Utilisation and Design of Kindergarten Outdoor Space and the Outdoor Activities: A Case Study of Kindergartens in Bergen, Norway and Anji in China

Wanqiu Meng,Min He

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-72595-2_6

Abstract

AbstractCompared with Norwegian kindergartens that emphasize how outdoor activity benefits young children’s integrated development, Chinese kindergartens reluctantly encourage children to go outside for long time. A county named Anji in South China’s Zhejiang province has started to change this approach to outdoor play. Kindergartens there provide outdoor equipment to support children’s outdoor activities for longer periods of time. This approach is called Anji Play and has been recommended by Chinese Ministry of Education for all of the country. It has also attracted ECE experts overseas. In this chapter, we describe and analyse children’s outdoor play in an Anji setting and in a Norwegian kindergarten from the perspective of the utilisation and design of kindergarten outdoor space. The study takes an ethnographic approach. We collected photo observations, anecdotal recording and interviews from one kindergarten in Bergen, Norway and one in Anji, China. The observation results focusing on outdoor play in the two kindergartens were discussed with kindergarten teachers, principals, professors and college students from China and Norway. Our aim was to interpret the core concepts, goals and concerns of Norwegian and Anji play from multiple perspectives to understand children’s cultural formation in the two cultural contexts. We found the cultural values and traditions influence how outdoor play is performed and there are clear links between culture and children’s cultural formation.

Highlights

The outdoors can be described as an open and constantly changing environment, where it is possible to experience freedom, engage in gross motor development through boisterous movements, and be in contact with natural elements (Maynard & Waters, 2007)
A kindergarten should provide children the best quality of education; Mohidin, Ismail, and Ramli (2015) found that this could be achieved only if the designer, as well as policymakers, are aware of the factors that promote a better environment for these children
In city centers, outdoor spaces that children can use must be designed to meet needs for both children’s learning and playful activity

Summary

Introduction

The outdoors can be described as an open and constantly changing environment, where it is possible to experience freedom, engage in gross motor development through boisterous movements, and be in contact with natural elements (Maynard & Waters, 2007). Children in the outdoors have more autonomy and can enjoy enhanced space, time and self-chosen activities (Bento & Dias, 2017). A kindergarten should provide children the best quality of education; Mohidin, Ismail, and Ramli (2015) found that this could be achieved only if the designer, as well as policymakers, are aware of the factors that promote a better environment for these children. In city centers, outdoor spaces that children can use must be designed to meet needs for both children’s learning and playful activity. In such designs, both natural and artificial elements must be used (Acar, 2014). The design and utilization of outdoor spaces of kindergarten should be taken seriously

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