Looking beneath the surface: associations between varied outdoor surfaces and children’s diverse play behaviours in early childhood education and care institutions

Abstract

This study assumes that surfaces in outdoor environments in early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions exert an important influence on children’s play diversity. Gibson (1979) claims that surfaces are important because they are where most action occurs; some surfaces may lead to a diversity of play behaviours, while others afford a narrower range of actions. This study was conducted as part of a three-year mixed-methods project. The sample consisted of 464 video observations (mean duration: 122 seconds) of 79 children’s free play in the outdoor environments of eight ECEC institutions. Multilevel regression analysis, controlled for children’s age and gender, indicated that functional play was positively associated with surfaces resistant to deformation (e.g. rubber) and that constructive play was positively associated with surfaces with low resistance to disintegration (e.g. sand or forest floor). These results can help develop and design outdoor environments that facilitate children’s play diversity in ECEC.

Keywords:

• Outdoor play space
• playground surfaces
• play diversity
• child-friendly environment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Research Council of Norway (grant 270727)

Notes on contributors

Rune Storli

Rune Storli is an associate professor in the Department of Physical Education and Health at Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education in Trondheim, Norway. He has considerable experience teaching outdoor life and outdoor activities in pre-school teacher education and has authored several books on these topics. In recent years, he has dedicated his research to rough-and-tumble play among pre-school children and has explored the characteristics of this kind of play, its benefits for children’s development and well-being, and early childhood education and care (ECEC) practitioners’ attitudes towards and practices regarding such play.

Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter

Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter is a professor in the Department of Physical Education and Health at Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education in Trondheim, Norway. Her primary research interest is children’s physical play, outdoor play, and risky/thrilling play in ECEC institutions, as well as how to develop physical environments for children’s play, development, and learning. She has also been involved in research on Norwegian children’s experiences of participation and well-being in the country’s ECEC institutions, as well as projects about safety work, child injuries, and injury prevention in said institutions.

Ole Johan Sando

Ole Johan Sando is an associate professor employed at the Department of Physical Education and Health at Queen Maud University College of Early Childhood Education in Trondheim, Norway. His PhD research focused on how the physical environment in ECEC relates to children’s well-being and level of physical activity. Ole Johan has previously researched how society’s focus on safety affects children’s opportunities for physically active play. He has also investigated injuries and accidents in ECEC and young children’s outdoor activities.