Nowadays, sedentary lifestyles are unfortunately very prevalent. Slovenian children and pupils are no exception. Many studies, especially international ones, have shown
the many benefits of outdoor play and learning. Play and learning in a natural environment has a positive impact on a child's or pupil's motivation, self-esteem, selfconfidence,
concentration, social inclusion, motor skills, coordination and many other areas. Examples of good practice in outdoor play and learning come mainly from abroad. To a lesser extent, they are also present here. Slovenia is rich in natural environments, and more attention should be paid to outdoor play and learning in Slovenian kindergartens and schools. The aim of this master thesis was to find out the real situation of outdoor play and learning in pre-school and the first educational period of primary school.
We wanted to know how often educators and teachers of the first educational period implement outdoor play and learning, what activities they do, what benefits they see
in implementing outdoor play and learning, and what barriers they face in implementing more outdoor play and learning. We also investigated whether there are differences in the frequency of outdoor play and learning in parent and branch
schools and in kindergartens and schools that are or are not part of The Slovenian Network of Forest Kindergartens and Schools. We also tried to find out whether there
are differences in the frequency of outdoor play and learning between kindergartens and the first grades of primary school, and between kindergartens and the second
and third grades of primary school. We conducted a predominantly quantitative survey. The survey included 319
educators and teachers of the first educational period. Data were collected using an online survey questionnaire containing questions of different types. The survey was
also, to a lesser extent, qualitative, as we interviewed two educators and two teachers of the first educational period.
The survey results showed that 75,2 % of educators and teachers of the first educational period implement play and learn outdoors several times a week during the warm season. In the cold season, the percentage is lower (48,4 %). The most common outdoor play and learning activities with children and pupils are in meadows and woods. The results show that respondents perceive the impact of outdoor play
and learning to be mainly in the physical, cognitive and social development of children and pupils. There are no statistically significant differences in the frequency
of outdoor play and learning between parent and branch schools. The results showed statistically significant differences in the frequency of outdoor play and learning in the warm season between kindergartens and schools participating in The Slovenian Network of Forest Kindergartens and Schools and those not participating in the
aforementioned network. There are also statistically significant differences in the frequency of outdoor play and learning between kindergartens and the first grades of
primary school, and between kindergartens and the second and third grades of primary school. The findings are useful for educators and classroom teachers. Outdoor play and learning are of great importance for children and pupils, as well as for educators. That's why adults should give children more time and opportunities to play and learn outdoors.
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