Abstract
ABSTRACTThis paper presents a longitudinal mixed methods study tracking 11 children (aged 5–7 on entry), defined as disadvantaged in multiple ways, i.e. social, behavioural and economic. They attended weekly Forest School and outdoor learning sessions over three years. The study investigates the project’s impact on the children in terms of their academic attainment, wellbeing and connection to nature. The children’s attendance and academic attainment improved in comparison to their non-participating peers at school. The findings emphasize the importance of how social free play outdoors and relationships with a particular place can establish emotional resilience and self-regulation. The children’s social development and emotional wellbeing were supported by regular outdoor sessions alongside skilled practitioners. The outcomes demonstrate important links between emotional learning and wellbeing developed in outdoor settings and academic development, raising questions about interventions for young children with disadvantaged backgrounds.
Highlights
In Aesop’s Fable ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’ the two animals compete in a race
We discuss the impacts of a three-year Forest School and outdoor learning project for disadvantaged young children in a UK primary school
The study described in this paper explores the idea that, for disadvantaged young children, supporting wellbeing through outdoor learning can facilitate improvement in school-readiness and achievement (Dillon & Dickie, 2012)
Summary
In Aesop’s Fable ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’ the two animals compete in a race. The boastful Hare loses by rushing and becoming distracted, whilst the Tortoise wins by going at his own measured pace. Supporting children’s development can seem like a race in the current context of pressures from government and hare-brained policy changes. The study described in this paper explores the idea that, for disadvantaged young children, supporting wellbeing through outdoor learning can facilitate improvement in school-readiness and achievement (Dillon & Dickie, 2012). A recent four-year study from Norway examined the relationship between the amount of time young children attending daycare spent outdoors and their cognitive and behavioural development. This found that time spent outdoors in pre-school may support children’s development of attention skills (Ulset, Vitaro, Brendgen, Bekkus, & Borge, 2017)
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