Abstract:

Healthy child development should include regular outdoor activities in their daily routine. Nowadays, children spend much of their time in front of various electronic devices and with their cell phones. As a result, there is concern that they do not have enough outdoor activities and are not connected enough with nature. However, learning about nature, in nature, with nature, from nature and for nature offers great opportunities to incorporate sustainable development issues into teaching and learning. As part of the Apole Erasmus + project, the team of researchers and teachers in Slovenia worked on preparing outdoor activities for pupils aged 5-12 and on bringing innovations into the classroom with a focus on acquiring skills for life. Before preparing the activities for the pupils, we conducted a survey among pupils' parents and asked them for their opinions on what they thought their children could benefit from outdoor education. The sample included 84 parents of primary school children in the city of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Using a qualitative research approach, we analysed the responses to the open-ended questions. The results show that parents believe that schools conduct only a small part of the lessons outside the school building. They see the benefits of outdoor teaching mainly in motor skills development, better well-being, communication with classmates, exploring and observing nature and phenomena in nature, in the area of manual skills, independence (in orientation in space, self-care, safety), and in connection with nature.

Keywords:

Outdoor education, children, parents, risky play, Slovenia.