Freedom, flow and fairness: exploring how children develop socially at school through outdoor play

Abstract

In this article, we report on a study that sought to discover micro-level social interactions in fluid outdoor learning spaces. Our methodology was centred around the children; our methods moved with them and captured their social interactions through mobile audio-recording. We argue that our methodological approach supported access to negotiations beyond adult gaze whilst acknowledging some associated ethical and practical dilemmas. Outdoor contexts were characterised by lower levels of adult presence and control and were associated with freedom to engage in sustained inter-child play and interaction. We theorise how opportunities to practice pro-social behaviour contribute to children’s social cohesion in the classroom and what adults can learn from such instances in order to support children’s social development and learning. Children’s conversations are analysed through conceptual lenses of cultures of play, schooling and society.

Keywords:

• Play
• Outdoor
• Social development
• Methodology
• Child-directed
• Culture

Acknowledgements

This article is based upon a study funded through an award by the Research Council UK funding body, the Economic and Social Research Council, to Sue Waite, Julie Evans and Sue Rogers, entitled ‘Opportunities Afforded by the Outdoors for Alternative Pedagogies in the Transition between Foundation Stage and Year 1’ (award number RES-000-22-3065, January 2009 to May 2011). It draws on a conference paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Conference, 8–12 April 2011 in New Orleans, LA, USA.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sue Waite

Sue Waite is co-leader of the outdoor and experiential learning research network (oelresnet) at Plymouth University, where she has been a researcher in education for over 12 years and has published papers on various aspects of outdoor learning. Her other research interests include collaboration and affect in learning and issues around inclusion and social justice.

Sue Rogers

Sue Rogers is Head of the Department of Early Years and Primary Education at the Institute of Education, London. Her research interests include play, curriculum and pedagogy in early childhood, young children’s perspectives and child–adult interaction. She has published widely in the field of early childhood education, including three books: Inside Role Play in Early Childhood Education: Researching Children’s Perspectives (2008, with Julie Evans), an edited collection on play pedagogy entitled Rethinking Play and Pedagogy: Concepts, Contexts and Cultures and Adult Roles in the Early Years (2012, with Janet Rose).

Julie Evans

Julie Evans is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education, Health and Welfare at the University of St Mark & St John. Julie has published in the following areas: early years education; the sociology of childhood; social inequalities; and widening participation.