This article explores children's self-initiated outdoor play and holistic learning in a Norwegian kindergarten. While children's self-initiated play is valued in Nordic ECEC, it is rarely analyzed in relation to holistic learning. To explore how children's self-initiated outdoor play contributes to children's holistic learning in ECEC, we observed…

Background: The short-term impacts of outdoor orientation programs (OOPs) have been documented in the literature for close to 40 years. While there is a fair amount of research examining the immediate effects of OOPs, there are relatively few studies exploring long-term impacts. Purpose: This study examined the important longitudinal "lessons…

Children and youth in contemporary western society spend less time outdoors compared to previous generations. Increased use of technology, lack of green space, and concerns for risk and safety have contributed to a generation of children spending too much time indoors. A disconnection between children and nature has occurred. Our team conducted a…

Introduction: Different international guidelines indicate the need for improving educational procedures. This study aims to contribute to the professional development training program of higher education professors from a Physical Education Teacher Education degree in México. Methodology: This qualitative study used a participatory action research…

Background: More women are going outdoors and menstrual hygiene is a concern for these women, we do not know how collegiate outdoor programs are addressing this topic, if at all. It is possible that feminine hygiene may not be adequately discussed in these settings. Because of this, the overall health and outdoor experiences of female participants…

Children who live in under-resourced communities and attend under-resourced schools deserve access to high-quality teachers and educational opportunities to support their success and well-being. This study emerged from a professional development (PD) for urban teachers working in such schools, to expand educational opportunities for elementary…

Bush kindergarten programmes (known as bush kinders), where preschool children learn in, about and with nature, are proliferating in Australian early childhood education. This scoping review reports on, and analyses, the research literature pertaining to how ethnography has been applied to the bush kinder context. We included studies conducted in…

Humans struggle to comprehend, appreciate, and protect natural environments when they have had minimal or no exposure to these spaces. While there are many theoretical explanations for this bifurcation between humans and nature, there is an absence of wide-ranging solutions to address the issue. With a dramatic global shift towards a swelling…

Children's right to participate has become internationally recognised and the early years are a pivotal phase for realising children's rights. Knowledge of how young children can enact their right to participation in different environmental and educational contexts is important for improving and facilitating pedagogical practices around the world.…

This study investigates teachers' intentions and practices related to teaching outside the classroom. We report on three months of fieldwork consisting of participatory observations and qualitative interviews of teachers in two Norwegian primary schools practising weekly "uteskole" [outdoor school]. We find that the teachers' intentions…

Children's engagement in risk-taking has been on the agenda for early childhood education for the past 10-15 years. At a time when some say the minority world has become overly risk averse, early childhood education aims to support confident, competent and resilient children through the inclusion of beneficial risk in early childhood education.…

Biodiversity-monitoring citizen science schemes provide valuable long-term monitoring data and benefit participants. There is increasing interest in engaging young people with nature. The British Trust for Ornithology's 'What's Under Your Feet?' project shows how schoolchildren can monitor soil invertebrates. Although individual projects like this…

In outdoor education research, the agency of walking has received scant attention. Drawing from the author's PhD, this study examines the meaning of walking as embodied encounters with/in nature. Using an autophenomenographic approach, the elusive question of 'accessing' the 'felt' non-representational phenomena of walking with/in natureScapes is…

Urban greenspaces (UGS) play an important role in the well-being of communities. With guidance from a teacher, students can be empowered to lead and design a modern UGS that supports communities and biodiversity. This lesson plan was developed with students and their communities in mind to promote awareness of the benefits of UGS between health,…

Finding ways to utilize technology to engage the digital generation with the outdoors is important for many reasons. Spending time outside is associated with improvement in mental and physical health which has been demonstrated to decline with high users of technology. Positive outdoor experiences help shape conservation behavior which is…