Nature-based practices may promote executive function in preschoolers and may be especially helpful for low SES childrenA growing body of research links executive function (EF) in preschoolers with readiness for school and subsequent success in school. Executive function is a social-emotional skill which plays a major role in goal-directed behavior. The different dimensions of executive function include cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibitory control.
This study examined the effect of nature-based practices on preschoolers’ EF by comparing three preschool program types that differed primarily in terms of the extent to which nature-based practices were incorporated. The study also explored the potential for nature-based practices in preschool to “equalize” EF outcomes for children with higher and lower socioeconomic status (SES). A total of 147 children (age 3-5) from fourteen public preschool programs in one school district in a metropolitan area in the US participated in the study. Most of the study participants were lower SES. The participating programs were assigned to one of three groups (types) -- Nature, Blended, Less Nature-- based on the Preschool “Nature-ness” Categorization Rubric. Programs assigned to the “Nature” group (N=42) emphasized child-directed nature play and/or playful, loosely guided outdoor learning to promote both environmental outcomes and Kindergarten preparation. Programs assigned to the “Less Nature” group (N=27) tended to emphasize early academics and Kindergarten readiness, with most of the activities being teacher-directed and most of the play occurring indoors. Programs assigned to the “Blended” group (N=78) tended to focus more on Kindergarten readiness and early academics than the “Nature” programs, yet they generally used more child-directed and nature-related activities than the “Less Nature” programs. The Minnesota Executive Function Scale (MEFS) was administered individually to all of the participating children at the beginning and end of the academic year. The MEFS -- which addresses the EF domains of cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibitory control -- is strongly correlated with other research measures of EF.
MEFS results showed no significant differences in EF scores across the three programs at the beginning of the study. By the end of the year, however, children in the Blended programs had significantly higher EF scores than children in the Less Nature programs. Additionally, the lower SES participants in the Blended preschools had significantly higher posttest EF scores than the lower SES participants in Less Nature preschools. Blended preschool results -- after controlling for pretest, age, and gender -- also showed no significant difference in posttest scores between lower and higher SES children, indicating that “the lower SES preschoolers were on par with their higher SES peers in terms of end-of-school-year EF levels.” Results of the Nature preschool programs did not differ significantly from the Blended programs.
These results indicate that “some incorporation of nature based practices appears to be better than none in terms of supporting EF in preschoolers”, but more nature-based practices weren’t significantly better than some. Also of great practical significance are results relating to the potential “equalizing effect” of the blended approach to incorporating nature-based practices. This approach “might not only help lower SES children not fall further behind, it potentially might help them catch up to their higher SES peers.”
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