The SAGE Handbook of Outdoor Play and Learning

Tim Waller, Eva Ärlemalm-Hagsér, Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter, Libby Lee-Hammond, Kristi Lekies, Shirley Wyver, Tim Waller, Eva Ärlemalm-Hagsér, Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter, Libby Lee-Hammond, Kristi Lekies, Shirley Wyver, Author

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781473926608
• eBook ISBN: 9781526415493
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

There has been a growing academic interest in the role of outdoor spaces for play in a child?s development. This text represents a coordinated and comprehensive volume of international research on this subject edited by members of the well-established European Early Childhood Education Research Association Outdoor Play and Learning SIG (OPAL). Chapters written by authors from Europe, North and South America, Australasia and Asia Pacific countries are organised into six sections:

• Theoretical Frameworks and Conceptual Approaches for Understanding Outdoor Play & Learning
• Critical Reflections on Policy and Regulation in Outdoor Play & Learning
• Children?s Engagement with Nature, Sustainability and Children?s Geographies
• Diverse Contexts and Inclusion in Children?s Outdoor Play Environments
• Methodologies for Researching Outdoor Play and Learning
• Links Between Research and Practice

Part I Theoretical Frameworks and Conceptual Approaches

1 Theoretical Framework of Developmental Theories of Play

Olivia N. Saracho

Philosophers established theories of play to provide an understanding of the nature of children's play behavior. They categorized them into classical and modern theories of play. Classical theories surfaced in the nineteenth century and continued throughout the twentieth century, whereas modern and cognitive theories emerged after 1920. Classical theories explain the rationale for play, whereas modern theories justify the developmentally appropriate practices of play. The modern theories of play are based on theoretical concepts and results from empirical studies that offer an understanding of the children's play, in particular the psychoanalytic and cognitive theories of play. Another important theory is the one on culture.

Culture is ‘an ongoing pattern of life, characterizing a society at a particular stage in its development or at a given point in history’ (Coon & Mitterer, 2008, p. 5). In a pluralistic society, children need to increase their knowledge, become more culturally conscious, know the various cultural values and be responsive to cultural differentiations (López & Mulnix, 2004). Children need to learn diverse systems of values to develop their cultural perspectives; therefore, cultural theory of play will be discussed. These theories are reviewed in the sections below.

CLASSICAL THEORIES

The resemblance in the play of children and some animal species motivated several philosophers to develop their theories of play based on Charles Darwin's (1859) publication The Origin of Species. They used Darwinian and other evolutionary theories to explain play instead of using observations. In the nineteenth century, theories of play surfaced to provide a rationale for the children's play. They provide the reasons (e.g., early development, foundation, basis) and functions (e.g., intention, scheme, motive reason) for play. These theories are the (1) Surplus Energy, (2) Recreational or Relaxation, (3) Practice or Pre-exercise and (4) Recapitulation theories.

The Surplus Energy Theory

The surplus energy theory indicates that humans are naturally active. They accumulate the energy that they need for basic survival; they disperse any excess energy through pointless pleasure. For example, when children are sitting still for a long time, they develop surplus or extra energy. Children begin to fidget, become restless and display off-task behaviors, which suggest that children need to engage in a physical activity (such as jumping, running, skipping) to help them ‘let off steam'.

The surplus energy theory is well known and was initially based on the work of the German philosopher J. C. Friedreich von Schiller (1759–1805) and later the work of English philosopher and sociologist Herbert Spencer (1820–1903). They showed the similarity between human and nonhuman play. Friedreich Schiller (the eighteenth-century German poet, historian and philosopher) first proposed the surplus energy theory, basing it on the assumption that after meeting basic survival needs, children use play to release any organism of ‘excess energy’ (Schiller, 1794/1991). Schiller's theory of play indicates that animals develop more energy than they need to survive and expend spare (surplus) energy through play. Both human and nonhuman animals need to get rid of surplus energy.

The British philosopher Herbert Spenser (1820–1903) based the surplus energy theory of play on Darwin's theory of evolution. For instance, higher species of animals play more than lower species of animals. Schiller believed that play related to ‘surplus energy’ whereas Spenser assumed that it was a ‘superfluous activity'. Neither of these philosophers considered play to be indispensable for human development. Instead, both assumed that it was a means that assisted individuals to balance their energy.

Recreational or Relaxation Theory

Recreational or relaxation theory is the reverse of surplus energy theory (Lazarus, 1883). This theory indicates that play replenishes energy. When individuals have used up their energy, they need to search for ways to refresh and restore their physical and psychological energy. Recreational or relaxation theory refers to the individuals’ restoration of energy during play. German poet Moritz Lazarus (1883) viewed play as the opposite of work, when individuals restore the energy that they used during work. Play is a recreational endeavor (Lazarus, 1883) or a behavior pattern that occurs when individuals need to relax (Patrick, 1916).

Practice or Pre-exercise Theory

Practice or pre-exercise theory was developed by Karl Groos (1898, 1901). During play, children practice the required behavior for later survival. This theory acknowledges many traditions and purposes for children's play in adult games, rituals and competitions. Play stimulates children to replicate and implement adult roles that prepare them for adulthood and their future. For instance, when children act out their parents’ roles in dramatic play, they are practicing the roles that they will assume as adults in the future. Several constructivist theories that focus on children's intellectual functioning support this theory (Piaget, 1962, 1985).

Recapitulation Theory

G. Stanley Hall (1844–1924), an American psychologist, used Charles Darwin's theory of evolution as a source for his recapitulation theory. The theory presumes that the individual's development recreates the species’ development. It considers that activities that recreate historical events (e.g., hunting, throwing games, hide and seek, chasing) are intrinsically gratifying. This theory declares that play is not an activity that needs future instinctual skills but one that replaces the children's unwarranted instinctual skills. Based on the recapitulation theory, ‘Each child passes through a series of play stages corresponding to and recapitulating the cultural stages in the development of the race’ (Essays, UK, 2013, no page number). According to Hall (1906), human beings start at the embryo stage and move through evolutionary stages that are the equivalent of the development of the human species. Throughout such a sequence children act out developmental stages (such as animal, savage, tribal member) in their play, which provides children a catharsis that releases them from any primitive impulses that are unacceptable in the present society.

Comparison of Classical Theories

The classical theories of play are divided into (1) surplus energy theory with recreational/relaxation theory and (2) practice/pre-exercise theory with recapitulation theory. Table 1.1 provides a summary of these theories.

Source: Saracho, 2012, p. 33

Each pair of theories contradicts each other on how play utilizes energy or manages instincts. The surplus energy and recreational/relaxation theories describe how play deals with energy. One theory diminishes excess energy, while the other refurb...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Notes on the Editors and Contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part I Theoretical Frameworks and Conceptual Approaches
• 1 Theoretical Framework of Developmental Theories of Play
• 2 Affordance Theory in Outdoor Play
• 3 Technology and Outdoor Play: Concerns and Opportunities
• 4 Outdoor Play in Recess Time
• 5 Outdoor Play and Cognitive Development
• 6 Forest School for the Early Years in England
• Part II Critical Reflections on Policy and Regulation
• 7 Risk and Safety in Outdoor Play
• 8 The Evolution of Policy on Risk Management in Outdoor Play
• 9 Outdoor Play Spaces in Canada: As if Children Mattered
• 10 The Rise of Outdoor Play and Education Issues in Preschools in South Korea
• 11 Outdoor Play in Latin American Early Childhood and Elementary Schools: A Review of the Literature
• 12 How to Revitalize American Playgrounds
• Part III Children's Engagement with Nature, Sustainability and Children's Geographies
• 13 Early Childhood Education for Sustainability: The Relationship between Young Children's Participation and Agency – Children and Nature
• 14 Considering Children's Opportunities for Exploration of their Local Environment and Engagement with Nature1
• 15 Nature Preschools in Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Norway: Characteristics and Differences
• 16 Places for Symbolic Play in Nature Environments
• 17 Assessing Free Play Behaviour in Urban Play Spaces
• 18 Nature Pedagogy – An Exploration of the Storied Narratives that Illustrate its Application Across Spaces Inside, Outside and Beyond
• 19 An Australian Perspective: Seeking Sustainability in Early Childhood Outdoor Play Spaces
• Part IV Diverse Contexts and Inclusion in Children's Outdoor Play Environments
• 20 Belonging in Nature: Spirituality, Indigenous Cultures and Biophilia
• 21 Along Paths of Movement: Sámi Children and Early Childhood Student Teachers as Wayfarers
• 22 Gender Issues in Outdoor Play
• 23 Outdoor Play and Learning in the Landscape of Children's Rights
• 24 Multilingual Development and Outdoor Play
• 25 Relating with Land/Engaging with Elders: Accessing Indigenous Knowledges in Early Childhood Education through Outdoor Encounters
• 26 Men and Women in Outdoor Play – The Gender Perspective
• Part V Methodologies for Researching Outdoor Play and Learning
• 27 Participatory Research with Very Young Children
• 28 Developing the Pedagogic Method Narrative Journey
• 29 Take Two: Using Video as an Analysis Tool for Outdoor Play
• 30 The Importance of Randomized Controlled Trials as an Evidence Base
• 31 Indigenous Methodologies in Education Research: Case Study of Children's Play in Solomon Islands
• 32 ‘Naturalizar Educativamente': The Chilean Quest for Introducing Outdoor Learning and Play in Early Childhood Education
• 33 Indigenizing Outdoor Play in New Zealand: A Conversation Analysis Approach
• Part VI Links between Research and Practice
• 34 Investigating Children's Collecting Behavior Outdoors
• 35 Enhancing the Outdoor Learning Spaces for Pre-Primary Classes in Western Ethiopia
• 36 Outdoor Play and Learning in Preschools in South Africa
• 37 Early Childhood Teachers’ (Pre- and Compulsory School Teachers) Use of the Outdoor Environment in Children's Learning about Living Beings
• 38 Storied Landscapes: Children's Experiences and the ‘Sense’ of Place
• 39 The Magic of Outdoor Play: A Phenomenological Hermeneutic Approach
• 40 The Benefits of Children's Outdoor Free Play Activities: Examining Physical Activity in Japan
• Index