This study investigated how the quality of preschool outdoor environments can be improved through a participatory process involving children, parents and teachers. Actively involving children in decision making processes reflects one of their basic rights as articulated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Seven different preschools in the Basque Country (Spain) participated in this study. The Preschool Outdoor Environment Measurement Scale (POEMS) served as a measure of quality. The POEMS consists of 56 items grouped into five domains: (1) Physical Environment, (2) Interactions, (3) Play and Learning Settings, (4) Program and (5) Teacher/Caregiver Role. Two raters – both early childhood education specialists – used the POEMS to code the seven playgrounds before and after changes were made to the outdoor environments.
A total of 1001 children (age 3 - 6) who were attending the participating preschools took photos, drew pictures, and talked about what they would like to have in the outdoor playspace of their school. What they wanted included a wide variety of resources – including natural resources, such as sand and water -- that could be used to play and to experiment with. They wanted places where they could seek shelter and where their motor skills would be challenged. The children's ideas, in addition to being exhibited and discussed in class, were also developed into a group book which included the children's photographs and comments. This book provided a focus for shared reflection between children and adults. Adults participating in this project included 54 parents and 94 teachers. The adult participants – through conversations and interviews -- provided feedback on the children's ideas for improving the playspaces and shared observations about the impact of the changes once they were implemented. The adults also shared their views of the collaborative process itself.
Pre-post POEMS ratings showed the intervention resulted in statistically significant improvements to the quality of the outdoor environments of the participating schools. The biggest improvements were in the areas of Physical Environment, Interactions, and Program. Changes in the other two areas -- Play and Learning Settings and Teacher/Caregiver Role -- were moderate. Interview data provided additional evidence of quality improvements to the school yards. Children noted enhanced opportunities for play; parents started to spend more time in the school's outdoor environment; and teachers felt the improvements had a positive impact on the children. Children, parents, and teachers also expressed positive views of the participatory process. In various ways, they noted how the redesign of the outdoor environments was the result of collaboration and cooperation.
The results of this study “show that innovation projects which achieve the active participation of children, parents and teachers can make an important contribution to improving the quality of preschool outdoor environments.”
Research Partner