learning engagement in both classroom and outdoor settings. Interviews were conducted with 33 children from two mainstream primary schools in England who had recently completed a 6‐week Forest School programme. A rigorous phenomenological thematic analysis revealed three inter‐related themes: a break from routine; learning through play; collaboration and teamwork. The findings suggest that the blending of Forest School with mainstream settings contributes to children's social, cognitive, emotional and physical skill development through experiential learning using play. These findings are significant because they not only emphasise the values of social constructivist play‐pedagogy which underpin Forest School practice, but also highlight the need for primary schools to consider learning outside of the classroom as an effective pedagogy.

‘That’s given me a bit more hope’ – adolescent girls’ experiences of Forest School

“…Forest School can contribute to overall social, cognitive, emotional and physical development in children (Coates and Pimlott-Wilson 2019) through nature and activities that promote attention and stress relief (Roe and Aspinall 2011b). Studies of young children have shown improvements in characteristics such as self-esteem, confidence and communication skills (O'Brien and Murray 2007;Coates and Pimlott-Wilson 2019), lending to additional positive outcomes such as improved social interaction, motivation and concentration (Slade, Lowery, and Bland 2013).…”

“…Forest School can contribute to overall social, cognitive, emotional and physical development in children (Coates and Pimlott-Wilson 2019) through nature and activities that promote attention and stress relief (Roe and Aspinall 2011b). Studies of young children have shown improvements in characteristics such as self-esteem, confidence and communication skills (O'Brien and Murray 2007;Coates and Pimlott-Wilson 2019), lending to additional positive outcomes such as improved social interaction, motivation and concentration (Slade, Lowery, and Bland 2013). These factors are tied to mental health and wellbeing in girls, and as such, improvements in these areas can help to overcome challenges associated with female growth and development (Abrams 2002;Bor et al 2014) and combat internalizing symptoms, which are increasing in young women (Bor et al 2014).…”

IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAM (EEP) IN A NATURE EDUCATION SCHOOL (NES): STRATEGIES, BENEFITS & CHALLENGES

“…Environmental Education Programs (EEP) have long been promoted in various forms and functions across the globe, especially in the United Kingdom (Mullenbach, & Green, 2018;García-Martín, Plieninger, & Bieling, 2018;Moseley, Summerford, Paschke, Parks, & Utley, 2019). Early environmental education programs were informally designed and usually passed down among communities, while some programs were institutionalized, like the Scouts movement (Loynes, 2018), and the initiation of "Forest Schools' (Leather, 2018;Coates & Pimlott-Wilson, 2019) because of the multifold benefits to the cognitive, affective and health benefits to students (Bogar et al, 2018). Where there are both benefits and challenges of EEPs, one distinct feature of EEP is that it incorporated three vital elements: (a) Natural resources; (b) Pedagogy (or Andragogy); and (c) Environmental content knowledge.…”

“…If educational leaders like principals could learn from field-practitioners in EEP, it would prove to be beneficial to plan in terms of teachers' professional development and better designed of EEP at school base levels. From the perspective of teachers, EEP is not the same as teaching in the classrooms as it would involve different settings (Mustam & Daniel, 2016), different approach of pedagogy due to the different types of learners (Leslie, 2018;Coates & Pimlott-Wilson, 2019), different approaches of education management (Ferreira, Lopes, & Morais, 2006;Kemp & Pagden, 2018), and evaluation of learning outcomes (Backman, Pitt, Marsden, Mehmood, & Mathijs, 2019;Ho & Ang, 2018). Depending on the nature and difficulty level of the EEP, some teachers could face challenges because it requires additional and specific training in aspects of outdoor education leadership and risk management that are beyond the usual skills of being teachers in their classrooms (Abdullah, Nasri, & Ayub, 2018;Richards, Jacobs, Wahl-Alexander, & Ressler, 2018).…”

The Effectiveness of Smart Kit in Enhancing Students’ Mathematical Process Skills and Achievement in Mathematics

“…The primary goal of an educational system is to enhance students' understanding of the basic concepts learned. Therefore, effective teaching is vital as it requires a conducive environment in order to encourage students to think, question and solve problems [1]. Mathematics teaching and learning process give priority to the mastery of knowledge and understanding in enabling students to apply the concepts, principles and mathematical processes learned.…”