Can playscapes promote early childhood inquiry towards environmentally responsible behaviors? An exploratory study

Abstract

This paper investigates young children’s exploratory play and inquiry on playscapes: playgrounds specifically designed to connect children with natural environments. Our theoretical framework posits that playscapes combine the benefits of nature and play to promote informal science exploration of natural materials. This, in turn, is expected to lead to environmental science literacy, which in turn is likely to strengthen a child’s ecological identity and lead to environmentally responsible behaviors (ERBs). The following questions are of specific interest: to what extent do children go beyond observations and explorations and use science-specific representations and language during their play on playscapes? What locations on the playscape afford science-specific activities? And how do these activities relate to their play on the playscape? In an attempt to answer these questions, we describe data obtained from a video analysis of preschoolers visiting a playscape. As a means of initial comparison, we also analyzed data obtained from a traditional playground. We examine the intersection of children’s play and inquiry within specific areas of interest at the two sites. The two sites vary in many dimensions, including size, familiarity, and access to natural materials. Nevertheless, our data provide initial support for our hypothesis that natural environments promote explorations and inquiry, fostering ERBs.

Keywords:

• early childhood environmental education
• playscapes
• inquiry
• nature
• environmentally responsible behaviors

Acknowledgments

Funding for this project was provided from the National Science Foundation (PI: Carr, 114647). We thank the other members of our research team, Rhonda Brown, Elenor Luken, Mona Jenkins, Gabriel Gales, Leslie Kochanowski, and Melissa Elchison for helping us organize the project and collect the data. We thank Robin Moore and Brad Beiber for assisting us in defining the zones of the research sites and the behavior mapping training. We also thank the children and staff at the Arlitt Preschool and Child Focus. Finally, we thank the staff at the Cincinnati Nature Center for their support of the project, specifically Bill Hopple, Connie O’Connor, and Jonathan Swiger.

Notes

1. Each vest was also outfitted with a Veho muvi™ Pro mini video camera, in order to capture the child’s viewpoint and their language use. However, the video and audio footage recorded by the mini cameras was not usable and thus is not discussed here.