Nature as children's space: A systematic review

Adams, Sabirah; Savahl, Shazly

doi:10.1080/00958964.2017.1366160

Cited by 88 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 98 publications

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“…The children also said they were helping nature through planting, irrigation, harvesting and replenishing the compost with food leftovers. These types of experiences, where children make emotional contact with different animals and plants in the forest garden, are likely to be helpful in developing respect and a caring attitude toward the environment (Adams & Savahl, 2017;Chawla, 2007;White, 2004) and ultimately ecological literacy (Mitchell & Mueller, 2011;Orr, 1992).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A substantial body of literature over the years suggests that children's interaction with outdoor environments promotes healthy development, well-being and positive environmental attitudes and values (Blair, 2009;Chawla, 1999Chawla, , 2015O'Brien & Murray, 2007;Taylor & Kuo, 2006;Waite, 2010). Based on a systematic review, Adams and Savahl (2017, p. 316) provide further evidence for the conclusion that 'childhood experiences in nature are crucial for children in their daily lives as it contributes to several developmental outcomes and various domains of their well-being' and that such experiences foster an intrinsic care for nature (Adams & Savahl, 2017). In relation to the development of a caring attitude towards nature, the concept of ecological literacy, or ecoliteracy, becomes useful.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, it is participatory and emphasises the importance of relation to place (McBride, Brewer, Berkowitz, & Borrie, 2013;Mitchell & Mueller, 2011). Despite the relatively extensive body of research described in a review by Adams and Savahl (2017), very few studies have asked children directly about what nature means to them. Adams and Savahl (2017) conclude that to understand children's connection or lack of connection to nature, more research would be needed on the meaning children themselves attach to nature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Developing ecological literacy in a forest garden: children’s perspectives

Hammarsten

Askerlund

Almers

et al. 2018

Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning

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Today, cities become more dense, green spaces disappear and children spend less time outdoors. Research suggests that these conditions create health problems and lack of ecological literacy. To reverse such trends, localities are creating urban green spaces for children to visit during school time. Drawing on ideas in ecological literacy, this study investigates school children's perspectives on a forest garden, a type of outdoor educational setting previously only scarcely researched. Data were collected through walk-and-talk conversations and informal interviews with 28 children aged 7 to 9. Many children in the study expressed strong positive feelings about the forest garden, the organized and spontaneous activities there, and caring for the organisms living there. We observed three aspects of learning in the data, potentially beneficial for the development of children's ecological literacy: practical competence, learning how to co-exist and care, and biological knowledge and ecological understanding.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Developing ecological literacy in a forest garden: children’s perspectives

Hammarsten

Askerlund

Almers

et al. 2018

Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning

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“…Concerning children and the natural environment, there are two systematic reviews which aimed to provide comprehensive syntheses of studies focusing on the various aspects of children and nature interactions (Adams and Savahl 2016b;Gill 2014). These reviews expound the point that children's experiences and engagement in nature as a space and place are multifarious.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More so, that spending time in nature is a component of a 'balanced diet' of childhood experiences advancing numerous developmental benefits, positive environmental attitudes, and influencing various domains of their well-being-physical, emotional, and psychological. A fundamental finding of the review by Adams & Savahl (2016b) was that although the studies provide key insights into children's perceptions of natural spaces and places, very few studies have asked children directly about what nature means to them, and what it encompasses. The authors enunciate that, "There is an urgent need for studies with children to begin to explore children's subjective understandings, perceptions, and constructions of natural spaces, especially in developing contexts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children’s Discourses of Natural Spaces: Considerations for children’s Subjective Well-Being

Adams

Savahl

2016

Child Ind Res

Self Cite

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Based on the evidence provided in the literature, it is manifest that increased time spent in nature increases various aspects of children's well-being. Using discourse analysis on focus group interviews with 28 children between the ages of 12 and 14 years old from three socioeconomically diverse communities in the Western Cape of South Africa, the study aimed to explore how children construct and assign meaning to natural spaces. More specifically the study explored how children use specific discursive resources and repertoires to construct and assign meaning to their engagement with natural spaces, and the extent to which this influences their subjective well-being. Several pertinent discourses emerged from the participants' accounts within four themes of: Safety and natural spaces, Appreciation for natural spaces, Degradation of Nature: Thinking environmentally, acting proenvironmentally, and Natural spaces and children' s subjective well-being. The study highlights the critical role that children's engagement in natural spaces has on their subjective well-being, and how these benefits can be harnessed to better children's overall quality of life.

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Scoping literature review of well‐being of students at school: Implications for designing evidence‐based interventions

Alexandra

2024

Review of Education

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This paper reviews the literature to clarify the image of a student with a high level of well‐being (WB) for a future systematic literature review and evidence‐based interventions to promote student WB. It presents a holistic approach to the analysis of definitions, operationalisation and indicators with interpretative phenomenological analyses (IPA). The main question of the paper is what image of student WB can be constructed from the components and indicators of WB that have been highlighted in the literature. Overall, 50 publications were coded before the subjectively evaluated saturation was reached and 641 mentions of the different components of WB were coded that were distributed among seven categories: ‘individual psychological indicators’ (319 units), ‘social contacts, relationships’ (136 units), ‘health’ (78 units), ‘school life’ (63 units), ‘standard of living’ (26 units), ‘spirituality, moral competence, values’ (12 units) and ‘general mentions’ of WB (7 units). It is argued that individual psychological state, quality of relationships, health, school‐related features, objective indicators, and moral and spiritual aspects are features of students with a high level of WB. The implications for further research, practical usage and the limitations of the study are offered in the Discussion section.Context and implicationsRationale for this studyDeveloping high levels of student WB is an important aim of schools, but for it to be something more than just a declaration, some measures should be taken. To be effective, such measures should be based on scientific knowledge. This paper reviews the literature for future practical application.Why the new findings matterThe research field of WB is diverse. Mostly, for evidence‐based measures, one specific approach to WB is used. This paper argues that it is important to look holistically at all theories of WB as they present different facets of one holistic construct.Implications for practitioners and policy makersThis paper will be useful for practitioners and policy makers as it provides both a scientific section where data, methods and results are presented, and an interpretation of the information for practical usage. It provides a wide range of data and covers several theories of WB and the operationalisation of WB and shows from which indexes these theories and operationalisations originate and why.

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Nature as children's space: A systematic review

Cited by 88 publications

References 98 publications

Developing ecological literacy in a forest garden: children’s perspectives

Developing ecological literacy in a forest garden: children’s perspectives

Children’s Discourses of Natural Spaces: Considerations for children’s Subjective Well-Being

Scoping literature review of well‐being of students at school: Implications for designing evidence‐based interventions

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