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Nature Preschool through the Eyes of Children

Dell, Laura
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7131-6932
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin153546562106319

Abstract Details

2018, EdD, University of Cincinnati, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Curriculum and Instruction.
Nature preschools, which bridge the world between environmental education and early childhood education (Bailie, 2012), are gaining popularity across the globe. This educational philosophy has grown in response to the changing outdoor lives of children. Current research shows that children in the United States have limited access to unstructured play in outdoor settings (Clements, 2004; Singer, Singer, D'Agnostino, &DeLong, 2009; Wridt, 2004). Since a number of studies have linked childhood experiences in nature to environmentalist attitudes later in life (Broom, 2007; Chawla, 1999; Wells & Lekies, 2006), there is concern that children today are not getting these foundational experiences in nature that lead to a caring relationship with the natural world. Nature preschools aim to fill this gap by giving children facilitated experiences in nature and time for unstructured outdoor play. The purpose of this photovoice study was to understand nature preschools through the perspective of the preschool children. This study adds to the literature by answering three research questions: 1) How do young children attending a U.S. nature preschool describe their school experience? 2) What are the characteristics of the child-nature relationship for young children attending a U.S. nature preschool? 3) What are best practices for working with preschool children in a photovoice process? Results show that the children do not view nature preschool as a traditional classroom experience and that they value outdoor hikes as the most important part of the school day. The children are interested in learning the names of plants and animals and scientific terms and view being in nature as a positive experience. Photovoice methodology, having individuals use cameras to collect and analyze their own data, is typically used with teens and adults. The results of this study demonstrate that children ages 3 – 6 are capable of being active collaborators in a photovoice protocol. Implications for this study touch on issues in the research, traditional school, and nature preschool communities. Researchers looking to engage young children in the research process should consider photovoice as a viable methodology when working with preschool children. Traditional teachers and schools looking to implement outdoor learning strategies into their classrooms should consider adding outdoor hikes in the local neighborhood and enlisting volunteer or staff nature guides as outdoor learning facilitators. A top priority for nature preschools to consider in curriculum planning is unstructured playtime in local wild settings over time in indoor classrooms or on playscapes.
Helen Meyer, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Victoria Carr, Ed.D. (Committee Member)
Emilie M. Camp, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Lisa Vaughn, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
185 p.
Preschool Education
nature preschool; children; photovoice; nature; preschool; competent social actors

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Dell, L. (2018). Nature Preschool through the Eyes of Children [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin153546562106319

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Dell, Laura. Nature Preschool through the Eyes of Children. 2018. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin153546562106319.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Dell, Laura. "Nature Preschool through the Eyes of Children." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin153546562106319

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin153546562106319
875
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.