‘I feel like I’m getting sad there’: early childhood outdoor playspaces as places for children’s wellbeing

ABSTRACT

Children’s physical activity has long been the primary focus of outdoor playspace design. Other influences are adult views on risk and economic considerations. However, a growing body of research shows young children’s perspectives on their outdoor playspaces need to be accounted for. Positioned within a mixed-method comparative case study, this paper showcases the stories that young children have told during participatory research about two different early childhood outdoor playspaces. Recurrent wellbeing themes emerged highlighting children’s agency, place attachment and the need to hide. Analysis of the children’s stories indicated that a spacious open-ended environment, with significant natural features, selected built equipment and secluded spaces, fostered children’s experiences of wellbeing through play. Overcrowding, and a preponderance of artificial surfaces and materials appeared to work against children’s wellbeing. The findings indicate that good outdoor playspace design acknowledges the importance of place in children’s lives, and involves them in co-construction of their playspaces.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Children’s places
• emotional wellbeing
• wellbeing indicators
• design features
• naturalized places

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to offer a special thanks to Thomas Robertson who developed the drawn mapping templates of the outdoor spaces, and to the management, staff and children of the participating centres. This work was supported by a 2017 Research for Education Impact (REDI) Industry Collaboration Development Grant at Deakin University.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 C1 refers to Centre 1, while C2 refers to Centre 2.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a 2017 Research for Education Impact (REDI) Industry Collaboration Development Grant at Deakin University.

Notes on contributors

Deborah Moore

Dr Deborah Moore is a lecturer in curriculum and pedagogy (M.Teach. Early Childhood) at Deakin University. Deb’s research interests are primarily around researching with young children on the places they construct for imaginative play.

Anne-Marie Morrissey

Anne-Marie Morrissey is an Associate Professor in Early Childhood Education at Deakin University. She has a particular interest in the role of early childhood outdoor spaces in supporting outcomes for children, and leads a program of research at Deakin involving industry partnerships with service providers and landscape professionals.

Natalie Robertson

Dr Natalie Robertson is a lecturer in early childhood education at Deakin University. She has conducted research in sociodramatic play, curriculum and play-based learning in Australia and internationally.