Forest preschool attendance is associated with improved balance and coordination, but not with objectively measured physical activity¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r3 · q2
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 i? Children in nature preschool showed significant improvements in balance and coordination skills after nine months. → Enrico Sella · Monica Bolognesi · Emma Bergamini · Lucia Mason · Francesca Pazzaglia 2023 q2 i? Accelerometer-measured moderate to vigorous physical activity did not differ between outdoor and indoor groups. → 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 · i? · review · r3

Review's account of three quasi-experimental pre-post studies (Fjørtoft & Sageie, 2000; Fjørtoft, 2001; Fjørtoft, 2004) comparing 46 forest-preschool with 29 traditional-preschool children on the EUROFIT battery.

"After 9 months, the motor function of both groups of children was evaluated using the European Test of Physical Fitness (EUROFIT; Adam et al., 1998), and the findings showed that the children in nature preschool showed significant improvements in balance (p < 0.001) and coordination skills (p < 0.01)."

Enrico Sella · Monica Bolognesi · Emma Bergamini · Lucia Mason · Francesca Pazzaglia 2023 (2)¶

q2 · i? · review · r3

Review's account of two studies using 5 days of accelerometer measurement; no significant group difference in MVPA. The review suggests comparison-group children may have had high physical activity via outdoor enrichment classes.

"Finally, two studies (Fyfe-Johnson et al., 2019; Müller et al., 2017) measured moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) using accelerometers, a non-invasive method for assessing circadian rhythms and movements, for 5 consecutive days. There were, however, no significant differences between the outdoor and indoor groups."

Discussion¶

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`forest-school-motor-balance-coordination-gains`
`title`	`Forest preschool attendance is associated with improved balance and coordination, but not with objectively measured physical activity`
`description`	`Forest preschool attendance is associated with improved balance and coordination, but not with objectively measured physical activity`
`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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