What Are the Characteristics of Nature Preschools in Norway, and How Do They Organize Their Daily Activities?

The purpose of this study is gather basic information about how Norwegian nature preschools differ from other Norwegian preschools and how they organise their daily activities. The study has an explorative design and aims to answer the following research questions: (1) How do nature preschools differ from other preschools in terms of size, outdoor time and use of nature? (2) How do nature preschools organise their activities to spend time in nature?

The analysis shows that most nature preschools are private and have fewer children and employees than other preschools; 16% of the nature preschools are public, whereas 84% are private. In comparison, 49% of the other preschools in the study are public, whereas 51 are private. For the younger children (0-3 years), the analysis shows no significant differences between the number of children per department in the nature preschools and the other preschools. However, there are fewer children in each playgroup with older children (3-6 years) in nature preschools compared with the other preschools. In the interview study, group sizes are highlighted as an important factor when nature preschools are outside their own buildings. The possibility of being close to the children, both physically and intellectually, as well as being able to monitor the children, are mentioned as reasons for the small groups. The ratio of the number of adults per child is the same for nature preschools and other preschools.

With regard to being in nature, nature preschools have more reference areas in nature, and they visit these areas more often than the other preschools. A core time of four to five hours every day is often spent outside the preschool, and the interviewees highlight the flexibility of being away from the preschool buildings for most of the day. Being outdoors for so many hours is unpredictable, and this means that the staff have to improvise and have close contact with the children. Nature preschools are organised in different ways to optimise the possibilities of spending time in nature, for example by gathering all staff meetings in one day.

Finally, the study shows that nature preschools have routines and rules that provide the children with a high degree of trust. For example, the interviewees talk about the use of invisible fences, borders and waiting areas which the children have to respect. Such rules are built on trust between children and adults, and if the children break the rules, the adults impose mild sanctions that limit the children's freedom of movement. Examples of sanctions are that the children must stay close to the assembly point or they have to walk with the adults. Trust and responsibility seem to be characteristic for nature preschools and crucial for the organisation of daily activities.

A total of 56 nature preschools and 52 other preschools took part in the study. Around 100 headmasters, 52 of them from nature preschools, completed questionnaires about the characteristics of their preschool and about their outdoor activities. Moreover, 98 pedagogical leaders, 54 of them from nature preschools, took part in the questionnaire survey. In addition to the questionnaire survey, a total of six informants from nature preschools were interviewed about organising a nature preschool. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed with inspiration from thematic analysis.

Lysklett, O. B., & Berger, H. W. (2017). What Are the Characteristics of Nature Preschools in Norway, and How Do They Organize Their Daily Activities? Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 17(2), 95-107.