Children’s Perception and Utilization of ECEC Physical Environments

Ole Johan Sando,Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter

doi:10.3390/educsci12020088

Ole Johan Sando, Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12020088

Copy DOI

Journal: Education sciences	Publication Date: Jan 26, 2022
Citations: 2	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Queen Maud University College

Abstract

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions play an important role in many young children’s lives. Child-oriented research about the role of the physical ECEC environment in children’s play is scarce. The present study aims to develop knowledge about what children consider crucial elements in the physical ECEC environment. Seventy-one children (3–6 years old) were interviewed to gain insight into their perspectives on the physical ECEC environment. This study indicates that children desire a physical ECEC environment with various affordances supporting different play possibilities and that the social context influences how children may interact with the physical environment. The design of the physical ECEC environment is crucial to children’s everyday play experiences while in care.

Highlights

Childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions are essential in many young children’s everyday lives and represent a significant arena for early development [1]
The participating children described a wide range of environmental features that they enjoyed and liked to play with, and they had thoughts about what could have been better if they were to decide how the physical environment was designed
There were individual differences in children’s play preferences, most children described how they enjoyed various activities, such as building, pretending, being physically active, using natural and manufactured elements, and challenging their physical capabilities. This finding is in line with the findings of children’s play preferences by previous studies [11,12,13,14] and suggests that Early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions should strive to support a variety of play behaviors

Summary

Introduction

Childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions are essential in many young children’s everyday lives and represent a significant arena for early development [1]. As such, developing knowledge about how to best design a child-friendly ECEC environment is of great importance. Following the growing attention to the impact of the ECEC institution on children and the potential to influence child outcomes, the ECEC learning environment is increasingly studied. Many of these studies are conducted from adult-centric standpoints, where interventions or strategies to boost children’s future academic or developmental outcomes are discussed. A vital aim of this study is to try to capture children’s perspectives on the physical environment in ECEC institutions Such knowledge is needed to design a child-friendly environment that acknowledges children’s interests and their right to participate

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion