Overview
- Outlines how nature forms a part of children’s cultural formation
- Contains research material from Australia, Brazil, China, Poland, Norway and Wales
- Presents various conditions for children’s cultural formation outside regular school approaches
- This book is open access, which means that you have free and unlimited access
Part of the book series: International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development (CHILD, volume 34)
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About this book
This Open Access book examines children’s participation in dialectical reciprocity with place-based institutional practices by presenting empirical research from Australia, Brazil, China, Poland, Norway and Wales. Underpinned by cultural-historical theory, the analysis reveals how outdoors and nature form unique conditions for children's play, formal and informal learning and cultural formation. The analysis also surfaces how inequalities exist in societies and communities, which often limit and constrain families' and children's access to and participation in outdoor spaces and nature. The findings highlight how institutional practices are shaped by pedagogical content, teachers' training, institutional regulations and societal perceptions of nature, children and suitable, sustainable education for young children. Due to crises, such as climate change and the recent pandemic, specific focus on the outdoors and nature in cultural formation is timely for the cultural-historical theoretical tradition. In doing so, the book provides empirical and theoretical support for policy makers, researchers, educators and families to enhance, increase and sustain outdoor and nature education.
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Keywords
- Open Access
- benefits of outdoor activities for young children
- children’s health, well-being, learning and development
- development of pedagogical practices
- cultural formation at a personal level
- cultural formation at an institutional level
- cultural formation at a societal level
- everyday practices of interactions between children and parents
- three- and four-year-old’s play activities
- children’s exploration
- outdoor play and learning in Australia
- outdoor play and learning in Denmark
- outdoor play and learning in China
- outdoor play and learning in England
- outdoor play and learning in Norway
- outdoor play and learning in Poland
- Place-based learning and play
Table of contents (12 chapters)
Editors and Affiliations
About the editors
Hanne Værum Sørensen is an associate professor at VIA University College, Aarhus. She holds a MA in Child Psychology and a BA in Social Education. Her research interests focus on conditions for children’s outdoor playtime, children’s explorative activities, and children’s readiness for school. She is an experienced teacher in early childhood teacher education in Denmark since 2001, and in Norway, where she has four years of experience from doing research and teaching within the area of ECE education. Hanne has published articles in Danish, Nordic and International Journals as well as book chapters in Danish, English and Norwegian.
Angela Rekers, PhD, is a lecturer on Health, Social and Childhood Studies at Neath Port Talbot Colleges Group, Wales. Angela holds an MSc in Environmental Education for Sustainability and has worked in the field of experiential and outdoor learning for 20 years. Her research interests include education for social and ecological justice, multimodal literacies, inclusive participation and inclusive research methodologies.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Outdoor Learning and Play
Book Subtitle: Pedagogical Practices and Children's Cultural Formation
Editors: Liv Torunn Grindheim, Hanne Værum Sørensen, Angela Rekers
Series Title: International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72595-2
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Education, Education (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2021
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-72594-5Published: 21 July 2021
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-72597-6Published: 21 July 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-72595-2Published: 20 July 2021
Series ISSN: 2468-8746
Series E-ISSN: 2468-8754
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XV, 201
Number of Illustrations: 15 b/w illustrations, 22 illustrations in colour
Topics: Early Childhood Education, International and Comparative Education, Education, general