An analysis of children’s outdoor activities and their relationship to play and learning for sustainability

This paper describes a small experiment conducted in collaboration with Scottish Outdoor Education Centres (SOEC) at one of their Centres to clarify the predisposition of children using the Centre for Outdoor or Indoor play environments. The experiment involved two different schools, A and B, using the Centre at the same time (June 2009). A total of 54 children, aged 11-12 years, were surveyed at the beginning and end of a 5 day residential course. The method of Discrete Choice Experiments (DCE) was used to establish the children’s choice of Outdoor or Indoor environments. The method is described and the data analysed for individual schools and also aggregated. The following preliminary conclusions are drawn. Children already have a predisposition for outdoor play and this is enhanced slightly over a 5 day residential course. However, it would seem that the effect does not persist on return to their normal school environment. The paper concludes with a brief discussion for extending this work