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Perceived challenges of early childhood educators in promoting unstructured outdoor play : an ecological systems perspective Cheng, Tina; Brussoni, Mariana; Han, Christina; Munday, Fritha; Zeni, Megan

Abstract

Unstructured outdoor play has been recognized for its beneficial impacts on children’s healthy development; however, unfortunately, opportunities for children to engage in meaningful play are limited. Early learning and childcare centres can be essential settings for unstructured outdoor play, and educators can play a vital role in supporting children’s opportunities, yet they face numerous barriers. We conducted five focus groups with 40 professionals working in the early childhood education field (educators, students and licensing officers) in British Columbia, Canada, to examine their experiences and perceived challenges in promoting children’s unstructured outdoor play. Participants’ identified challenges were mapped on the ecological system and ranged from microsystem concerns (e.g. knowledge and skills) to mesosystem concerns (e.g. lack of shared understanding with parents and colleagues), exosystem concerns (e.g. licensing regulations) and macrosystem concerns (e.g. societal risk aversion). We recommend evidence-based strategies to address each of the identified barriers, targeting each ecological system level.

Item Metadata

Title
Perceived challenges of early childhood educators in promoting unstructured outdoor play : an ecological systems perspective
Creator
Cheng, Tina; Brussoni, Mariana; Han, Christina; Munday, Fritha; Zeni, Megan
Contributor
B.C. Injury Research and Prevention Unit; Children's Hospital (Vancouver, B.C.). Research Institute
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Date Issued
2022
Description
Unstructured outdoor play has been recognized for its beneficial impacts on children’s healthy development; however, unfortunately, opportunities for children to engage in meaningful play are limited. Early learning and childcare centres can be essential settings for unstructured outdoor play, and educators can play a vital role in supporting children’s opportunities, yet they face numerous barriers. We conducted five focus groups with 40 professionals working in the early childhood education field (educators, students and licensing officers) in British Columbia, Canada, to examine their experiences and perceived challenges in promoting children’s unstructured outdoor play. Participants’ identified challenges were mapped on the ecological system and ranged from microsystem concerns (e.g. knowledge and skills) to mesosystem concerns (e.g. lack of shared understanding with parents and colleagues), exosystem concerns (e.g. licensing regulations) and macrosystem concerns (e.g. societal risk aversion). We recommend evidence-based strategies to address each of the identified barriers, targeting each ecological system level.
Subject
Children and youth (0-19); Outdoor/risky play
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2022-08-04
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0416591
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/82273
Affiliation
Medicine, Faculty of; Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of; Pediatrics, Department of; Education, Faculty of
Citation
Tina Cheng, Mariana Brussoni, Christina Han, Fritha Munday & Megan Zeni (2022) Perceived challenges of early childhood educators in promoting unstructured outdoor play: an ecological systems perspective, Early Years.
Publisher DOI
10.1080/09575146.2022.2034140
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher
Rights URI
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International