Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-m8qmq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T14:49:45.527Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Turkish pre-service early childhood education teachers’ perceptions and practices of nature-based teaching on professional experience

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 June 2021

Güliz Karaarslan Semiz Open the ORCID record for Güliz Karaarslan Semiz [Opens in a new window]  and
Zeynep Temiz Open the ORCID record for Zeynep Temiz [Opens in a new window]
Güliz Karaarslan Semiz*
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University, Ağrı, Turkey
Zeynep Temiz
Affiliation:
Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education, Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey University, KaramanTurkey
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: gkaraarslan@agri.edu.tr
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper considers the perceptions and teaching practices of Turkish pre-service early childhood education teachers with regard to nature-based teaching. Nature-based activities rarely take place in Turkish early childhood education settings; accordingly, there is a clear need to develop pre-service teachers’ professional experience related to nature-based teaching to empower them to support children’s learning in natural environments. In this study, eight pre-service teachers applied nature-based teaching in a professional experience placement over a period of 10 weeks. Clarke and Peterson’s (1986) model of teachers’ thoughts and actions guided this study in terms of understanding pre-service teachers’ related perceptions and practices. Qualitative data were collected through activity plans and semi-structured interviews, the findings from which revealed that the implementation of various activities using natural materials and the natural environment increased pre-service teachers’ self-confidence related to nature-based teaching. The primary barriers to the implementation of nature-based teaching activities were reported as being the attitudes of families and school management, weather conditions and pre-service teachers’ lack of knowledge of nature-based pedagogies. These barriers could be addressed by supporting pre-service early childhood teachers’ professional development and by affording them more opportunities to perform nature-related activities in early childhood settings.

Keywords

nature-based teachingnature pedagogyearly childhood educationpre-service teachersprofessional experience course
Type
Article
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 37 , Issue 3 , November 2021 , pp. 187 - 207
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alat, Z., Akgümüş, Ö., & Cavali, D. (2012). Okul öncesi eğitimde açık hava etkinliklerine yönelik öğretmen görüş ve uygulamaları [Teachers’ views and practices towards outdoor activities in early childhood education]. Mersin Journal of Faculty of Education, 8, 47–62. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/160815 Google Scholar
Barrable, A. (2019). The case of nature connectedness as a distinct goal of early childhood education. International Journal of Environmental Education, 6, 59–70. https://naturalstart.org/sites/default/files/journal/8._barrable_formatted_0.pdf Google Scholar
Barton, E., Reichow, B., Schnitz, A., Smith, I.C., & Sherlock, D. (2015). A systemic review of sensory-based treatments for children with disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 37, 64–80. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2014.11.006 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bento, G., & Dias, G. (2017). The importance of outdoor play for young children’s development. Porto Biomedical Journal, 2, 157–160. doi: 10.1016/j.pbj.2017.03.003 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blanchet-Cohen, N. & Elliot, E. (2011) Young children and educators engagement and learning outdoors: A basis for rights-based programming. Early Education and Development, 22, 757–777. doi: 10.1080/10409289.2011.596460 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blatt, E., & Patrick, P.G. (2014). An exploration of pre-service teachers’ experiences in outdoor ‘places’ and intentions for teaching in the outdoors. International Journal of Science Education, 36, 2243–2264. doi: 10.1080/09500693.2014.918294 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bohling, V., Saarela, C., & Miller, D. (2015). Teachers’ perceptions of a sustained nature focus in a Minnesota early childhood program: A single case study. https://dimensionsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/forest_lake_paper_final.pdf Google Scholar
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101. doi: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oaCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broom, C. (2017). Exploring the relations between childhood experiences in nature and young adults’ environmental attitudes and behaviours. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 33, 34–47. doi: 10.1017/aee.2017.1 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bundy, A.C., Luckett, T., Tranter, P.J., Naughton, G.A., Wyver, S.R., Ragen, J., & Spies, G. (2009). The risk is that there is ‘no risks’: A simple, innovative intervention to increase children’s activity levels. International Journal of Early Years Education, 17, 33–45. doi: 10.1080/09669760802699878CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carr, V.W., & Luken, E. (2014). Playscapes: A pedagogical paradigm for play and learning. The International Journal of Play, 3, 69–83. doi: 10.1080/21594937.2013.871965 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chakravarthi, S. (2009). Preschool teachers’ beliefs and practices of outdoor plan and outdoor environments. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of North Carolina.Google Scholar
Chawla, L. (1998). Children’s concern for the natural environment. Children’s Environmental Quarterly, 5, 13–20. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41514681 Google Scholar
Chawla, L., & Cushing, D.F. (2007). Education for strategic environmental behaviour. Journal of Environmental Education Research, 13, 437–452. doi: 10.1080/13504620701581539 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheng, J.C.H., & Monroe, M.C (2012). Connection to nature: Children’s affective attitude toward nature. Environment and Behavior, 44, 31–49. doi: 10.1177/0013916510385082 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cevher-Kalburan, N. (2015). Developing pre-service teachers’ understanding of children’s risky play. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 15, 239–260. doi: 10.1080/14729679.2014.950976 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Civelek, P. (2016). Açık alan etkinlikleriyle desteklenmiş okul öncesi eğitimin öğrencilerinin bilimsel süreç becerilerine etkisi [The effects of early childhood education supported by outdoor activities on students’ scientific process skills]. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Dokuz Eylül University.Google Scholar
Clark, C., & Peterson, P. (1986). Teachers’ thought processes. In Wittrock, M. (Ed.), Handbook of research and teaching (3rd ed., pp. 255–296). New York, NY: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Collado, S., Staats, H., & Corraliza, J.A. (2013). Experiencing nature in children’s summer camps: Affective, cognitive and behavioural consequences. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 33, 37–44. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2012.08.002 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, A. (2015). Nature and outdoor learning environment: The forgotten resource in early childhood education. International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, 3, 85–97. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1108430.pdf Google Scholar
Cordiano, T.S., Lee, A., Wilt, J., Elszas, A., Damour, L. K., & Russ, S. W. (2019). Nature-based education and kindergarten readiness: Nature-based and traditional pre-schoolers are equally prepared for kindergarten. International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, 6, 18–36. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1225659.pdf Google Scholar
Creswell, J.W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Cutter-Mackenzie-Knowles, A., Malone, K., & Whitehouse, H. (2020). Childhoodnature and the Anthropocene: An epoch of “cenes”. In Cutter-Mackenzie-Knowles, A., Malone, K., Barratt Hacking, E. (Eds.), Research handbook on childhoodnature (pp. 495–506). Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-67286-1_35 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, J. (2009). Revealing the research ‘hole’ of early childhood education for sustainability: A preliminary survey of the literature. Environmental Education Research, 15, 227–241. doi:10.1080/13504620802710607 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dawson, J., & Beattie, E. (2018). Locating the education in outdoor early childhood education. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 34, 127–142. doi: 10.1017/aee.2018.24 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dietze, B., & Kashin, D. (2019). Perceptions that early learning teachers have about outdoor play and nature. Learning Landscapes, 12, 91–105. doi: 10.36510/learnland.v12i1.981 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dyment, J., Davis, J., Nailon, D., Emery, S., Getenet, S., Mccrea, N., & Hill, A. (2014). The impact of professional development on early childhood educators’ confidence, understanding and knowledge of education for sustainability. Environmental Education Research, 20, 660–679. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2013.833591 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ernst, J. (2014a). Early childhood educators’ use of natural outdoor settings as learning environments: An exploratory study of beliefs, practices, and barriers. Environmental Education Research, 20, 735–752. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2013.833596 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ernst, J. (2014b). Early childhood educators’ preferences and perceptions regarding outdoor settings as learning environments. International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, 2, 97–123. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1108039.pdf Google Scholar
Ernst, J., & Tornabene, L. (2012). Pre-service early childhood educators’ perceptions of outdoor settings as learning environments. Environmental Education Research, 18, 643–664. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2011.640749 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferreira, M.M., Grueber, D., & Yarema, S. (2012). A community partnership to facilitate urban elementary students’ access to the outdoors. School Community Journal, 22, 49–64. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ974685.pdf Google Scholar
Frankel, J.R., & Wallen, N.E. (2003). How to design and evaluate research in education. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.Google Scholar
Gerrish, M.K. (2014). An examination of teachers’ lived experiences while working at nature-based preschool programs. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Walden University.Google Scholar
Griffey, D.C., & Housner, L.D. (1991). Differences between experienced and inexperienced teachers’ planning decisions, interactions, student engagement, and instructional climate. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 62, 196–204. doi: 10.1080/02701367.1991.10608710 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Güler, T. (2009). Ekoloji temelli bir çevre eğitiminin öğretmenlerin çevre eğitimine karşı görüşlerine etkisi [The effect of ecology based environmental education towards teachers’ opinions on environmental education]. Eğitim ve Bilim, 34, 30–43. http://eb.ted.org.tr/index.php/EB/article/view/606 Google Scholar
Gülersoy, A.E. (2013). Doğa mirasının korunması açısından sosyalbilimler (ortaokul) ve coğrafya (orta ve yükseköğretim) müfredat programının değerlendirilmesi [The evaluation of social science and geography teaching program in terms of protecting natural heritage]. Adıyaman Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 6, 315–354. doi: 10.14520/adyusbd.631 Google Scholar
Güzelyurt, T., & Özkan, Ö. (2018). Okul öncesi öğretmenlerinin okul öncesi okul öncesi dönemce çevre eğitimine ilişkin görüşleri: Durum çalışması.[Views of prospective pre-school teachers about environmental education in pre-school period: A case study. Electronic Turkish Studies, 13, 651–668. doi: 10.7827/TurkishStudies.13425 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Higher Education Council (2018). Okul öncesi öğretmenliği lisans programı [Pre-school teacher education program]. https://www.yok.gov.tr/Documents/Kurumsal/egitim_ogretim_dairesi/Yeni-Ogretmen-Yetistirme-Lisans-Programlari/Okul_Oncesi_Ogretmenligi_Lisans_Programi.pdf Google Scholar
Jeronen, E., Jeronen, J., & Raustia, H. (2009). Environmental education in Finland. A case study of environmental education in nature school. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 4, 1–23. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ884383.pdf Google Scholar
Jordan, C., & Chawla, L. (2019). A coordinated research agenda for nature-based learning. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1–10. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00766 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jose, S., Patrick, P.G., & Moseley, C. (2017). Experiential learning theory: the importance of outdoor classrooms in environmental education. International Journal of Science Education, 7, 269–284. doi: 10.1080/21548455.2016.1272144 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jrgensen, A.K. (2017). Storied landscapes: Children’s experiences and the ‘sense’ of place. In Waller, T., rlemalm-hagsér, E., Sandseter, E.B.H., Lee-hammond, L., Lekies, K.S., & Wyver, S. (Eds.), Handbook of outdoor play and learning (pp. 609–629). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahriman-Pamuk, D., & Ahi, B. (2019). A phenomenological study on the school concept of the children attending the forest school. Journal of Qualitative Research in Education, 7, 1386–1407. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/839386 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahyaoğlu, M. (2015). İlköğretim öğrencilerinin doğa kavramına ilişkin algılarının Metaforlar yoluyla incelenmesi [An investigation of the concept of nature among elementary school students through metaphors analysis] Turkish Studies, 10, 831–846. doi: 10.7827/TurkishStudies.8526 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kandır, A., Yurt, Ö., & Cevher-Kalburan, N. (2012). Comparison of teachers and teacher candidates in terms of their environmental attitudes. Educational Science: Theory and Practice, 12, 323–327. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ978446.pdf Google Scholar
Kos, M., & Jerman, J. (2013). Provision for outdoor play and learning in Slovene preschools. Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 13, 189–205. doi: 10.1080/14729679.2013.769888 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindemann-Matthies, P., & Knecht, S. (2011). Swiss elementary school teachers’ attitudes toward forest education. The Journal of Environmental Education, 42, 152–167. doi: 10.1080/00958964.2010.523737 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Little, H., Sandseter, E.B.H., &Wyver, S. (2012). Early childhood teachers’ beliefs about children’s risky play in Australia and Norway. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 13, 300–316. doi: 10.2304/ciec.2012.13.4.300 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Little, H., Wyver, S., & Gibson, F. (2011). The influence of play context and adult attitudes on young children’s physical risk-taking during outdoor play. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 19, 113–131. doi: 10.1080/1350293X.2011.548959 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Logan, M. (2020). Challenging the anthropocentric approach of science curricula: Ecological systems approaches to enabling the convergence of sustainability, science, and STEM education. In Cutter-Mackenzie-Knowles, A., Malone, K., & Barratt Hacking, E. (Eds.), Research handbook on childhoodnature (pp. 1181–1208). Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-67286-1_99 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Louv, R. (2008). Doğadaki son çocuk [Last child in the woods]. Ankara: TÜBİTAK.Google Scholar
MacQuarrie, S., Nugent, C., & Warden, C. (2015). Learning with nature and learning from others: Nature as setting and resource for early childhood education. Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 15, 1–23. doi: 10.1080/14729679.2013.841095 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malandrakis, G. (2018). Influencing Greek pre-service teachers’ efficacy beliefs and self-confidence to implement the new studies for the new environment curricula. Environmental Education Research, 24, 537–563. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2016.1272672 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Malone, K. (2016). Reconsidering children’s encounters with nature and place using post humanism. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 32, 42–56. doi: 10.1017/aee.2015.48 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marcum-Dietrich, N., Marquez, L., Gill, E.S., & Medved, C. (2011). No teacher left inside. Preparing a new generation of teachers. Journal of Geoscience Education, 5, 1–4. doi: 10.5408/1.3543936 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McClintic, S., & Petty, K. (2015). Exploring early childhood teachers’ beliefs and practices about pre-school outdoor play: A qualitative study. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher education, 36(1), 24–43. doi: 10.1080/10901027.2014.997844 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meier, D., & Sisk-Hilton, S. (2017) Nature and environmental education in early childhood. The New Educator, 13, 191–194. doi: 10.1080/1547688X.2017.1354646 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miles, M.B., & Huberman, A.M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded source book (2nd ed.).Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Miller, D.L. (2007). The seeds of learning: Young children develop important skills through their gardening activities at a Midwestern early education program. Applied Environmental Education and Communication, 6, 64–65. doi: 10.1080/15330150701318828 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ministry of National Education (MoNE) (2013). Okul öncesi eğitim programı [Early childhood education program]. https://tegm.meb.gov.tr/dosya/okuloncesi/ooproram.pdf Google Scholar
Nah, K.O. (2017). The rise of outdoor play and education issues in preschools in South Korea. In Waller, T., Ärlemalm-Hagsér, E., , E.B.H Sandseter, ., Lee-Hammond, L., Lekies, K., & Wyver, S. (Eds.), The handbook of outdoor play and learning (pp. 166–179). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nazir, J., & Pedretti, E. (2015). Educators’ perceptions of bringing students to environmental consciousness through engaging outdoor experiences. Environmental Education Research, 22, 288–304. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2014.996208 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
North American Association for Environmental Education [NAAEE] (2010). Early childhood environmental education programs: Guidelines for excellence. https://cdn.naaee.org/sites/default/files/final_ecee_guidelines_from_chromographics_lo_res.pdf Google Scholar
North American Association for Environmental Education [NAAEE] (2019). Nature based pre-school professional practice guidebook. NAAEE. https://naturalstart.org/nature-based-preschool-professional-practice-guidebook Google Scholar
Otto, S., & Pensini, P. (2017). Nature-based environmental education of children: Environmental knowledge and connectedness to nature, together, are related to ecological behaviour. Global Environmental Change, 47, 88–94. doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.09.009 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pajares, F. (1992). Teachers’ beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 62, 307–332. doi: 10.3102/00346543062003307 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palmer, J., & Neal, P. (1994). A handbook of environmental education. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Parlakyıldız, B., & Aydın, F. (2004). Okul öncesi dönem fen eğitiminde fen ve doğa köşelerinin kullanımına yönelik bir inceleme [Investigation of using science and nature corners in early childhood science education] [paper presentation]. XIII. Malatya, Turkey: Ulusal Eğitim Bilimleri Kurultayı.Google Scholar
Parlo, A.T., & Butler, M.B. (2007). Impediments to environmental education instruction in the classroom: A post-workshop inquiry. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 2, 32–37. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ901263.pdf Google Scholar
Plevyak, L., &Mayfield, A. (2010). Environmental education within early childhood. In Bodzin, A.B., Klein, B.S., & Weaver, S. (Eds.), The Inclusion of environmental education in science teacher education (pp. 51–64). Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-90-481-9222-9_4 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Şahin, Ç., Kartal, O.Y., & Imamoğlu, A. (2013). Okulöncesi ögretmen yetiştirme programı hakkında okul öncesi örğetmen adaylarının görüşleri [Views of pre-service ECE teachers on early childhood teacher education programs]. Ahi Evran Üniversitesi Kırşehir Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 14, 101–118.Google Scholar
Sandseter, E.B.H. (2009). Affordances for risky play in preschool: The importance of features in the play environment. Early Childhood Education Journal, 36, 439–446. doi: 10.1007/s10643-009-0307-2 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shume, T.J., & Blatt, E. (2019). A sociocultural investigation of pre-service teachers’ outdoor experiences and perceived obstacles to outdoor learning. Environmental Education Research, 25, 1347–1367. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2019.1610862 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stake, R.E. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Stevenson, R.B., Mannion, G., & Evans, N. (2020). Childhoodnature pedagogies and place. An overview and analysis. In Cutter-Mackenzie-Knowles, A., Malone, K., Barratt Hacking, E. (Eds.), Research handbook on childhoodnature. Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-67286-1_76 Google Scholar
Stibbe, A. (2015). Eco-linguistics: Language, ecology and the stories we live by. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Tantekin-Erden, F., & Güner-Alparslan, Z. (2017). Gender issues in outdoor play. In Waller, T., rlemalm-hagsér, E., Sandseter, E.B.H., Lee-hammond, L., Lekies, K.S., & Wyver, S. (Eds.), Handbook of outdoor play and learning (pp. 348–365). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, A. (2013). Reconfiguring the natures of childhood. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Temiz, Z., & Karaarslan-Semiz, G. (2019). En iyi öğretmenim doğa: Okul öncesinde doğa temelli eğitim uygulamaları kapsamında hazırlanan öğretmen etkinlikleri [My best teacher is nature: Teacher activities prepared based on the project of nature-based education applications in pre-school period]. İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi, 8, 314–331. http://www.itobiad.com/en/download/article-file/671336 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torquati, J., Cutler, K., Gilkerson, D., & Sarver, S. (2013). Early childhood educators’ perceptions of nature, science, and environmental education, Early Education & Development, 24, 721–743. doi: 10.1080/10409289.2012.725383 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torquati, J., & Ernst, J. (2013). Beyond the walls: Conceptualizing natural environments as third educators. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 34, 191–208. doi: 10.1080/10901027.2013.788106 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tyler, R.W. (1950). Basic principles of curriculum and instruction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
UNESCO-UNEP (1978). Tbilisi declaration, 1978. UNESCO. http://www.gdrc.org/uem/ee/tbilisi.html Google Scholar
Waller, T. (2014). Voices in the park: Researching the participation of young children in outdoor play in early years settings. Management in Education, 28, 161–166. doi: 10.1177/0892020614547488 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Welz, A. (2014). Experiences of early childhood educators in a nature-based early learning program: A Case Study. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Lakehead University.Google Scholar
White, R. (2004). Young children’s relationship with nature: Its importance to children’s development & the earth’s future. White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group, 1–9. ’http://www.childrennatureandyou.org/Young%20Children’s%20Relationship%20with%20Nature-%20White.pdf Google Scholar
Wight, R.A., Kloos, H., Maltbie, C.V., & Carr, V.W. (2016) Can playscapes promote early childhood inquiry towards environmentally responsible behaviors? An exploratory study. Environmental Education Research, 22, 518–537. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2015.1015495 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yalçın, F. (2015). A cross-cultural study on outdoor play: Parent and teacher perspectives. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Middle East Technical University.Google Scholar
Yıldırım, G., & Özyılmaz-Akamca, G. (2017). The effect of outdoor learning activities on the development of preschool children. South African Journal of Education, 37, 1–10. doi: 10.15700/saje.v37n2a1378 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yılmaz, S. (2016). Outdoor environment and outdoor activities in early childhood education. Mersin University Journal of the Faculty of Education, 12, 423–437. doi: 10.17860/efd.80851 Google Scholar
Yin, R.K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods, (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar