Early Years Education - Influence of the Outdoor Environment - Essay Example

Early Years Education: Influence of the Outdoor Environment Number] Early Years Education: Influence of the Outdoor Environment Introduction The early years of an individual’s development are perhaps among the most influential years in a person’s lifespan. It is for this reason that education during the said years is crucial, sometimes even dictating the degree by which the student excels in later years of his/her life (Dewey 2000: 89). Therefore, educators must take care that the proper process of development is provided for the child, as well as the best environment for learning. Indeed, the environment plays an important role in the way by which students inculcate and integrate data into their daily lives. The environment has also been cited by numerous researches and studies as a vital part of education, affecting the manner by which information is delivered to the recipient, and how the recipient actually receives the data (Tiller and Huston 2002: 337). In relation, this paper will then look into the role played by the environment in education. More specifically, this paper will explore the effect of different environments on the education of individuals during the early formative years. This will be done by analysing an article published in the European Early Childhood Education Research Journal. The said article provides a detailed report of the study by Canning, entitled “The influence of the outdoor environment: den-making in three different contexts” (2010: 555). The said study explored den-making in three different environments or settings in the United Kingdom. In the process of looking into the role played by the environment in education, this paper will first present a brief discussion on the search strategy used to find the chosen article for review. Afterwards, a more detailed overview of the aforementioned article will be conducted, followed by a critical analysis of the research contained in the article. This paper will then present this author’s different reflections on the learnings derived from the article. Finally, this paper will provide recommendations or suggested changes for the setting of education during the Early Years Foundation Stage. Range of Search Strategies This assignment called for the conduction of a research that explores different articles and resources detailing concepts involving equal opportunities in teaching and learning, or those involving play. Various search strategies were employed during the search for the appropriate article for review. First of all, a visit to the school library was conducted, so as to help me have a “feel” for the topic being discussed. Numerous books and journals were available for reading, and as a result, I initially had a large number of resources from which to choose. However, choosing then became the tricky task so I reverted to ICT strategies, believing that the computer’s natural filtering abilities can help me narrow down the search. Thankfully, the said filtering capacities of search engines helped me to find articles in various databases for scholarly journals. Some databases employed during the search include Education Research Complete, ERIC database, and ProQuest Education Research Journals. The search for journals involving the provided topic yielded around thousand results, but filtering led to only around eight suitable articles. From these, the article detailed in the introduction of this paper was then chosen for review. Overview of the Research The study by Canning (2010) involves a small-scale research that looked into den-making practices of three different settings in UK, as well as the effectiveness of the formed dens in educating students in their early years of development. The study involved a narrative and non-participant observation of the subjects in the said dens. The subjects of the study involved children aged three to five years, as well as their educators practicing early years education, and who were supporting them in their play. Since the study was conducted in England, it therefore explored the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), especially involving different enabling environments. The settings for the study were diverse and varied, even though they are only three. The first setting involved an urban private day nursery that comes with an outside space containing courtyard for play. The courtyard includes appropriate materials that have been sourced out from areas outside the classroom, and are provided for the students to use. The second setting involves a rural day nursery, privately owned by the educator. This second setting of the study has its own woodland area that sometimes serves as the area for play for the students in their early years of development. Finally, the third setting involved a childminder who cares for the children in her own home. The childminder’s home has access to a public woodland area near it, and this serves as the area for outdoor play for the children... Analysis of the contents of the observations revealed several common themes. First, data revealed that the outdoor environment facilitates the relationship of children with other children, as well as their relationship with their early years practitioners. Second, the information gathered and analysed disclosed that the outdoor environment supplied different opportunities for the children to generate and sustain their creativity and imagination. Thirdly, the study findings showed that the environment has a significant impact on how young students utilised their play space. The study concluded that effective play in outdoor settings provide flexible chances for children to build relationships with adults and other children, develop their skills in communication, and engage in creative and imaginative play. With these, a critical analysis of the research will then be presented in the next section of the paper. Critical Analysis of Research Overall, the study deserves merit for its area of exploration and construction. Indeed, the study report was well-written and the manner of presentation was clear and easily understood. The abstract (555) alone was able to present a complete discussion of the study’s aims, setting, respondents, methodology, and major findings. The presentation in the other parts of the data was also brief, but almost complete, and the manner of delivery was organised and well-structured. Still, the study itself contains a lot of issues, and several things or aspects could benefit from an improvement. For one, the number of respondents for the study was rather small, and could hardly offer enough diversity in the findings or emerging themes. Indeed, three setting were taken into account, and a total of only 12 children were observed: four children in the first setting, five in the second, and three in the last (558). Although the small number of respondents could be explained by the fact that the study followed a qualitative design, the study could have benefited with a greater number of students being observed. This is especially in view of the fact that a larger number of respondents or subjects can provide more diversity in the findings, reduce bias, and increase the accuracy of the data gathered (Cohen, Manion and Morrison 2007: 102). Also, another issue observed in the study was that the whole implementation was focused on the environment and setting, and not really the students. This is most apparent in the author’s statement that “organising and planning den-making play in the three settings determined the number of children involved in the research and who participated” (Canning 2010: 557). Although such a step by the author is understandable, especially since the study focused on the impact of the environment, it would seem that the author centred her methodology and data-gathering on the setting, and the children were only second priority. This may have then led to an event where the actual subjects were compromised, thus the small number of subjects. Indeed, the author could have arranged it so that the students were the focus, not the environment: data gathering could have been timed more properly to coincide with the schedule where there is the largest number of students, and not just because there already was a setting. This is especially important in education where the focus should be the learner, and all other aspects are important but they do not take the “centre-stage” from the students (Best and Kahn 2001: 203). Another problem observed in the study is that it failed to actually outline what its research problem or question was. Although a qualitative description of the aims and methods of the study were presented, the research problem was not explicitly outlined for the reader. This is a major problem, since a research should be able to clearly establish its research question, as well as its specific objectives (Ary, Jacobs and Sorensen 2010: 24). Nevertheless, despite its limitations, the study was able to produce findings that agree with the findings and discussions of other studies and authors. Several resources agree that the environment does play a significant role in the development and education of children. Clark and Waller (2007: 108) discussed in their book that the environment can impact learning, especially in the case of students in their early years. This is especially in view of the fact that outdoor play can foster better development, especially of the creative aspects of the mind (MacLeod-Brudenell, Macleod-Brudenell and Kay 2008: 372). In fact, even studies among adolescents found that the environment can affect the students’ desire to participate and actual participation in activities, especially physical activity (Dagkas and Stathi 2007: 372). Moreover, the study finding that outdoor environment facilitates the development of the students’ communication skills agrees with the findings and discussions of other authors, including Aubrey (2007: 130), who discussed that the outdoor environment and the play setting provides a different avenue for communication. Indeed, despite its limitations, the study was able to successfully establish the importance of the outdoor environment in the education of children during their early years. Therefore, author’s reflection on the study and the learning from the study will then be provided in the next section of this paper. However, it should be noted that since the next portion involves a reflection, the first person point of view will then be utilised. Reflection on Learnings In looking at the findings of the study, there were several things that I realised. First of all, I had not realised how big the influence of the environment is in the development of students. Yes, previous studies and readings have made me aware that the environment is important in education, but somehow, it is only now that I was able to grasp the full extent in which the environment affects the amount of data the student stores, and the amount of skills he/she gains. Numerous resources have made me aware before that the way you arrange furniture, the postings on the wall, and plentiful decorations can affect learning (Robins and Callan 2009: 33). However, the study by Canning (2010) opened my eyes to the greater benefits if changes in environment and setting, and that learning are something that should not only be confined to the four wall of this the classroom. Indeed, before reading the study by Canning (2010), I once came upon a blog article entitled “Killing Kindergarten”. The description of the article spoke about how classrooms are destroying or limiting the natural abilities of children to explore and learn. I did not pursue reading the said article, but after my realisations from Canning’s (2010) study, I read the paper and realised how much the current worldwide educational setting is limiting the children’s development by confining students to classrooms. Indeed, the discussions of the blog article, written by Moreno (2012), agreed with the findings of Canning (2010). Both articles, although in very much different ways, made me realise that by confining children in their classrooms, educators are also confining their opportunities to explore, learn, play, and a lot more. This is especially of great concern because several resources have also established that the formative years are very much significant in helping children find themselves and their interests (Moyles 2006: 110). Indeed, one can only imaging the repercussions of curtailing growth at such a very young age. Such a situation can be compared to a bonsai, whose growth is maintained small by cutting of some of its roots early in its development. Indeed, such an analogy is appropriate since it is during the formative years that children begin to establish their “roots” (Parker-Rees and Willan 2006: 106). Therefore, children by limiting the amount of activities the children can engage in during the early years of their development, an educator is limiting the degree by which the child can plant his roots. Thus, in a sense, by limiting outdoor exposure to children, the teacher is creating a bonsai in the children. One of the quotes in Moreno’s (2012) article that struck me the most was, “If you wanted to create an educational environment that as directly opposed to what the brain is doing, you would probably design something like a classroom” (n.p.). This statement is somewhat an eye-opener, and is something that most educators and policy-makers must realise. Education must no longer be only confined within the classroom, especially for children in their early years of development (Blenkin and Kelly 2001: 79). Certainly, times are changing and discoveries on the way by which the human brain develops call for changes and different responses in the field of education (Anning, Cullen and Fleer 2008: 203). Therefore, some recommended changes in the setting of early years education will be provided in the next section of this paper. Suggested Changes for Setting From the readings and from the findings of Canning (2010), several changes are suggested. The main suggested change involves the fact that a significant change in the structure of the classroom should be considered by schools and educational policy makers. The conventional four walls of a room may no longer be sufficient for the holistic development of a child, and therefore, alternative settings may be considered for education. This is an aspect being addressed by current provisions of the EYFS; however, more heightened efforts should be exerted to guarantee that they are indeed being implemented. This is also especially in view of the fact that in the study by Canning (2010), the children were able to transcend the physical objective of building dens, and they were instead able to incorporate their own imaginative play. Indeed, by including outdoor play and education in various settings into the curriculum, educators can address the brain’s demands during the early years of development. Also, by changing the normal classroom setting and incorporating more outdoor play, educators can provide for a freer explorative play, since Pretty et al. (2009: 16) discussed that when natural environments are varied and changeable, then explorative play is made possible. Conclusion From all the discussions in this paper, it can be seen that indeed, the early years of an individual’s development is among the most influential in a person’s life. Therefore, changing demand in the education of children during their early years of education call for changes in the educational system. The study by Canning (2010) revealed that changes and improvements are most especially needed in the learning environment. This is true especially since it was observed that imagination and creativity, as well as communication and social skills are developed by the children when they are allowed to learn in settings outside of the classroom. Thus, this paper suggested that outdoor environments should be incorporated more into the studying curriculum, especially for children in their early years of development. Such as setting will not only benefit students, but also the educators and the society in the long run. References Anning A, Cullen J and Fleer M. 2008. Early childhood education: society and culture. London: Sage. Ary D, Jacobs LC and Sorensen C. 2010. Introduction to research in education. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Aubrey C. 2007. Leading and managing in the early years. London: Sage. Best JW and Kahn JV. 2001. Research in education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Blenkin GM and Kelly AV. 2001. Early childhood education: a developmental curriculum. London: P. Chapman. Canning N. 2010. The influence of the outdoor environment: den-making in three different contexts. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 18 (4), 555–566. Clark MM and Waller T. 2007. Early childhood education and care: policy and practice. London: Sage. Cohen L, Manion L and Morrison K. 2007. Research methods in education. London: Routledge. Dagkas S and Stathi A. 2007. Exploring social and environmental factors affecting adolescents participation in physical activity. European Physical Education Review, 13 (3), 369-384. Dewey J. 2000. Experience and education: the 60th anniversary edition. West Lafayette, Ind.: Kappa Delta Pi. MacLeod-Brudenell I, Macleod-Brudenell J and Kay J. 2008. Advanced early years: for foundation degrees and levels 4/5. Oxford: Heinemann. Moreno A. 2012. Killing Kindergarten [online]. 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