Nature-Based Learning Settings and the Transition to Formal Schooling

Introduction

For more than a century, researchers have been interested in the relationship between nature and education (Chawla, 1998). Therefore, a variety of concepts has emerged to define education or school systems occurring outside the walls of concrete school buildings such as outdoor education, forest school, environmental education, education for sustainability, and nature-based education. The intention in all these different concepts is to challenge traditional schooling to step out of its boundaries and to create more opportunities to experience and explore, and they all indicate a first-hand and experience-based education (Mygind, et al., 2019).

‘Nature-based education’ is acknowledged in this context as referring to teaching, learning, and practice in a natural environment (Knight, 2011). In this approach, learning contents and teaching methods cannot be restricted to specific subjects. ‘Nature’ is used both as a setting and resource for learning (Berry, 1999). In nature-based education, practice takes place in the environment and nature, but there is no necessity to teach for environmental awareness or about problems related to nature (Cordiano, et al., 2019). The main subject can range from mathematics and literacy to science (McClelland, et al., 2007). Further, a natural setting can be anywhere outdoors, which might include a part of the natural world such as woodlands, a forest, gardens, farms, or a grass field (Higgins & Nicol, 2002). Children can develop their skills and senses through direct experiences and active participation in nature; however, it is not a defining feature. The point to be noted here is that nature-based education should be in nature, not necessarily about nature.

Understanding the complexity of nature-based education is vitally important when it is aimed to provide a healthy and developmentally appropriate learning environment to young children. Recent years have seen renewed interest in the place of nature in early education studies (e.g. Häggström & Schmidt, 2020; Blenkinshop & Morse, 2017; Green & Dyment, 2018) and the need for integrating nature with mainstream education as well as extending nature-based education to primary grades has become a necessity with current developments. Evidence suggests that natural settings and resources support motivation for children (Eick, 2012) and offer meaningful experiences (Warden, 2010) as well as promoting children’s overall development, including their academic, physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and mental developments (O’Brien, 2009; Tonge, Jones, & Okely, 2019). However, surprisingly, the role of nature as working as a bridge between early childhood education and school settings has not been closely examined.