Caregiver training may enhance outdoor pedagogy and nature engagement in daycareNature-based daycare centers provide young children with valuable opportunities to develop meaningful connections with the natural world. However, these opportunities are often underutilized when caregivers lack training for effectively integrating natural environments into everyday pedagogy. This is particularly true for babies and toddlers, who are often given limited opportunities to explore outdoors independently. Research focusing on this youngest age group also remains scarce. To improve nature-based practices in childcare settings, this study evaluated the impact of a year-long Community of Practice (CoP) training program designed to strengthen caregivers' pedagogical use of outdoor spaces in nature-based daycare centers. The study examined the program's effects on the stress levels, well-being, involvement, and outdoor play behavior of children under four years of age. In particular, the study focused on groups for whom daycare may be a more stressful experience, including the youngest and oldest children and boys.
A total of 133 children (age 0–4) from 13 daycare centers in the Netherlands participated in the study. Staff from six daycare centers participated in a year-long collaborative action CoP program and attended four half-day meetings with educators, managers, researchers, and nature education experts to strengthen their pedagogical and interactive skills for engaging children in outdoor play. In between meetings, staff engaged in a reflective process that aimed to improve practice. The other seven daycare centers served as a control group and did not participate in the CoP intervention. For each of the 13 daycare centers, researchers assessed urbanity and size of the outdoor area (derived from geographical data). The researchers also assessed the naturalness and quality of the outdoor environment at each center. Naturalness was measured by estimating the proportion of the outdoor area covered by greenery or other natural elements. The quality of the outdoor environment was evaluated with a 12-item checklist designed to assess daycare outdoor spaces. Intervention daycares were more often located in highly urban settings and had smaller outdoor areas; however, all intervention locations had high-quality outdoor areas with abundant affordances and loose parts. Intervention and control daycares had similar levels of naturalness, with the majority having a natural outdoor area covered by more than 80% vegetation and natural elements. Within two months of CoP completion, children’s stress, well-being, involvement, and outdoor play behavior were evaluated. Stress levels were assessed using hair cortisol concentrations as an indicator of stress over the prior four months. The other outcomes were evaluated through two-minute-long observations of children who were able to move around independently. In the first minute, play behavior was coded using the cognitive play categories from the Play Observation Scale, and the percentage of functional, creative play, and non-play was calculated for each child. Social behavior was recorded by documenting whether the child was playing alone or with others. At the same time, the level of physical activity was categorized as sedentary, moderate, or intensive. In the second minute of observation, children’s well-being and involvement (participation and engagement) were assessed using the SICs ZiKo instrument. Statistical analyses were conducted to compare outcomes between the intervention and control daycare centers while accounting for children's age group and gender.
Analysis of hair cortisol did not detect a significant difference between children's stress levels at the control and intervention locations. However, within the intervention group, boys' stress decreased and girls’ stress increased, although these differences did not reach statistical significance. Children at intervention locations had significantly higher well-being scores than children at control locations. At intervention daycares, 50% of children were ranked as having high or very high well-being, compared to 25% at control daycares. This difference was largely explained by boys, who had significantly higher well-being than girls. Observations indicated that children in both groups were equally involved during outdoor play, although gender-based differences were again found. Boys at intervention daycares showed more involvement during outdoor play than boys at control locations. On the other hand, girls at intervention locations showed slightly less involvement than girls at control locations. Overall, children were very physically active outdoors. At intervention daycares, 57% of girls and 87% of boys were highly active, while at control daycares, 67% of girls and 65% of boys were highly physically active. Physical activity increased with age for both boys and girls. No differences were found in social behavior between intervention and control locations; however, older children engaged in more social behavior than younger children. Play behaviors were similar across intervention and control locations, with children engaged in functional play (38%), creative play (31%), and non-play behaviors (31%). Boys in the intervention group engaged in more creative play and less non-play than boys in the control group. Girls in the intervention group engaged in more functional play and less creative play than girls in the control group. Within the intervention group, younger children engaged in more functional play and older children engaged in more creative play compared with the control group. Results also suggested that the quality of outdoor areas influenced play behavior. At intervention daycares with high-quality outdoor areas, children engaged in more functional play and less non-play; those with lower-quality outdoor areas showed less functional play and more non-play. Quality of the outdoor area did not influence any of the other outcomes.
The study highlights the importance of caregivers' pedagogical skills in supporting young children's active, autonomous engagement with nature in daycare settings. The CoP program was linked with positive outcomes for boys and the youngest and oldest children. At intervention daycares, boys showed lower stress and higher well-being, engagement, physical activity, and creative play. The youngest children under 1.5 years engaged in more functional play and less non-play outdoors, while 3-year-olds demonstrated more creative play. On the other hand, girls at intervention sites showed slightly higher stress and lower involvement, physical activity, and creative play than girls at control sites. The researchers suggest these findings reflect a shift from a directive teaching approach to a more mindful, non-intervening role that encouraged children's independent exploration and challenging outdoor play. Very young children, who are often closely supervised, may especially benefit from a non-intervening pedagogical approach that encourages greater freedom to explore the outdoor environment. Overall, the study underscores the value of pedagogical strategies for maximizing the benefits of natural outdoor environments while highlighting the need for inclusive approaches that support the diverse needs of all children.
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