Importance of the connection between inside and outside spaces (educators’ & children’s voice) © Nanditha Hettitantri (Sri Lanka) Macquarie University, Australia Presented at the 2015 Working Forum on Design and Nature, in New Zealand worldforumfoundation.org/design2015

1. Importance of the connection between
inside and outside spaces
(educators’ & children’s voice)
Presented by
© Nanditha Hettitantri (Sri Lanka)
Macquarie University Australia
Thursday, March 12, 2015

2. Group play experiences from Sri Lanka

3. Children spending less time in outdoor spaces
a current phenomena!
What prevent children from outdoor spaces?
In the minority world and in urban settings:
• Lack of green spaces, natural spaces for children’s play
• Over protection due to safety concerns of ‘stranger danger’ and traffic
• Technological games and TV
In the majority world and in disadvantaged settings:
• Safety concerns (harmful animals, harmful environments, life threatening
diseases such as Ebola, Dengue )
• Emergencies (natural disasters, wars, political violence and armed conflicts)
• Gang fighting or community violence

4. Provocations
• What are the key features of inside and
outside spaces in relation to children’s
learning in education settings?
• How do a connection could be made between
inside and outside spaces in children’s
education settings?
• What is the importance for children when a
connection between inside and outside spaces
are made in education settings?

5. Contrast between inside and outdoor spaces for
providing learning opportunities for children
Category Inside classroom Outdoor classroom
Suggestive features of
the activity areas
Specific and fixed expectations Flexible expectations
Physical spaces in the
activity areas
confined Spacious
Typical quality of play Quieter, task-oriented,
teacher- generated as well as
child-initiated
Noisier, physically vigorous,
child-initiated
Children’s ability to
interpret
Children rely on explicit cues to
guide themes and roles
Children invent themes
and roles in open-ended,
flexible activity areas
Demand on
communication and
socialization skills
Less demand More demand
Adapted from – Jane P. Perry (2001) cited in Perry (2013) p.299.

6. Findings from a study with young children and
communities in a rebuilding post armed conflict village
in Sri Lanka (Hettitantri, in preparation)

7. Livelihood –livestock

8. Livelihood- Home gardening

9. Livelihood – cash crops

10. Rebuilding lives

11. New permanent settlements &
infrastructure development and
spirituality

12. Nursery and its outside environment

13. The early childhood educator

15. Inside and outside

16. Outside and inside

17. Primary school

23. What is the importance for children
when a connection between inside
and outside spaces are made in
education settings?

24. Confined space

25. Teacher centred and traditional
educational activities

26. Year one classroom

28. Active children – physical health development

30. Children are much happier- mental health development

31. Social relationships and Collaboration –
cognitive development

33. Inquiry – skills development

34. Place based understanding
Identifying potential risks in the environment

35. Empathy and love to nature

36. Sense of safety and sense of belonging

37. What should be our goals when providing
opportunities for connection of inside and outside
spaces in education settings?
• To promote child-centred spontaneous play
• To maintain the duration of the child-initiated interactive play
• To encourage imagination and creativity
• To guide and enrich children’s wonder
• To support the development of the whole child by providing
opportunities to take ‘reasonable challenges’
(Perry, 2011, p.299-300)

38. From Chief Seattle;
“The air is precious. It shares the spirit
with all lives it supports ….
We are part of the earth and it is part of us.
The rocky grass, the meadows, the ponies all
belong to the same family. The perfumed flowers
are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great
eagle- these are our brothers”
Thank you
Retrieved from http://www.halcyon.com/arborhts/chiefsea.html

39. References
• Clark, A. (Ed) (2013). Childhoods in contexts. The Policy Press and the Open University,
UK
• Degortardi, S. (2013), Personal communication at the Macquarie University, Australia.
• Galizio C, Stoll J and Hutchins P, (2009). “We need a way to get to the other side”
:Exploring the possibilities for learning in natural spaces, Young children, National
Association for the education of young children.
• Hettitantri, N. (in preparation). Young children’s experiences in a post conflict context: A
case study from Sri Lanka.
• Perry, J (2011). Outdoor Play, In Van Hoorn, P.M. Nourot, B. Scales & K.R. Alward (Eds),
Play at the centre of the curriculum (5th ed., pp289-316). Boston, NJ: Pearson Education
Inc.
• Rosenow, N. (2008). Teaching and learning about the natural world, learning to love the
earth and each other, Beyond the Journal, Young Children on the Web.
• Touhil, L (2012). Inquiry based learning, National Quality Standard Professional Learning
Programme e-Newsletter, No.45
• Seattle’s speech. Retrieved from http://www.halcyon.com/arborhts/chiefsea.html
worldforumfoundation.org/resource/creating-child-friendly-environments-for-children-in-fragile-contexts/