| Title | Chapter 7: Practitioners’ perceptions of nature play in early childhood education for sustainable development |
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| DOI | https://doi.org/10.4102/aosis.2025.BK512.07 |
| Landing page | https://books.aosis.co.za/index.php/ob/catalog/book/512 |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
| Copyright | Mariëtte Koen, Stef Esterhuizen, Pumla Matu & Skyler Pedro. Licensee: AOSIS (Pty) Ltd. The moral rights of the editors and authors have been asserted. |
| Publisher | AOSIS |
| Long abstract | Globally, early childhood education (ECE) is considered a critical investment for countries to achieve the United Nations’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Education for sustainable development (ESD) is fundamental to providing quality education. Early childhood education, covering children from birth to 9 years, can significantly benefit from nature play – an educational approach that promotes holistic development through unstructured play and exploration in natural settings. This approach fosters cognitive flexibility, imagination, sociability, creativity and inventiveness, which are beneficial across all societies. Despite international research supporting the value of play for young children’s learning and development, various factors such as urbanisation, safety and insufficient outdoor space contribute to the decline in nature play. The active involvement of practitioners in co-creating developmental environments for children is crucial for sustainable learning, enabling the expression of agency, identity, interests, heritage, languages and cultural practices. This qualitative study employed a participatory action learning and action research (PALAR)design to support practitioners from five ECE centres in creating natural outdoor play-based learning areas. We addressed the research question‘What are practitioners’ perceptions on nature play in ECE for sustainable development?’ We generated data using drawings with narratives and reflective diaries. The findings reveal that practitioners face various challenges in creating nature play learning areas. This chapter offers insights that may inspire other practitioners and researchers to undertake similar initiatives |
| Print length | 16 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
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Stef Esterhuizen is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at NWU, South Africa. In 2024, Esterhuizen received the CE Service-Learning Project Fund awarded by NWU. Her research interests focus on the teaching and learning practices of in-service and pre-service teachers to promote the holistic development of young children in early childhood education (ECE) through a play-based approach. Esterhuizen has served as co-editor for two books and leads the Thutopapadi Hola mmoho Project (‘Together we grow [children and seeds] through play’). She has presented papers at several national and international conferences, published numerous scholarly articles and book chapters and supervises postgraduate students.
Nomsa Roseline Mohosho is a lecturer in the ECD and Education Subject Group at NWU, South Africa. Mohosho holds an MA in School Leadership and Management from NWU and was pursuing a PhD in the same field while writing this book. She teaches undergraduate students and serves as a co-supervisor for postgraduate research. Her research interests include educational leadership and management, teacher education and ECD. She actively participates in community-based research initiatives aimed at promoting the holistic development of young children through play-based learning. Mohosho has presented her work at national conferences and has contributed scholarly articles and book chapters to accredited journals and academic publications.
Martie Uys is a junior lecturer in the Subject Group of ECD and Education at NWU, South Africa. Uys holds a BEd (Hons) degree in Teaching and Learning from NWU. Uys’ research focuses on teaching and learning practices that support the holistic development of children from birth to 9 years old, particularly through play-based learning approaches. She has shared her expertise by contributing to scholarly articles and book chapters in accredited journals. Uys is committed to the belief that quality foundational education can help students thrive, unlock their full potential and develop valuable life skills, including social and emotional coping skills, that will benefit them in the real world.