The outdoor environment in Norwegian kindergartens as pedagogical space for toddlers’ play, learning and development.

The purpose of this study is to descriptively survey outdoor conditions at Norwegian daycare centres as a pedagogical space, i.e. conditions that have an impact on the possibilities for children to play, learn and develop. The concept of space includes both the physical space, arrangement, objects and aesthetics as well as actions, attribution of meaning and organisation of the pedagogical work in time and space. The study poses the following research questions: How much time per day do Norwegian children in daycare spend outdoors? What is the size of the outdoor areas in Norwegian kindergartens? How similar or different is the outdoor environment between Norwegian kindergartens?

The study finds that according to the surveyed daycare managers, Norwegian children spend one-third of the day outdoors on average in the winter and two-thirds of the day in the summer. On average, pre-schools have a fenced playground of 2,619.5 square metres, or 47.1 square meters per child. However, there are large variations in the sizes of playgrounds between kindergartens in large cities, smaller towns and rural areas. The study finds that the design and playground equipment in the daycare centres are largely similar in terms of type. Many daycare centres have areas where children can climb. Only approx. a quarter of the daycare centres have areas that are specifically designated for the youngest children (aged 1 to 3 years). Many of the daycare managers believe that the daycare centre has 'secret places' in the playground where children can play alone or in small groups without feeling disturbed by adults or other children. Furthermore, the managers believe that the children are largely autonomous with regard to finding and choosing the toys with which they want to play.

This study seeks information about the outdoor environment at daycare centres through questionnaires to daycare managers and department heads at 133 representatively selected daycare centres. The study examines the institutions' playgrounds in terms of size, design and content, how much time the children spend outdoors, and whether there are special areas designated for younger children.

Moser, T. og Martinsen, M.T. (2010). The outdoor environment in Norwegian kindergartens as pedagogical space for toddlers’ play, learning and development. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 18(4), 457-471.