Outdoor education, interaction and reflection: a study of Irish outdoor ECEC

ABSTRACT

This study examines the context in which Irish outdoor ECEC learning is situated and examines insights from outdoor education practitioners. Using a qualitative lens, we look at ‘quality’ interactions and the scope which outdoor learning offers for impactful teaching and learning. Research was conducted during the first stages of the COVID 19 pandemic in 2020, involving participants who worked in outdoor and forest school settings. The results of this study indicate the major role that the physical environment and the educator play in the construction of quality interactions outdoors, and it examines the potential future growth of outdoor ECEC in Ireland as a result of the pandemic.

KEYWORDS:

• Forest schools
• early childhood
• interaction
• pandemic
• education

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Karina Abbott

Karina Abbott is a tutor on the Leadership for Inclusion (LINC) in Early Years Programme at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Applied Early Childhood Education and Care, a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Early Childhood Education and Care and a Research Masters degree in Teaching and Learning from the Institute of Technology, Carlow. She has a keen interest in Outdoor Education in the Early Years, Trauma Informed Care in the Early Years and Leading Inclusion in the Early Years.

Susan Flynn

Susan Flynn is a Head of Department of Arts, South East Technological University.