https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3899-5600
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ABSTRACT
The Estonian National Curriculum for Preschool Child Care Institutions values learning through games, observation and research in various environments. There are no official guidelines regarding the frequency of outdoor learning or the content that children should experience, but outdoor learning creates the best opportunities to accomplish this purpose. The aim of the current study is to clarify the opinions of teachers about outdoor learning and the possibility of utilizing it in learning activities. The data was collected by questionnaire which consisted of open-ended questions. The results showed that teachers do not practice outdoor learning very often, although they find studying outdoors to be important. The results helped to determine how preschool teachers see themselves as practitioners of outdoor learning and how outdoor learning supports the development of children. Based on the findings, outdoor learning should be included in the teacher training process.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
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Lehte Tuuling
Lehte Tuuling is a lecturer of Rakvere College and a PhD student at the School of Educational Sciences at Tallinn University. She focuses her research on different aspects of outdoor learning and learning environment.
Tiia Õun
Tiia Õun is an associate professor whose research is about learning and teaching in early childhood education and curriculum implementation. She also studies teacher preparation and professionality.
Aino Ugaste
Aino Ugaste is a professor of early childhood education at the Tallinn University. Her research focuses on children’s play and learning in different context and she is interested in phenomenology and qualitative research.