Research investigating the positive effects of contact with nature in educational settings has, for the most part, focused on primary and secondary schools. This study extended that body of research by investigating how contact with nature in childcare settings might influence children's wellbeing.
Thirty-nine children (age 18 months to 36 months) from four different childcare centers in Italy participated in the study. Each child's performance was systematically observed over four identified phases of their daily routines: entrance, structured educational activity, free play, post-free play. Some observations were conducted on days in which the children remained in the internal space of the school for the entire day (labeled as 'no-green days', NGDs); others on days in which they spent part of their time in an outdoor green space for free play (labeled as 'green days', GDs). This arrangement allowed for a comparison of post-free play performance on GDs and NGDs. Researchers completed a behavioral checklist on each child during the observation sessions which occurred on three different days for NGDs and four different days for GDs. The checklist focused on three areas: cognitive functioning, affective state, and social interaction.
Results showed no significant differences in children's cognitive functioning, affective states and social interactions during the daily routines that occurred prior to or during the children's exposure to nature. There were differences, however, during the last routine of the day -- after the free-play activity in which children were exposed to either the outdoor green space (GDs) or the interior space (NGDs). Performance on GDs showed (a) higher levels of orientation toward the activity in task performance, (b) more frequent positive individual behaviors, and (c) more frequent positive relational behaviors than on NGDs. Results also showed that the positive individual behaviors noted in the post-free play activity more frequently on GDs versus NGDs remained constant during GDs throughout the daily routines -- from entrance to post-free play activity.
This research indicates that “spending time in contact with outdoor nature brings about various positive outcomes to children in terms of cognitive capacities, regulation of affective states and positive social behaviour.” The researchers conclude from these findings that contact with nature can serve as a buffer to stressors experienced by young children at childcare.
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