The Power of Nature: Developing Prosocial Behavior Toward Nature and Peers Through Nature-Based Activities

Acar, I., & Torquati, J.
2015

The SANC Preschool provides extended experiences in natural settings and supports children’s development of empathy and prosocial behavior toward peers and nature. The preschool is located in a 185-acre nature center that features prairie, hardwood forests, ponds, and lakeshore. When the children arrive at the nature center in the morning, they meet their teacher and classmates in one of three outdoor play areas—the woods, the gardens, or the cabin. Fences enclose all of the outdoor play areas, providing gathering places for children to explore natural materials such as plants, sticks, soil, and stones.

The Impacts of Outdoor Learning Activities on Children's Self-Development

AidhaNur Indah Sari, 2016

This research concentrates on investigating the impacts of outdoor learning activities in the nature based Kindergarten School of Universe Al-Ghiffari Cirebon…The results found that outdoor learning activities impact positively and effectively on children’s progress across all areas of children’s self development. These areas include cognitive development, affective development, personal, social, and emotional development, and physical and behavioral development.

Developing citizens and communities through youth environmental action

Schusler

2009

Although several studies have examined learning outcomes of environmental action experiences for youth, little is known about the aims motivating practitioners to involve youth in action creating positive environmental and social change, nor how practitioners perceive success. This research explored through phenomenological interviews practitioners’ purposes for using an environmental action approach. Practitioners in this inquiry, who engaged youth in action addressing a range of environmental issues in varied programmatic and community contexts in the US, expressed multifaceted aims motivating their educational practice.

Science and Democracy in Youth Environmental Action – Learning “Good” Thinking

Tania M. Schusler, Marianne E. Krasny, 2014

Scientific practice and civic engagement share several characteristics, including questioning assumptions, understanding systems, considering alternative explanations, and debating critically within a community. Our research suggests that environmental action involves a civic-science synergy because it concurrently engages youth in civic and scientific processes through which they can develop the critical dispositions and skills characteristic of both endeavors.