Educator confidence and agency, along with other key leveraging points, are crucial for optimal implementation of nature-based play Research has highlighted the many benefits of nature-based play for young children. To support the development of nature-based early learning and childcare centers (ELC) on a larger scale, a more comprehensive understanding of how these programs function is needed. The purpose of this study was to identify the complex system of factors involved in the implementation of nature-based play in ELC in order to optimize efforts to expand these learning opportunities.
Researchers employed a systems-based approach to develop a Causal Loop Diagram (CLD) through the participation of managers, practitioners, and other stakeholders involved in nature-based play in ELC in Scotland. Data collection was conducted through Group Model Building (GMB) in which stakeholders identified the factors that affect, and are affected by, the practice of nature-based play in ELC. Participating stakeholders included ten ELC educators and ten ELC managers or other professionals in regulatory roles. The factors identified by participants, as well as the relationships between factors, were used to construct a CLD of nature-based play in ELC. The resulting CLD was statistically analyzed to determine which factors are central to the processes of implementation of nature-based play in ELC.
Analysis documented 42 factors that influence the functioning of nature-based play in ELC. The factors were organized into six thematic groups: educator attributes, ELC practice, resources, child-related factors, parental factors, and factors not within educators’ control. Analysis also identified 12 loops which illustrate the relationships among factors and explain components of the complex processes behind nature-based play implementation. These consisted of seven reinforcing loops, which encourage nature-based play, and five balancing loops, which limit nature-based play. Reinforcing loops are crucial for the success of nature-based play in ELC and included educators’ collaboration on a shared vision, child-educator relationships, educators’ formal and informal capacity building and knowledge sharing, parent perceptions of learning and playing outdoors, and the degree to which being outdoors is a consolidated practice. Balancing loops, which may represent challenges to nature-based play at ELCs, focused on program affordability, children’s outdoor experiences at ELC (as influenced by factors such as staff/child ratios), parental attitudes/consent, risks of outdoor play, and weather conditions. Further, six leverage points that demonstrated “strategic importance in the system” of nature-based play in ELC were identified. These points are especially influential to the other processes at work within the system. The leverage points were: (1) ELC culture of outdoor play and learning, (2) Culture of being outdoors, (3) Perceived child safety and enjoyment, (4) Use of outdoor nature space, (5) Educator agency, and (6) Educator confidence.
Findings contribute to the understanding of nature-based play in early childhood settings by highlighting specific key leveraging points. Investment at these points, which influence other components of the system, can be prioritized to produce the most beneficial outcomes. Some leverage points, such as ‘use of outdoor nature space’ and ‘perceived child safety and enjoyment,’ are dependent on funding resources that may need to be increased to promote outdoor play. ‘Educator confidence’ and ‘educator agency’ are “crucial for the success and optimal implementation of nature-based ELC.” The researchers “strongly encourage both informal and formal capacity building within our current and future ELC educators” to bolster these impactful attributes and expand nature-based play opportunities.
The Bottom Line