KAEE’s 48th Annual Conference | Forging Paths for Environmental Education: Community, Conversations, and Creativity
Title Sponsor: Morehead State University | Drs. Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education
Land Acknowledgement Morehead State University and the surrounding area are located on the traditional lands of the Yuchee, Shawnee, and Eastern Band of Cherokee. Indigenous peoples have lived on the land we now call Kentucky for over 12,000 years. We want to acknowledge the deep history of this land and the people who still live here today. To learn more about this land and the land you call home, visit native-land.ca.
Forest schooling is an emerging educational approach that takes place primarily outdoors in natural settings (Boileau & Dabaha, 2020). Forest Schooling has gained popularity recently due to its numerous benefits for children's physical, emotional, and cognitive development (NAAEE, 2020). However, there is limited research on how children perceive forest schooling and the impact it has on their learning experiences (Bradley & Male, 2017). This session aims to explore children's perceptions of forest schooling, a crucial aspect that could significantly influence their well-being and development, through the following questions; 1. How do young children without disabilities perceive Forest School and the type of play they engage in within Forest School? 2. How do young children with disabilities perceive Forest School and the type of play they engage in within Forest School? The research questions are addressed through a qualitative case study children aged 3-6 (n=10). The participants attend a Forest School situated in a Nature Park and are subjects as well active contributors to the research. The delivery of Forest School occurs in sessions ranging from 2 to 4 days a week for 3 hours over several months. The study utilizes observations, artifact collection, and interviews with the children. Observation data was collected through video recording and artifact collection using photo stories. Semi-structured interviews about forest school and play were conducted with the children at three different time points, the beginning of the program, middle of the program, and end of the program. Children were shown photos they took to help deepen the conversation. Photo stories provide the children spaces for reflection and sharing perspectives and experiences. (Varvantakis & Nolas, 2021). Truong (2024) used photo stories to find that children enjoyed painted rocks, mud and climbing rocks while in nature at a Canadian nature preserve.
My study adds to the prior research that has been conducted using parents and equators perceptions of forest schooling (Olliff-Cooper et al., 2021) by focusing on children’s perspectives. The session offers a unique opportunity to explore the perceptions of preschool-aged students in forest schools, shedding light on the impact of nature-based learning on young children's development.
