Affordances for Physically Active Play in an Outdoor, Nature-Rich Preschool

Abstract

Outdoor, nature-rich environments offer unique opportunities for young children’s physically active play. The purpose of this study was to explore affordances of nature-rich environments for young children’s physically active play by describing frequency of types of physical activity and associated features of the environment in an outdoor preschool. Drawing from existing video data collected at one program over two years, the researcher used an adaptation of the Observational System for Recording Physical Activity in Children - Preschool Version (OSRAC-P) to code physical activity types and contexts. Analysis was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, coded data were analyzed to determine frequencies of each type of activity overall. In the second phase, relative frequencies of types of activity within each activity context were calculated. Results showed that children in the setting engaged frequently in varied forms of physical activity and demonstrated especially high levels of manipulative activity as well as stability and locomotor activity. Some features of the environment such as open space and natural loose parts appeared to be particularly conducive to certain types of activities. Although larger samples are needed to understand generalizability of results, this study offered insight into actualized physical activity affordances in an outdoor, nature-rich environment. These findings are important in light of the significance of physically active play in nature for several areas of young children’s development including motor skills, cognition, psychosocial well-being and executive functioning. Results have the potential to inform design and pedagogy in early learning environments to promote physically active play and associated benefits.