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<p>Outdoor play offers unique opportunities, making it critical to young children’s health and development. Yet many of today’s children spend very little time outdoors. Given the significant number of American children aged 3 to 5 who attend center-based early education programs, preschool teachers are uniquely positioned to promote the importance of outdoor play and facilitate young children’s interaction with the natural world. This study was designed to gain a deeper understanding of preschool teachers’ cognition about outdoor play. We collected data through an open-ended questionnaire from Montessori (<i>n</i> = 4), nature-based (<i>n</i> = 4), and public (<i>n</i> = 4) preschool teachers. Data revealed seven themes. Overall, teachers were knowledgeable about outdoor play and believed that it is connected to learning in a variety of domains. Teachers also supported interaction with nature and natural elements. Small subcategories were present between the types of early childhood programs and their relationship to outdoor play.</p>

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Outdoor Play through the Eyes of Educators: A Qualitative Study of Preschool Teachers

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月2日

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  • Rebecca M. Giles,
  • Emily K. Johnson

摘要

Outdoor play offers unique opportunities, making it critical to young children’s health and development. Yet many of today’s children spend very little time outdoors. Given the significant number of American children aged 3 to 5 who attend center-based early education programs, preschool teachers are uniquely positioned to promote the importance of outdoor play and facilitate young children’s interaction with the natural world. This study was designed to gain a deeper understanding of preschool teachers’ cognition about outdoor play. We collected data through an open-ended questionnaire from Montessori (n = 4), nature-based (n = 4), and public (n = 4) preschool teachers. Data revealed seven themes. Overall, teachers were knowledgeable about outdoor play and believed that it is connected to learning in a variety of domains. Teachers also supported interaction with nature and natural elements. Small subcategories were present between the types of early childhood programs and their relationship to outdoor play.