International Association of Educators   |  ISSN: 2834-7919   |  e-ISSN: 1554-5210

Original article | International Journal of Progressive Education 2021, Vol. 17(4) 358-372

Parental Perceptions of Outdoor Activities

Mehmet Mart

pp. 358 - 372   |  DOI: https://doi.org/10.29329/ijpe.2021.366.22   |  Manu. Number: MANU-2103-11-0008.R1

Published online: August 08, 2021  |   Number of Views: 539  |  Number of Download: 767


Abstract

The importance of outdoor activities for children should not be overlooked, and teachers and parents as stakeholders have an influential role in providing learning opportunities (Elliott, 2015). Teachers are dependent on parental reciprocity because of potential for harm (Maynard, 2007), and parents can limit activities because of various reasons such as traffic, weather and getting hurt (Cevher-Kalburan, 2014; Yılmaz, 2016). Therefore, identifying parental perceptions of outdoor activities is a significant aspect of supporting children’s opportunity to engage in them. In this research, semi-structured interviews were used to collect data, as a way to understand participating parents’ views in detail (Fife, 2005). Data collection was carried out by the author and NVivo 12 software programme was used to analyse data from 30 participants. Six main themes emerged from the interview questions in the data analysis, which are presented in this paper. While participating parents overall were positive about promoting outdoor activities both at out-of-school and in schools, their preferences for their children were mostly for indoor activities. Thus, there was conflict between what they claimed for outdoor activities and what they most preferred for their own children. This apparent tension suggests the need for further research.

Keywords: Outdoor Activities, Parents, Perception, Early Years


How to Cite this Article?

APA 6th edition
Mart, M. (2021). Parental Perceptions of Outdoor Activities . International Journal of Progressive Education, 17(4), 358-372. doi: 10.29329/ijpe.2021.366.22

Harvard
Mart, M. (2021). Parental Perceptions of Outdoor Activities . International Journal of Progressive Education, 17(4), pp. 358-372.

Chicago 16th edition
Mart, Mehmet (2021). "Parental Perceptions of Outdoor Activities ". International Journal of Progressive Education 17 (4):358-372. doi:10.29329/ijpe.2021.366.22.

References
  1. Avcı, G., & Gümüş, N. (2019). Sınıf Dışı Eğitim Etkinliklerine Yönelik Öğrenci Görüşleri. Turkish Studies-Educational Sciences, 14(3), 351–377. https://doi.org/10.29228/turkishstudies.22855 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  2. Azlina, W., & Zulkiflee, A. S. (2012). A Pilot Study: The Impact of Outdoor Play Spaces on Kindergarten Children. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 38, 275–283. [Google Scholar]
  3. Barton, B. (2006). Safety, Risk and Adventure in Outdoor Activities. London: SAGE. [Google Scholar]
  4. Bento, G., & Costa, J. A. (2018). Outdoor play as a mean to achieve educational goals - a case study in a Portuguese day-care group. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 18(4), 289–302. https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2018.1443483 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  5. Biernacki, P., & Waldorf, D. (1981). Snowball Sampling: Problems and Techniques of Chain Referral Sampling. Sociological Methods & Research, 10(2), 141–163. https://doi.org/10.1177/004912418101000205 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  6. Bilton, H. (2010). Outdoor Learning in the Early Years: Management and Innovation (3rd ed.). Oxon: Routledge. [Google Scholar]
  7. Bjørgen, K. (2015). Children’s Well-being and Involvement in Physically Active Outdoors Play in a Norwegian Kindergarten: Playful Sharing of Physical Experiences. Child Care in Practice, 21(4), 305–323. https://doi.org/10.1080/13575279.2015.1051512 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  8. Boxberger, K., & Reimers, A. K. (2019). Parental correlates of outdoor play in boys and girls aged 0 to 12—A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol. 16, pp. 1–19. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16020190 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  9. Brussoni, M., Ishikawa, T., Brunelle, S., & Herrington, S. (2017). Landscapes for play: Effects of an intervention to promote nature-based risky play in early childhood centres. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 54, 139–150. [Google Scholar]
  10. Brussoni, M., Ishikawa, T., Han, C., Pike, I., Bundy, A., Faulkner, G., & Mâsse, L. C. (2018). Go Play Outside! Effects of a risk-reframing tool on mothers’ tolerance for, and parenting practices associated with, children’s risky play: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 19(173), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-018-2552-4 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  11. Cevher-Kalburan, N. (2014). Okul öncesi dönem çocuklarının dış mekânda oyun fırsatları ve ebeveyn görüşleri. Sosyal Politika Çalışmaları Dergisi, 14(32), 113–135. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.21560/spcd.21616 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  12. Christiansen, A., Hannan, S., Anderson, K., Coxon, L., & Fargher, D. (2018). Place-based nature kindergarten in Victoria, Australia: No tools, no toys, no art supplies. Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education, 21(1), 61–75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42322-017-0001-6 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  13. Clements, R. (2004). An Investigation of the Status of Outdoor Play. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 5(1), 68–80. https://doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2004.5.1.10 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  14. Coates, J. K., & Pimlott-Wilson, H. (2019). Learning while playing: Children’s Forest School experiences in the UK. British Educational Research Journal, 45(1), 21–40. https://doi.org/doi:10.1002/berj.3491 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  15. Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2011). Research Methods in Education (7th ed.). Oxon: Routledge. [Google Scholar]
  16. Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. London: SAGE. [Google Scholar]
  17. Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative (4th ed.). London: Pearson. [Google Scholar]
  18. Davies, M. (1997). The Teacher’s Role in Outdoor Play: Preschool Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices. Journal of Australian Research in Early Childhood Education, 1(1), 10–20. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED408059.pdf [Google Scholar]
  19. Davies, M. M. (1996). Outdoors: An Important Context for Young Children’s Development. Early Child Development and Care, 115(1), 37–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/0300443961150104 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  20. Dealey, R. P., & Stone, M. H. (2017). Exploring Out-of-School Play and Educational Readiness. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45, 1–8. [Google Scholar]
  21. Dillon, J. (2010). Beyond barriers to learning outside the classroom in natural environments. Reading: Natural England. [Google Scholar]
  22. Elliott, H. (2015). Forest School in an inner city? Making the impossible possible. Education 3-13, 43(6), 722–730. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2013.872159 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  23. Fife, W. (2005). Doing Fieldwork: Ethnographic Methods for Research in Developing Countries and Beyond. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. [Google Scholar]
  24. Fjørtoft, I. (2001). The Natural Environment as a Playground for Children: The Impact of Outdoor Play Activities in Pre-primary School Children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 29(2), 111–119. [Google Scholar]
  25. Gürsoy, G. (2018). Fen Öğretiminde Okul Dışı Öğrenme Ortamları. Journal of Turkish Studies, 13(11), 623–649. https://doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.13225 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  26. Harper, N. J. (2017). Outdoor risky play and healthy child development in the shadow of the “risk society”: A forest and nature school perspective. Child & Youth Services, 38(4), 318–334. https://doi.org/10.1080/0145935X.2017.1412825 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  27. Humberstone, B., & Stan, I. (2011). Outdoor learning: primary pupils’ experiences and teachers’ interaction in outdoor learning. Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, 39(5), 529–540. [Google Scholar]
  28. Jayasuriya, A., Williams, M., Edwards, T., & Tandon, P. (2016). Parents’ Perceptions of Preschool Activities: Exploring Outdoor Play. Early Education and Development, 27(7), 1004–1017. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2016.1156989 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  29. Kos, M., & Jerman, J. (2013). Provisions for Outdoor Play and Learning in Slovene Preschools. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 13(3), 189–205. [Google Scholar]
  30. Kuo, M., Barnes, M., & Jordan, C. (2019). Do Experiences With Nature Promote Learning? Converging Evidence of a Cause-and-Effect Relationship. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(305), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00305 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  31. Little, H. (2010). Relationship between parents’ beliefs and their responses to children’s risk-taking behaviour during outdoor play. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 8(3), 315–330. [Google Scholar]
  32. Little, H., Wyver, S., & Gibson, F. (2011). The influence of play context and adult attitudes on young children’s physical risk‐taking during outdoor play. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 19(1), 113–131. [Google Scholar]
  33. Mart, M., Alisinanoğlu, F., & Kesicioğlu, O. S. (2015). An Investigation of Preschool Teachers Use of School Gardens in Turkey. The Journal of International Social Research, 8(38), 721–727. https://doi.org/10.17719/jisr.20153813683 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  34. Maynard, T. (2007). Outdoor play and learning. Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, 35(4), 305–307. [Google Scholar]
  35. McClintic, S., & Petty, K. (2015). Exploring early childhood teachers’ beliefs and practices about preschool outdoor play: A qualitative study. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 36(1), 24–43. [Google Scholar]
  36. McFarland, A. L., Zajicek, J. M., & Waliczek, T. M. (2014). The Relationship between Parental Attitudes toward Nature and the Amount of Time Children Spend in Outdoor Recreation. Journal of Leisure Research, 46(5), 525–539. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222216.2014.11950341 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  37. McFarland, L., & Laird, S. G. (2018). Parents’ and Early Childhood Educators’ Attitudes and Practices in Relation to Children’s Outdoor Risky Play. Early Childhood Education Journal, 46(2), 159–168. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-017-0856-8 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  38. Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. [Google Scholar]
  39. Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı. (2013). Okul Öncesi Eğitim Programı (Preschool Education Programme ). Retrieved from http://tegm.meb.gov.tr/dosya/okuloncesi/ooproram.pdf [Google Scholar]
  40. O’Brien, L. (2009). Learning outdoors: the Forest School approach. Education 3-13, 37(1), 45–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004270802291798 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  41. Obee, P., Sandseter, E. B. H., Gerlach, A., & Harper, N. J. (2020). Lessons Learned from Norway on Risky Play in Early Childhood Education and Care ( ECEC ). Early Childhood Education Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-020-01044-6 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  42. Olsen, H., & Smith, B. (2017). Sandboxes, loose parts, and playground equipment: a descriptive exploration of outdoor play environments. Early Child Development and Care, 187(5–6), 1055–1068. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2017.1282928 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  43. Sahrakhiz, S., Harring, M., & Witte, M. D. (2018). Learning opportunities in the outdoor school–empirical findings on outdoor school in Germany from the children’s perspective. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 18(3), 214–226. https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2017.1413404 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  44. Sandseter, E. B. H., & Lysklett, O. B. (2017). Outdoor Education in the Nordic Region. In C. Ringsmose & G. Kragh-Müller (Eds.), Nordic Social Pedagogical Approach to Early Years (pp. 115–132). Switzerland: Springer. [Google Scholar]
  45. Skar, M., Gundersen, V., & O’Brien, L. (2016). How to engage children with nature: why not just let them play? Children’s Geographies, 14(5), 527–540. [Google Scholar]
  46. Smith, W. R., Moore, R., Cosco, N., Wesoloski, J., Danninger, T., Ward, D. S., … Ries, N. (2014). Increasing Physical Activity in Childcare Outdoor Learning Environments: The Effect of Setting Adjacency Relative to Other Built Environment and Social Factors. Environment and Behavior, 48(4), 550–578. [Google Scholar]
  47. Tuuling, L., Õun, T., & Ugaste, A. (2019). Teachers’ opinions on utilizing outdoor learning in the preschools of Estonia. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 19(4), 358–270. https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2018.1553722 [Google Scholar] [Crossref] 
  48. Tuuling, L., Ugaste, A., & Õun, T. (2015). The Use of Outdoor Learning from the Perspective of Preschool Teachers and Principals. In M. Veisson, A. Liimets, P. Kansanen, & E. Krull (Eds.), Tradition and Innovation in Education (pp. 11–33). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285766295_The_use_of_outdoor_learning_from_the_perspective_of_preschool_teachers_and_principals [Google Scholar]
  49. Waller, T., Sandseter, E. B. H., Wyver, S., Ärlemalm-Hagsér, E., & Maynard, T. (2010). The dynamics of early childhood spaces: opportunities for outdoor play? European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 18(4), 437–443. [Google Scholar]
  50. Waters, J., & Maynard, T. (2010). What’s so Interesting Outside? A Study of Child‐initiated Interaction with Teachers in the Natural Outdoor Environment. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 18(4), 473–483. [Google Scholar]
  51. Yılmaz, S. (2016). Outdoor Environment and Outdoor Activities in Early Childhood Education. Mersin Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 12(1), 423–437. [Google Scholar]