Exploring Outdoor Play Experiences from a Child's Perspective:A Review of International Researches
With the proliferation of digital lifestyles,excessive screen time has adversely affected children's academic performance,attention span,and social skills,highlighting the increasing importance of outdoor play.Often from adult perspective,outdoor play environment designs fail to meet children's needs and interests.This research made a systematical review of empirical studies on children's perspectives of outdoor play in the past two decades.It examines their experiences and roles to provide insights for improving outdoor play environments in China.This study retrieved and analysed 27 relevant articles from databases,including EBSCOhost,Scopus,and Web of Science.Findings indicate that children experience excitement and joy during outdoor play,value the quality of the play environment,and prefer spaces that allow for autonomous exploration and privacy.Additionally,children exhibit a heightened risk perception and demonstrate self-protection abilities in potentially hazardous play situations.They also express a strong desire to interact with both adults and peers.Researchers employed multidimensional methods,including audio,visual,and behavioral analyses,to record and interpret children's play behaviors.In most studies,children participated as passive observers or informants,with fewer studies treating them as research collaborators.This review highlights the need for future research to focus more on the outdoor play of special needs children and design suitable play environments.Incorporating children's perspectives into creating outdoor play environments can enhance the attractiveness and functionality of the designs,promoting physical and mental health and stimulating creativity and exploratory spirit.
万方数据
维普
