College Faculty's Outdoor Play Pedagogy: The Ripple Effect

Abstract

The governments of many nations invest significant funding into early childhood education (ECE) programs. These programs play an important role in preparing early childhood educators for the workforce; however, it is unknown how many include training in outdoor play. We examined how outdoor play pedagogy is positioned in publicly-funded college and institute programs in Canada. Only five Canadian public colleges listed explicit courses on outdoor play in the fall of 2018. Despite this lack of calendar offerings, a survey of 28 faculty from 24 different institutions indicated that outdoor play training was seen as important. We recommend that those working to advance outdoor play pedagogy include college faculty in the process and that professional development resources focused on outdoor play be made available to college ECE programs.