Forest preschool attendance is associated with higher nature connectedness on some measures, with no significant changes in environmentally responsible behaviors¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r3 · q2 · i3 large
Currency · newest study 2023 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i3 Outdoor-group children scored higher on the enjoyment and awareness dimensions of connectedness to nature as parent-reported. → Enrico Sella · Monica Bolognesi · Emma Bergamini · Lucia Mason · Francesca Pazzaglia 2023 q2 i? Studies found no significant differences in environmentally responsible behavior between nature and indoor preschool children. → 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 Barrable & Booth (2020a, 2020b), a cross-sectional quasi-experimental comparison of 132 forest-nursery and 84 indoor-nursery children using the parent-reported CNI-PPC; printed β values of 0.59 and 0.76.

"The outdoor group demonstrated higher scores on the dimensions of enjoyment ( β = 0.59, p < 001) and awareness ( β = 0.76, p < 001), while t he two groups did not show significant differences on the other dimensions of connectedness to nature (empathy and responsibility)."

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

Review's synthesis of two studies using the Nature Relatedness and Environmentally Responsible Behavior tool; nature relatedness differed in one study (p < 0.05) but not the other (p = 0.22, ηp2 = 0.02).

"Both of these studies (Elliot et al., 2014; Müller et al., 2017) found no significant differences in environmentally responsible behavior between children in nature preschools and indoor preschools."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Teacher-reported play and social behavior improves in forest preschool, but parent-reported behavior shows 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
• Nature exposure relieves stress in learners, including experimentally demonstrated reductions in heart rate and self-reported stress — related
• Outdoor learning in nature reduces student stress (cortisol decline), but stress-restoration findings are mixed by measure and age — related