Teacher-reported play and social behavior improves in forest preschool, but parent-reported behavior shows no significant differences¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · reviewr3·q2·i3large
Currency · newest study 2023 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i3 Teachers rated forest-preschool children higher in cooperation and self-control domains of social behavior. → Enrico Sella · Monica Bolognesi · Emma Bergamini · Lucia Mason · Francesca Pazzaglia 2023
q2 i? Parental ratings of children's behavior did not differ between nature and indoor preschools. → Enrico Sella · Monica Bolognesi · Emma Bergamini · Lucia Mason · Francesca Pazzaglia 2023 (2)
Evidence¶
Enrico Sella · Monica Bolognesi · Emma Bergamini · Lucia Mason · Francesca Pazzaglia 2023¶
Enrico Sella · Monica Bolognesi · Emma Bergamini · Lucia Mason · Francesca Pazzaglia. (2023). Psychological Benefits of Attending Forest School for Preschool Children: a Systematic Review. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09750-4
q2 · i3 · review · r3
Review's account of Müller et al. (2017), which used the SSRS with parent and teacher forms; teacher ratings favored nature preschool on cooperation (ηp2 = 0.20) and self-control (ηp2 = 0.32), large printed effects.
"teachers’ ratings reported that children in nature preschool showed higher scores in the cooperation ( p = < 0.001, ηp 2 = 0.20) and self-control (p = < 0.001, ηp 2 = 0.32) domains."
Enrico Sella · Monica Bolognesi · Emma Bergamini · Lucia Mason · Francesca Pazzaglia 2023 (2)¶
Enrico Sella · Monica Bolognesi · Emma Bergamini · Lucia Mason · Francesca Pazzaglia. (2023). Psychological Benefits of Attending Forest School for Preschool Children: a Systematic Review. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09750-4
q2 · i? · review · r3
Same study's parent-form SSRS results: no significant differences between parental ratings for nature versus indoor preschool children across the printed domains (the quote continues listing self-control, externalizing, and internalizing with null results).
"Although there were no significant differences between parental ratings of children attending nature and indoor preschools for the SSRS domains (assertiveness: p = 0.01, ηp 2 = 0.13; social responsibility: p = 0.03, ηp 2 = 0.11; cooperation: p = 0.06, ηp 2 = 0.08;"
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Forest preschool attendance is associated with higher nature connectedness on some measures, with no significant changes in environmentally responsible behaviors — related
- Evidence on cognitive function benefits of forest preschool is mixed: teacher-rated global cognition improved, but executive functions and working memory showed no significant differences — related
- Forest preschool shows mixed subjective-outcome effects: improved sleep, resilience, and curiosity, but no changes in academic readiness or illness and injury incidence — related
- Forest-school benefits are measured with heterogeneous methods, mostly questionnaires and tasks administered to children, with only two studies using objective measures — a broader claim this one bears on
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
forest-school-behavior-teacher-parent-informant-split |
title |
Teacher-reported play and social behavior improves in forest preschool, but parent-reported behavior shows no significant differences |
description |
Teacher-reported play and social behavior improves in forest preschool, but parent-reported behavior shows no significant differences |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
mixed |
newest_evidence |
2023 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-21 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
2 — enrico-sella-monica-bolognesi-emma-bergamini-lucia-mason-francesca-pazzaglia-2023, enrico-sella-monica-bolognesi-emma-bergamini-lucia-mason-francesca-pazzaglia-2023-2 |
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