Provisions for outdoor play and learning in Slovene preschools

Kos, Marjanca; Jerman, Janez

doi:10.1080/14729679.2013.769888

Cited by 29 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(18 reference statements)

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“…Slovenian preschools report that the distance to a natural setting is crucial regarding whether the preschool spends time in natural settings or not (Kos & Jerman, 2013). The distance to the closest reference area is in average 225 meters among all preschools; therefore, the distance to reference area is not considered to be a limitation for Norwegian preschools` use of nature.…”

Section: Use Of Reference Areas and Time Spent Away From The Preschoomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Outdoor time in preschools has not been the subject of many international studies. Kos and Jerman (2013) studied Slovenian preschools and stated that despite the fact that Slovenia has good conditions for outdoor play and learning that preschool teachers and parents wanted children to have more contact with natural environment, Slovenian preschools spend 23% of their day outdoors during warm seasons and 13% of their day outdoors during cold seasons.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What are the characteristics of nature preschools in Norway, and how do they organize their daily activities?

Lysklett

Berger²

2016

Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning

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This study provides basic information about how Norwegian nature preschools differ from other Norwegian preschools and how they organize their daily activities. Fifty-six nature preschools and 52 other preschools were included in the study. A total of 106 headmasters and 98 pedagogical leaders filled out questionnaires about the characteristics of their preschool and the characteristics of their preschool's outdoor activities. Two women and four men from nature preschools were interviewed about organizing a nature preschool. Most nature preschools are private and have less children and staff than other preschools. Nature preschools have more reference areas in nature and visit these areas more frequently than other preschools. Nature preschools spend a large amount of time in nature and have routines and rules that allow the children a significant amount of trust.

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Section: Use Of Reference Areas and Time Spent Away From The Preschoomentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What are the characteristics of nature preschools in Norway, and how do they organize their daily activities?

Lysklett

Berger²

2016

Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning

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“…In England, however, there is a different, more cautious, approach: policy states that childcare providers for young children up to the age of five 'must provide access to an outdoor play area or, if that is not possible, ensure that outdoor activities are planned and taken on a daily basis (unless circumstances make this inappropriate, for example unsafe weather conditions)' (DfE, 2014, p.28). Slovenia, a country that is densely-forested and therefore would seem to offer ideal conditions for time in the natural environment, presents something halfway between these two perspectives; outdoor play for preschool children is given no special statutory significance yet going outside is 'routine', with a relatively small amount of that time spent in natural environments (Kos and Jerman, 2013).…”

Section: Outdoor Playmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Schools’ Use of Natural Spaces

Gilchrist¹,

Passy²,

Waite³

et al. 2015

Risk, Protection, Provision and Policy

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This chapter focuses on the changing ways in which schools are using natural spaces as part of their pupils' learning experience. We suggest that learning in natural spaces has undergone something of a renaissance in recent times, and explore the reasons that this might be so. We then examine ways in which schools and other practitioners are using outdoor spaces for play, for non-curricular and for curricular learning. The chapter draws on a range of countries for examples that show how a nation's cultural ideas about the outdoors can be incorporated into a country's outdoor learning, and how other ideas travel across boundaries to be interpreted in different practical ways. Within these sections, we consider different theoretical underpinnings that inform learning outside. Finally, the benefits of and challenges to outdoor learning are considered. of the conflict between 'short-term capitalist exploitation of natural resources and longer-term sustainable production' (Eagleton, 2011, p.229).Abstract desire for the bucolic, however, was followed by action of a more practical nature. During the late nineteenth century, for instance, the establishment of National Parks in the US and Australia encouraged and protected both people's engagement with the natural world and the wildlife within it, and provided a model that is followed by a large number of countries today. This type of conservation work has subsequently been developed and augmented into a wide-ranging social and political environmental movement that includes international and local organisations, political parties, scientists and individual advocates. And over the last fifteen years or so, it has been possible to see a parallel process of increased awareness of and advocacy for the value of the natural world within the education sector, whereby children and young people's diminishing engagement with the natural world (e.g. Louv, 2008) has led to something of a renaissance in the use of outdoor spaces for teaching and learning among different nations across the globe.In this chapter we discuss why this may be so, the ways in which teachers and other practitioners who educate pupils up to the age of sixteen are using the outdoor environment, and the different effects this has. We present research on outdoor learning from different nations to illustrate different debates, and describe briefly our own contribution to this body of work through the Natural Connections Demonstration Project. Finally, we bring the chapter to a close with a range of recommendations for the future. Our discussion includes all aspects of learning outside the classroom in the natural environment such as adventure education, curricular learning outdoors in a variety of settings such as school grounds or national parks, and more informal types of learning that might take place in, for example, other outdoor activities and / or residential settings. Patterns of change -why a renaissance of learning in the natural environment?Learning in the natural environment for children follows a trad...

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“…Louv (2005) highlighted concurrent cautions regarding children's decreasing time spent in nature and limited experiences with the natural world. Kos and Jerman (2013) examined play and learning in the natural environment and on traditional playgrounds of Slovenian preschools. They found that, on average, children spend 23% of their time at preschool outdoors during the warm months and 13% during the cold months, of which they generally spend three hours per week in the natural environment during the warm months and 1.5 hours during the cold.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children’s Play and Physical Activity in Traditional and Forest (Natural) Playgrounds

Torkar¹,

Rejc²

2017

INT J EDUC METHODOL

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Early childhood is a crucial period for the physical and cognitive development of children. A child's exposure to nature is proven to be beneficial in this period of human life. The aim of the present research was to investigate children's play and physical activity on a traditional playground and on a forest (natural) playground. Twenty-five observations took place on the traditional playground, and twenty-five observations were recorded on the forest playground. Twenty-five participating preschool children were observed in both playgrounds, but not necessarily in the same order. Research findings confirmed important qualities of natural playgrounds that provide children with a wide range of playing and learning opportunities not available on other playgrounds. Children were playing more with different natural materials in the forest playground and they more frequently played different chasing games and hide and seek in the forest playground. Participating children were also more physically active on the forest playground, and boys were more active on the forest playground than girls. The research concludes that it is important for preschool teachers to use natural playgrounds frequently and with regularity. Research design in this article is also an example of how GPS trackers can be beneficial for educational research.

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Provisions for outdoor play and learning in Slovene preschools

Cited by 29 publications

References 19 publications

What are the characteristics of nature preschools in Norway, and how do they organize their daily activities?

What are the characteristics of nature preschools in Norway, and how do they organize their daily activities?

Exploring Schools’ Use of Natural Spaces

Children’s Play and Physical Activity in Traditional and Forest (Natural) Playgrounds

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