Parental Perceptions to Outdoor Activities

• Published in: International journal of progressive education 2021-08, Vol.17 (4), p.358-372
• Main Author: Mart, Mehmet
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child Development; Child Safety; Foreign Countries; Natural Resources; Outdoor Education; Parent Attitudes; Playgrounds; Preferences; Preschool Children
• ISSN: 1554-5210
• DOI: 10.29329/ijpe.2021.366.22

The importance of outdoor activities for children should not be overlooked, and teachers and parents as stakeholders have an influential role in providing learning opportunities (Elliott, 2015). Teachers are dependent on parental reciprocity because of potential for harm (Maynard, 2007), and parents can limit activities because of various reasons such as traffic, weather and getting hurt (Cevher-Kalburan, 2014; Yilmaz, 2016). Therefore, identifying parental perceptions of outdoor activities is a significant aspect of supporting children's opportunity to engage in them. In this research, semi-structured interviews were used to collect data, as a way to understand participating parents' views in detail (Fife, 2005). Data collection was carried out by the author and NVivo 12 software programme was used to analyse data from 30 participants. Six main themes emerged from the interview questions in the data analysis, which are presented in this paper. While participating parents overall were positive about promoting outdoor activities both at out-of-school and in schools, their preferences for their children were mostly for indoor activities. Thus, there was conflict between what they claimed for outdoor activities and what they most preferred for their own children. This apparent tension suggests the need for further research.