Anikke Hagen, Hilde Nancy Skaug, Kari Synnes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate Norwegian early childhood teachers’ perceptions about where on the kindergarten’s outdoor playground the children prefer to play, and what characterizes these places. A questionnaire was used to provide quantitative data. 854 Norwegian Kindergarten principals or pedagogical leaders from all over the country have answered the questionnaire. The functional affordance taxonomy is the basis for the question. The finding indicates that early childhood teachers consider places with a feature of nature as the most attractive`, and fixed play equipment were the least attractive places for children’s outdoor play. 

Keywords

Kindergarten outdoor-playground, kindergarten- staff consideration, children’s outdoor play, loose parts, affordance

Full Text:

PDF

References

Bartoszeck, A. B., Czelusniak, F. & Tunnicliffe, S.D. (2014). Animals in Brazilian children ́s lives: a preliminary study. Trends in Advanced Science and Engineering, 11(10), 16-26.

Bernstein, R. (1974). Synlig og usynlig pædagogik I J. Enggard & K. Paulsgaard (Eds). Basil Bernsteins kodeteori – et udvalg af hans artikler om sprog, socialisering og kontrol. København: Christian Eilerts` Forlag.

Borge, A. I. H., Nordhagen, R. & Lie, K. K. (2003). Children in the environment: Forest day- care centers. Modern day care with historical antecedents. History of the Family, 8 (4), 605–618. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hisfam.2003.04.001

Chalufour,I. & Worth, K. with Moriarty, R., Winokur, J. & Grollman, S.( 2005). Exploring water with young children (The Young Scientist Series). St. Paul, MN: Red Leaf Press.

Cook, C., Goodman, N.D.& Schulz, L.E. (2011). Where science starts: Spontaneous experiments in preschoolers’ exploratory play. Cognition 120 (3), 341-349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2011.03.003

Crosser, S. (1994). Making the most of waterplay. Young Children 49(5), 28-32.

Data Protection Official for Research (NSD) 2018. Do I have to notify my project?

Retrieved from http://www.nsd.uib.no/personvernombud/en/notify/index.html

Davis, J. (2010). Young children and the environment. Melbourne, Victoria: Cambridge University Press.

Dowdell, K., Grey, T. & Malone, K. (2011). Nature and Its Influence on Children’s Outdoor Play. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 15(2), 24 – 35.Retrived from

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ985644

Engdahl, K. (2014). En pedagogisk miljö for barns möten, delaktighet och inflytande (Doctoral thesis). Institutionen för tillämpad utbildningsvetenskap: Umeå.

Fisher, U og Leicht Madsen (2002. Se her. Om barns oppmerksomhet og førskolelærerens rolle. Oslo: Pedagogisk forum.

Fjørtoft I. (2004). Landscape as Playscape: the effects of natural Environments on children s Play and Motor Development. Children, Youth and Environments 14(2). 21-44. Retrieved from http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/

Frost, J.L. (2004). The Dissolution of children s Outdoor Play: Causes and consequences. Retrived from http://www.balticstreetadventureplay.co.uk/sites/default/files/content-files/joefrostthedissolutionofchildrensoutdoorplaycausesconseques.pdf

Gibson, J. (1986). The Ecological Approach to visual Perception. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Gitz- Johansen, T., Kampmann, J. & Kirkeby, I.M. (2001). Samspil mellom born og skolens fysiske ramme. Center for fysiske rammer og læreprocesser: Rum Form Funktion.

Grahn (1992). Ute på dagis: hur anvender barn daghemsgården?:utformingen av daghemsgårdenoch dess betydelse för barns lek, motorikk och koncentrationsförmåga. Alnarp: movium, Sveriges landbruksuniversitet.

Hagen, T.L. (2015). Hvilken innvirkning har barnehagens fysiske utemiljø på barns lek og de ansattes pedagogiske praksis i uterommet. Nordic Early Childhood Education research Journal, 10 (5) 1-16. https://doi.org/10.7577/nbf.1430

Heft,H.(1988). Affordance of children`s environments: A functional approach to Environmental Description. Children`s, Environments Quarterly,5(3), 29-37. Retrived from https://www.jstor.org/stable/41514683?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

Jansson (2013). Children’s perspectives on playground use as basis for children’s participation in local play space management. Local Environment, 20(2). 165-179. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2013.857646

Johannessen, A., Tufte, P.A. & Christoffersen, L. (2011). Introduksjon til samfunnsvitenskapelig metode (4. Ed). Oslo: Abstrakt forlag

Kyttä, M. (2004). The extent of children’s independent mobility and the number of actualized affordances as criteria for child-friendly environment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24(2), 179-198. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-4944(03)00073-2

Louv,R. (2010). Do Our Kids Have Nature-Deficit Disorder? Health and Learning 67(4), 24-30. Retrived from http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/659196/25827784/1420558265707/Do+Our+Kids+Have+Nature Deficit+Disorder+Louv.pdf?token=KwHlXua5RukOzwr7ytMq1OUpMQg%3D

Lysklett, O. B., (2013). Ute hele uka – Natur -og friluftsbarnehagen. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget

Mårtensson, F. (2004). Landskapet i leken. En studie av uteomhuslek på förskolegården (Doctoral thesis). Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp

Moser T. & Martinsen, M. T. (2010). The outdoor environment in Norwegian kindergartens as pedagogical space for toddlers’ play, learning and development. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 18(4), 457-471.

https://doi-org.ezproxy.hioa.no/10.1080/1350293X.2010.525931

Nicholsons, S. (1972). The theory of loose parts: An important principle for design methodology. Studies in design, education, craft & technology, 4(2), 5-14.

Niklasson, L.& Sandberg, A. (2010). Children and the outdoor environment. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 18(4), 485-496. Retrived from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2010.525945

Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research (2006). Veileder for utforming av barnehagens utearealer. Retrived from https://www.regjeringen.no/globalassets/upload/kd/vedlegg/barnehager/veileder/f-4225.pdf

Osnes, H. & Skaug, H. N. (2015). Kroppslig lek, voksenkontakt og sosialt lekemønster i barnehagen. Første Steg, nr 3, 50-54. Retrived from

https://cld.bz/bookdata/rFytW0w/basic-html/page-50.html#

Patric,P. & Tunnicliffe, S.D. (2011). What plants and animals do early childhood and primary students’ name? Where do they see them? Journal of Science Education Technology, 20(5), 630–642. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-011-9290-7

Pyle, R. (2002). Eden in a Vasant Lot: Special places, Species and Kids in Community of Life. I P. H. KaHN, & S. R. Kellert (Eds.), Children and nature: psychological, sociocultural, and evolutionary investigations. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

Rasmussen, K. (2004). Places for Children – Children’s Places, Childhood 11(2), 155-173.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568204043053

Reed, E.S. (1993). The intention to use a specific affordance: a conceptual framework for psychology. In R. H. Wozniak & K. W. Fischer, (Eds), Development in Context. Acting and Thinking in Speci¢c Environments. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Sandseter, E. B. H. (2009). Affordance for Risky Play in Preschool: The Importance of Features in the play Environment. Early Childhood Education.Journal. 36(5) 439- 446. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-009-0307-2

Searles, H. F. (1960). The Nonhuman Environment in Normal Development and in Schizophrenia. New York: International Universities press Inc.

Skorupka, A. (2010). Oversikt over faget miljøpsykologi. I A. Fyhri, Å. L. Hauge & H. Nordh (Eds) Norsk miljøpsykologi, mennesker og omgivelser, SINTEF: Akademisk forlag

Statistic Norway, 2017. Barnehager. Retrived from https://www.ssb.no/barnehager/

Storli, R. & Hagen, T. L. (2010). Affordances in outdoor environments and children’s physically active play in pre‐school. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 18(4), 445-456 . DOI: 10.1080/1350293X.2010.525923

Tovey,H. (1993). Re-appraising nursery water play. Early Child Development and Care 92 (1), 29-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/0030443930920105

Ulrich, R. S., Simons, E. F., Losito, B. D., Fiorito, E., Miles, M.A., & Nelson, M. (1991). Stress recovery During Exposure to Nature and Urban Environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology 11(3), 201-230. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-4944(05)80184-7

University of Oslo (2017). Services for sensitive data (TSD). Retrieved from https://www.uio.no/english/services/it/research/sensitive-data/

Wells, N.M. & Evans, G. W. (2003). Nearby Nature: A Buffer of Life Stress among Rural Children. Environment and Behaviour, 35(3), 311-330.

Woolley, H. & Lowe, A. (2013). Exploring the Relationship between Design approach and Play Value of outdoor Play spaces. Landscape Research, 38(1). 53-74. https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2011.640432

Categories: 2019, Articles - JETEN, Movement/Play/Health/Outdoor

Tags: affordance, children’s outdoor play, Kindergarten outdoor-playground, kindergarten- staff consideration, loose parts