TY - JOUR
T1 - Child-initiated learning, the outdoor environment and the 'underachieving' child
AU - Maynard, Trisha
AU - Waters, Jane
AU - Clement, Jennifer
PY - 2013/3/26
Y1 - 2013/3/26
N2 - The Foundation Phase for Wales advocates an experiential, play-based approach to learning for children aged three to seven years that includes child-initiated activity within the outdoor environment. In previous research, Foundation Phase practitioners maintained that children perceived to be 'underachieving' within the classroom came into their own when engaged in child-initiated learning outdoors. This study, which involved eight Foundation Phase teachers, aimed to explore these perceived differences as well as teachers' perceptions of 'underachievement'. It is concluded that the more natural outdoor spaces in which child-initiated activity took place appeared to amplify the effects of child-initiated learning and diminish the perception of underachievement; that engagement in this project enabled some teachers to see 'underachievement' as being distributed across people, place and activity; and that through constructing the outdoor 'space' as a 'place' embedded with positive meanings, children may have had the opportunity to reconstruct themselves as strong, competent children rather than as 'underachieving' pupils.
AB - The Foundation Phase for Wales advocates an experiential, play-based approach to learning for children aged three to seven years that includes child-initiated activity within the outdoor environment. In previous research, Foundation Phase practitioners maintained that children perceived to be 'underachieving' within the classroom came into their own when engaged in child-initiated learning outdoors. This study, which involved eight Foundation Phase teachers, aimed to explore these perceived differences as well as teachers' perceptions of 'underachievement'. It is concluded that the more natural outdoor spaces in which child-initiated activity took place appeared to amplify the effects of child-initiated learning and diminish the perception of underachievement; that engagement in this project enabled some teachers to see 'underachievement' as being distributed across people, place and activity; and that through constructing the outdoor 'space' as a 'place' embedded with positive meanings, children may have had the opportunity to reconstruct themselves as strong, competent children rather than as 'underachieving' pupils.
KW - Foundation Phase
KW - child-initiated learning
KW - the outdoor environment
KW - underachievment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84881621966&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/09575146.2013.771152
DO - 10.1080/09575146.2013.771152
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84881621966
SN - 0957-5146
VL - 33
SP - 212
EP - 225
JO - Early Years
JF - Early Years
IS - 3
ER -