Teachers want support to embrace nature play in primary education
Article From: University of South Australia
Edited By: IAAS Secretariat
New research from the University of South Australia shows that teachers also need a knowledge-boost on how to best link nature play areas to the curriculum and children’s learning.
Conducted in partnership with Nature Play SA, the Australian first study found that while all teachers believe that nature-based play and learning can deliver huge benefits for children, seven out of 10 teachers felt that their knowledge and confidence was limiting their ability to fully embrace these opportunities at school.
Lead researcher and Ph.D. candidate, Nicole Miller, says the importance of nature-based play and learning for children cannot be underestimated. She strongly advocates for schools to support professional development opportunities to develop nature-based teaching and learning skills.
“Emerging evidence indicates that nature-based play and learning can improve children’s social skills, learning, physical health, and well-being.
“Nature-based play and learning has so much potential for learning and well-being—both for students and teachers. But we must find ways to support teachers to upskill and feel confident in delivering learning opportunities in nature.
“Training, education, and support at the school level is essential for teachers to take the next step, but so too are system-level approaches to consider how nature-based learning can be formally included into the curriculum.
“Mitigating these barriers must be a focus to ensure children are able to access nature-based play and learning opportunities at school.”
