UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

Practitioners’ and Parents’ Perspectives of Nature-Based Early Childhood Education: Practice, Space and Outdoor Play

Identification

Public canonical key

doi:10.3390/soc16090279

Authors

Nicola Taylor · Andy Pringle · Clare M. P. Roscoe

Reported year

2026

Reported language

en

Source type

article

First detected

2026-11-09T19:14:49.904234+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-09T19:14:49.904234+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Institutions reported by the source

University of Derby

Documentary abstract — original language

Global concern surrounding declining outdoor play, physical activity, and children’s engagement with natural environments has prompted increased interest in nature-based early childhood education (ECE). Within such settings, outdoor spaces are positioned as central to learning, supporting embodied and authentic interaction with the natural world. Despite expansion in provision, limited research has examined how parents and practitioners conceptualise the value of nature-based ECE or how their perspectives intersect across ecological contexts. This qualitative study investigated the key perspectives of parents and practitioners in nature-based ECE settings in England. Following institutional ethical approval, 16 participants were recruited: seven parents (all female) of children aged three to five years attending nature-based ECE settings and nine practitioners (eight females, one male). Data were generated through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Five themes were identified: Protecting children’s rights; Nature as a context for whole-child development; Risk, resilience, and physicality; Communities of learning; and Beyond the setting: systemic pressures and parental fears. Choosing nature-based ECE reflects a proactive, health-promoting decision grounded in parental values concerning children’s rights to nature and outdoor play. Practitioner commitment was similarly values-driven, centred on children’s freedoms and positioned in tension with prevailing societal norms. Key findings illuminate practitioners’ concerns regarding the perceived absence of outdoor-based provision across mainstream ECE and schooling, highlighting the need for clearer regulatory frameworks to establish quality outdoor play in nature as a systemic entitlement.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W7205013131

DOI

10.3390/soc16090279

Documentary context

Documentary family

Scholarship

Source-reported types

article

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2

• DOI · https://doi.org/10.3390/soc16090279
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W7205013131

Documented bibliographic relations

Source-declared references and links; they do not establish legal support or UGLC qualification. Up to 20 outgoing references are displayed.

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0 incoming references within the detected corpus

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

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