Running head: CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN
FOREST SCHOOL

THOMPSON RIVERS UNIVERSITY

Exploring Parents’ Perceptions of Young Children’s Growth, Learning, and Development
in a Western Canadian Forest School
By

Saba Madarwala

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

Master of Education

KAMLOOPS, BRITISH COLUMBIA

August, 2022

Co-Supervisor: Dr. Carol Rees

Co-Supervisor: Dr. Victoria Handford

Committee Member: Dr. Patricia Liu-Baergen

Committee Member: Dr. Cory Jobb

© Saba Madarwala, 2022

Running head: CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST
SCHOOL

Contents
List of figures and tables .......................................................................................................... iii
Tables ....................................................................................................................................... iii
Figures...................................................................................................................................... iii
ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................................. iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................... v
DEDICATION .......................................................................................................................... vi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1
Background and Rationale ............................................................................................. 1
Problem Statement ......................................................................................................... 2
Personal Rationale ......................................................................................................... 3
Purpose of the Study ...................................................................................................... 4
Research Question ......................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER SUMMARY............................................................................................................ 5
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................ 6
Early Childhood Education ............................................................................................ 6
What are Forest Schools?............................................................................................... 7
History of Forest Schools............................................................................................... 8
Challenges associated with Forest Schools.................................................................... 8
Issues in Developing Forest Schools ............................................................................. 9
Safety Assessment........................................................................................................... 9
Benefits of Forest Schools ............................................................................................. 9
Children’s Growth in Forest Schools ............................................................................ 9
Children’s Learning in Forest Schools ........................................................................ 11
Children’s Development in Forest Schools ................................................................. 12
Role of Educators ......................................................................................................... 14
Parent’s Choice ............................................................................................................ 15
Theoretical Underpinnings of Forest Schools.............................................................. 15
Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................ 16
The Kindergarten ......................................................................................................... 17
Froebel’s Theory of Engagement with Nature............................................................. 17
Froebel’s Educational Approach and Forest School Pedagogy ................................. 18
CHAPTER SUMMARY.......................................................................................................... 19
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .......................................................... 20
Qualitative Design ....................................................................................................... 20
Case Study ................................................................................................................... 20
Locating Myself as a Researcher ................................................................................. 21
Rigor in the Study ........................................................................................................ 22
Member-checking ......................................................................................................... 22
Inter-rater Reliability ................................................................................................... 22
Data Collection ............................................................................................................ 23
Interview Procedure..................................................................................................... 23
Participants and Site .................................................................................................... 24
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
Data Analysis ............................................................................................................... 25
CHAPTER SUMMARY.......................................................................................................... 26
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS ............................................................................................... 27
Parents’ Views of their Children’s Growth ................................................................. 27
Physical Fitness ........................................................................................................... 28
Social-Emotional Wellbeing ........................................................................................ 28
Parents’ Views of their Children’s Learning ............................................................... 31
Effective Learning ........................................................................................................ 31
Indigenous Ways of Knowing....................................................................................... 34
Parents’ Views of their Children’s Development ........................................................ 35
Respecting Nature ........................................................................................................ 35
Stepping-stone towards Kindergarten ......................................................................... 37
Children’s Autonomy ................................................................................................... 39
Role of Educators ......................................................................................................... 41
CHAPTER SUMMARY.......................................................................................................... 42
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION ............................................................................................ 44
Parents’ Views of their Children’s Growth ................................................................. 45
Physical Fitness ........................................................................................................... 45
Social-Emotional Wellbeing ........................................................................................ 45
Parents’ Views of their Children’s Learning ............................................................... 46
Effective Learning ........................................................................................................ 46
Indigenous Ways of Knowing....................................................................................... 47
Parents’ Views of their Children’s Development ........................................................ 48
Respecting Nature ........................................................................................................ 48
Stepping-stone towards Kindergarten ......................................................................... 49
Children’s Autonomy ................................................................................................... 50
Role of Educators ......................................................................................................... 50
CHAPTER SUMMARY.......................................................................................................... 51
CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 52
Educational Implications ............................................................................................. 53
Recommendations ........................................................................................................ 54
Limitations ................................................................................................................... 54
Future Research ........................................................................................................... 55
References ................................................................................................................................ 56
APPENDICES ......................................................................................................................... 62
Appendix A: Interview Questions ............................................................................... 62
Appendix B: Recruitment Letter .................................................................................. 63
Appendix C: Verbal Explanation ................................................................................. 63
Appendix D: Participant Consent Form ....................................................................... 63

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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
List of figures and tables
Tables
Table 1: Summary of Froebelian Kindergarten and Forest School Philosophy ...................... 18
Table 2: Demographic Information of Participants ................................................................. 24
Table 3: Summary of Parents' Perceptions of their Children's Growth, Learning, and
Development ............................................................................................................................ 27
Figures
Figure 1: Key Themes Emerging from Parents' Interviews ..................................................... 44

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ABSTRACT
Forest School is an alternative early childhood education (ECE) approach that aims at taking
the classes outdoors. The aim of this research is to reveal and understand the viewpoints of
parents whose children are enrolled in forest school. The primary research question is “What
are parents’ perceptions of their children’s growth, learning, and development (connection to
nature) in Forest School?” The study was conducted in a forest school in Western Canada.
Qualitative research following case study methodology was used for this research. A total of
five semi-structured interviews were conducted. The interviews were analyzed using thematic
analysis. Findings revealed that parents viewed forest school as a stepping-stone for
kindergarten which strengthened children’s autonomy and made them stewards of nature.
According to parents, forest school supported children in their physical, mental, and emotional
growth. Findings also suggested that parents considered learning in the forest school was
effective and made children confident and independent. Interview data revealed that children
learnt about the Indigenous culture in the forest school. Parents viewed educational philosophy
of forest school as a valuable experience for their children. Thereupon, the researcher suggests
detailed research about forest schools from varied lenses including parents, children, teachers,
and policy makers and varied places across Canada and other countries.
Key Words: Forest School, ECE, Outdoors, Parent’s Perception, Growth, Learning,
Development, Case Study

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, my gratitude to Allah (S.W.T.) for His blessings and mercies in
directing me through this path of immense knowledge and learning.
The initiation of this study would not have been possible without the thoughtful
insights of Dr. Bernita Wienhold-Leahy, who encouraged and supported my learning during
the early years of my master’s program.
I could not have undertaken this study without my supervisor Dr. Carol Rees, who
provided me with immense support throughout the research process. I am highly indebted to
the intellectual and professional knowledge she shared with me on this journey. In addition,
she encouraged me to voice my opinions and always stood by me with my decisions.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Victoria Handford, who supported
me during difficult times. She provided me with a varied lens to examine my research and her
insights helped me advance this project. Her timely support resolved many unforeseen
complications in my research study.
In addition, I would like to thank Dr. Patricia Liu-Baergen for providing me with
valuable suggestions throughout this research journey. Her positive words motivated me to
perform my best. Furthermore, her timely and insightful advice strengthened this study.
I sincerely thank Dr. Cory Jobb for his logical suggestions and knowledgeable advice.
His recommendations broadened this study's scope and helped me produce a sound study.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the director of Sprouting
Knowledge Forest School and the parents who participated in this study. I am grateful to
them for sharing valuable insights into this research.

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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
DEDICATION
This thesis is dedicated to my family: my husband Sarfaraz Hussain for his patience,
warmth, and support in encouraging me to follow my dreams in a foreign country. His
constant motivation is the sole reason I have reached this journey's final stage. Special
gratitude to my two little daughters, Mehrish Gulnar and Zaheen Sarfaraz, for always
inspiring me to do well. Without their unconditional love and support, this study would not
have been possible. Finally, I would also like to dedicate my thesis to my parents, whose
sincere prayers and love for me helped me sail through this smoothly.
.

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Young children today spend less time in the outdoors, which has led to a sedentary
lifestyle (Fjrtoft, 2001). Such a way of living may negatively impact children’s growth,
learning, and development. Proximity to nature can improve behavior, increase resilience,
enhance physical agility, and promote cognitive development in young children (Cooper,
2015). In addition, proximity to nature can support children’s developing stewardship
towards nature (Kiewra & Veselack, 2016). Time spent outdoors in nature influences
children’s over-all growth. According to Hand et al. (2017, as cited in Harvey et al., 2020), it
is important that children’s time spent outdoors be in natural settings as nature provides
varied biodiversity, which may not be available in structured parks; however, it has been
noted that children prefer private or public parks which do not serve the purpose of nature
connection.
Background and Rationale
Since considerable research indicates the importance of children’s interaction with
nature, it is important to explore the reasons responsible for the small amount of time spent
outdoors. Globalization is one of these reasons. Globalization has led to the bureaucratization
of education. As the world economies struggle to reach the top, the pedagogy of profit has
rooted itself firmly in the education system. This scenario of preparing children for future
refutes Dewey’s (1897) concept of raising the children socially and emotionally. In current
times, children are considered assets on the balance sheet who will upturn the country's
future. Neoliberalizing education to increase the readiness of children to enter the capitalistic
world has become the main agenda of the developed and developing nations (Pimlott-Wilson
& Coates, 2019). In this inflexible corporate world, the goal of education has been reduced to
the transmission of industrial knowledge and its acquisition and cultivation to produce factory
models to increase the productivity of the economies. Such a myopic vision of young
children’s education destroys the creative skills of the future. As Freire (1968/2005) stated,
“education is suffering from narration sickness” (p. 71). The current times of capitalism
exhibit crisis in education, which has removed passion from intellect.
The education system today faces many issues because of the ill-considered aspects of
learning and teaching. Standardized testing at varied levels of education has given rise to the
miseducation of children (Pinar, 2004). The inclusion of standardized testing, increased
focus on academic achievement, and lack of physical activities due to greater reliance on
technology have led to disconnection with nature. As stated by Henry Giroux in an interview,

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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
“Neoliberals believe that the curriculum should be organized around testing, creating passive

students, and enforcing a pedagogy of repression” (Nevradakis, 2015, p. 451). The focus of
education on academic achievement and success in science, mathematics, and technology has
overshadowed the children's creative skills. Children are encouraged to spend more time
accommodating the knowledge presented to them in the structured classroom (Coates &
Pimlott-Wilson, 2019). According to Kiewra and Veselack (2016), the traditional educational
system of teaching the children within the four walls of the classroom and not encouraging
the children’s exploratory skills are some of the many reasons for the decline in children’s
critical thinking and originality in the United States and other countries. In addition, the
advancement in technology in recent years has resulted in disconnection from nature (Coates
& Pimlott-Wilson, 2019; Kalpogianni, 2019) resulting in substantial negative impacts on the
children, which has affected the children's responsibility towards nature. Tremblay (2018, as
cited in British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2019b) states a decline in the amount of
physical activity in Canadian children compared to the time spent in front of the screen.
According to HealthLink BC (2020), children between the ages of 2-4 should have a screen
time of a maximum of an hour a day, and for children aged 5-17, it should be a maximum of
two hours a day. However, a recent meta-analysis on the screentime usage of children
revealed that only “1 in 4 children aged below 2 years and 1 in 3 children aged 2-5 years” (p.
379) are meeting the prescribed screentime guidelines (McArthur et al., 2022), which is
threatening to young children’s health. Apart from increased screentime, parental restrictions
also negatively impact children’s time spent outdoors.
Safety restrictions imposed on children’s play are paradoxically ruining their health
and future. “Stranger-danger” (Pimlott-Wilson & Coates, 2019, p. 270) as a parental concern
(Louv, 2008; Pimlott-Wilson & Coates, 2019; Wyver et al., 2010) is one of the most
important reasons for the decline in children's outdoor encounters. The exaggerated fear of
this concern has created hysteria amongst parent communities in letting their children play
outside (Holt et al., 2015; Valentine & McKendrick, 1997, as cited in Pimlott-Wilson &
Coates, 2019). For the protection of their children, parents supervise them at all times, which
hinders their exploratory skills. Furthermore, possible hazards and risks of accidents affect
parents’ decision to let their children play outdoors.
Problem Statement
Early childhood is a phase when children bloom to their full potential. Therefore,
choosing the kind of early childhood education environment for children is an important
decision by every parent. The reasons discussed above influence parents’ decision to choose a
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
type of educational approach which can protect their children from any danger. The fear of
hazards and the pressure of raising children in a neoliberal world encourage parents to choose
structured classrooms where their children can achieve academic attainment and thereby act
as commodities to develop economic gain. Although parents' efforts to ensure their children
secure well-paid jobs are a genuine concern for their children's security and future, this buyin to the neo-liberal agenda can have serious consequences. With mounting research on the
benefits of parental involvement on children’s academic achievement (Fan & Chen, 2001),
little is known about the parents’ perceptions of their decision-making on early childhood
education (ECE) for their children. If we have to support the holistic development of the
young generation, we must look for ways to protect the future generation from becoming
robots. According to British Columbia Ministry of Education (2019a), holistic approach is
“an approach to early learning that encompasses the physical, social, emotional, intellectual,
and creative nature of a child. A holistic approach focuses on the whole child, rather than
concentrating only on individual components” (p. 102). Therefore, to change and enrich
children's educational opportunities, we need to concentrate on two vital tasks. The first is to
provide alternative educational approaches to parents for their children, and the second is to
provide detailed information about various resources to help them make informed decisions
on their young children’s education.
Personal Rationale
Parenting is multidimensional and therefore requires parents to understand the breadth
and depth of their children’s early childhood educational approach. As a mother of two young
girls, choosing the right kind of education for my children has been the top-most priority.
However, as a result of my growing-up years in a developing nation with the pressure of
‘learn well to earn well,’ I raised my children with the same notion of being commodities for
economic development. At the time of choosing early childhood education (ECE) for my
children, there were only two options for me to choose from; first, a structured daycare for six
hours a day, and second, to home school my children with extended family, and I chose the
former as it seemed more appropriate, formal, and structured. However, what I lacked in my
decision to select the right type of ECE was, firstly, my unawareness of the importance of
ECE for the holistic development of young children; secondly, unavailability of other ECE
alternatives, and lastly, absence of shared knowledge of other parents’ experience. I believe
the lack of other alternatives, less information, and unavailability of a detailed outline of the
resources shaped my decision to settle with the closed structured daycare. However, while
continuing my studies in Canada, I realized that there are many different options of ECE to
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
choose from in developed nations. My first encounter with the forest school approach
happened while researching the state of outdoor education in Canada for an assignment. This
late but exciting encounter with forest school alternative ignited in me the thirst to research
its existence, approach, and pedagogy. While researching forest schools, I observed a vast
body of research on the benefits of learning in nature. However, there is limited knowledge
about how to promote this excellent learning alternative. My constructivist worldview
supported my understanding of the multitude of positive impacts of forest school pedagogy
but left me with a question as to how this pedagogical approach can reach a greater audience.
Therefore, this study arose from my inquisitiveness to understand the viewpoints of the
children’s first educators, the parents. I believe comprehending parents’ perceptions would
not only add to the literature on forest school pedagogy but will serve the purpose of
informing those parents looking for alternative learning environments for the holistic
development of their young children.
Purpose of the Study
In Europe, UK, and North America, Forest School (FS) pedagogy has been an
emerging and exciting education alternative (Dean, 2019) that parents of young children can
choose. In contrast to the short-sighted business model of education, FS pedagogy is a
dynamic methodology that places its foci on the holistic development of all the children
(Kahriman-Pamuk, 2020). Research studies have reported substantial benefits to the growth,
learning, and development of young children in Forest Schools, and in chapter 2, a review of
the literature on these benefits is presented. This research can help parents make an informed
choice, but I believe there is a gap in the literature regarding parents’ perspectives on their
children’s growth, learning, and development in FS. For parents making decisions about their
children’s education, it can be beneficial to know about the views of other parents on the
benefits of FS for their children. Developing an understanding of parents’ perspectives and
sharing these is therefore critical.
This study, therefore, aims to explore the opinions of parents who have enrolled their
children in forest schools. This study’s results will help understand why parents chose FS as
an ECE for their children. This information will be of value to all parents considering FS
education for their children.
Research Question
The aim of this research is to reveal and understand the viewpoints of parents whose
children are enrolled in FS. This research aims to answer the question:

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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
Q1. What are parents’ perceptions of their children’s growth, learning, and development
(connection to nature) in a forest school?
CHAPTER SUMMARY
In this chapter, I introduced the multiple issues that are hindering children’s
experience in the outdoors. There is a vast body of research indicating the benefits of nature
connection for children. This chapter also presented the researcher’s positionality as a parent
in connection with the early childhood education. Forest Schools are alternative learning
approach that introduces learning in the outdoors. However, the question of parents’
perspectives of alternative ECE has not been clearly answered previously. This reason is the
point of initiation for this study to understand the parents’ views of how forest schools impact
their children’s growth, learning, and development. This research is critical as it will help in
understanding parents’ viewpoints which can be shared with all parents considering Forest
School education for their children.

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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
Forest Schools (FS) are a child-centric outdoor education initiative to support learning
in the natural environment. FS are found in many countries around the world and more
recently introduced in Canada. This research focuses on the perceptions of parents whose
children are enrolled in an early childhood education program of FS in British Columbia,
Canada. It aims to explore their views of the potential influence of FS on their children’s
growth, learning, and development.
As a background for this study, this literature review will focus on early childhood
education (ECE), the definition of FS, the history of FS, challenges associated with FS,
potential benefits of FS, including an overview of literature on children’s growth, learning,
and development within FS, the role of educators, and parental choice as potential areas that
may be relevant. At the end of the literature review, theoretical underpinnings of the study
will be explored including Gardner’s naturalist intelligence theory and Froebel’s theory of the
power of engagement with nature.
Early Childhood Education
Early childhood is a period of tremendous increase in every facet of growth, learning,
and development. The foundational skills start to develop from birth to eight years. Every
child is unique and has immense potential to develop multiple skills (British Columbia
Ministry of Education, 2019b). There is an increasing body of evidence of the positive impact
of early childhood education on the children’s preparedness to enter school years (Phillips et
al., 2017). Therefore, it is critical to lay strong foundations for the young population to
develop holistically.
The history of early childhood education (ECE) in Canada dates to 1850s
(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2003). The revised BC
early learning framework (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2019a) is pillared on
several concepts, some of which are “learning is holistic,” “environments are integral to wellbeing and learning,” and “play is integral to well-being and learning” (p. 15). According to
Cooper (2015), early childhood education should focus on the various aspects of growth,
learning, and development of the young children. Learning does not occur in isolation; it is a
social process and hence involves interaction with self, others, and nature. Children start
forming reciprocal bonds with nature when they are in association with the outside
environment. According to British Columbia Ministry of Education (2019b), play supports
children in developing their intellectual potential, fostering autonomy, and enhancing
curiosity. Childhood contact with the natural environment enhances nature stewardship
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
amongst children and encourages free thinking. According to Phillips et al. (2017), a
constructive early childhood education is an enriching experience for children in all areas of
growth. Research shows an increase in children’s physical and social-emotional well-being in
contact with the outside environment (Cooper, 2015). Therefore, a strong educational setting
in the early years is vital. One such educational concept is learning in the outdoors which is
integral to forest schools.
What are Forest Schools?
Forest Schools (FS) are schools where education takes place in local natural settings,
ideally in a forest but may occur in any outdoor area with a firm nature connection. FS
introduce children to new opportunities to learn in the natural environment (Forest School
Canada [FSC], 2014; Larimore, 2016). FS programs are primarily arranged for young
children for early childhood education. FS programs are sometimes offered as a half-day or
full-time nature interaction (FSC, 2014). This educational approach is an exclusive style of
learning where young children are presented with numerous opportunities to engage
themselves in nature, play within it, and in the process carve their exploratory skills. FS are
recognised by different names around the globe like “Nature Kindergarten, Outdoor School,
Waldkindergarten, Rain or Shine School, Bush School” (FSC, 2014, p. 12). Although there
are differences between schools, what is indistinguishable between them is their pedagogy
which is child-centered play-pedagogy. FS can occur in varied natural surroundings like
forests, farms, beaches, or parks, depending on the geography of the place (MacEachren,
2013). Children spend a majority of their time outdoors, irrespective of the weather and the
season. Many FS work on the motto of “there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad
clothes!” (Green Hearts, 2014, para. 3). FS guidelines include remaining dressed
appropriately for all the seasons. This guideline may look different in different parts of the
world, depending on their geographic location.
Children have an innate inclination towards exploration and adventure. According to
Coates and Pimlott-Wilson (2019), FS use the native environment to involve children in
learning from play-based activities. FS’s goal is to help children develop a tightly knitted
relationship with nature by promoting play-pedagogy (MacEachren, 2013). According to
Ridgers et al. (2012, as cited in Coates & Pimlott-Wilson, 2019), FS pedagogy gives children
the freedom to engage themselves in the fascinating natural environment where they can
choose what they wish to play and how they want to explore. In addition, FS encourage
children to play with natural materials in their raw form. According to Kiewra and Veselack
(2016), providing children with opportunities to use loose materials like “sticks, logs, sand,
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
and snow” (p. 72) invites them to develop their creative world. Interacting with nature and
exploring natural materials are foundational for children’s learning.
Learning in the outdoors is not only limited to playing with available materials, but
FS focus on the importance of outdoor education in cognitive, physical, and social-emotional
development. Maynard (2007) states that FS pedagogy nurtures and embraces distinctive
skills of confidence, resilience, and self-respect in children. Place-based education
encourages learners to build strong relationships with self, nature, and others (FSC, 2014).
The close allegiance with nature can make children compassionate and empathetic towards
the environment. “The core of learning is not in the information… being predigested from the
outside, but in the interaction between a child and the environment” (Finland’s Ministry of
Social Affairs and Health, 2003, as cited in Louv, 2008, p. 205). FS uphold the belief of
providing children with ample time outside in nature for their holistic development. FS is a
place that ignites creativity and supports individual learning along with collaborative
teamwork.
History of Forest Schools
Forest Schools have been around for a long time in different countries dating back to
the 1950s. They originated in the Scandinavian peninsula, supported by a cultural preference
of staying outdoors. According to Dean (2019), it was Denmark that first officially
recognized FS pedagogy. Froebel’s research in the field of children's education influenced the
principles of Scandinavian FS (Constable, 2014). An increasing number of Western countries
are recognizing the benefits of learning in the outdoors. The history of FS in Canada is
relatively recent. Marlene Powers was the founder of Carp Ridge Preschool, the first FS of
Canada in 2007 (MacEachren, 2013). The province of British Columbia welcomed its first
public forest school the Maple Ridge Environmental School Project in 2011 as a response to
the age-old traditional education system (Blenkinsop et al., 2016). Since then, there has been
a considerable increase in the number of FS in Canada predominantly in British Columbia
and Ontario (Boileau & Dabaja, 2020). FS are considered as exemplary alternative
educational approaches; however, there are some issues associated with their development
and reinforcement.
Challenges associated with Forest Schools
Recent years have given rise to questions regarding the development of FS and the
risks involved in the FS pedagogical approach. It is recognized that the advancement of FS
has some challenges that revolve around developing FS and its pedagogy.

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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
Issues in Developing Forest Schools
The development of FS requires detailed knowledge of the site where the education
will occur (Constable, 2014). In addition, it requires regular monitoring of the landscape
(FSC, 2014), to support designing new activities for the children. However, such intense
assessing at regular intervals to make use of the place may lead to burn-out in the FS
developers and risk FS existence and proper functioning.
Safety Assessment
Safety assessment is a critical concern for stakeholders that needs immediate attention
(Constable, 2014). However, assessing the probability of injury is not easy as FS stand on the
pillar of risk-taking. Therefore, maintaining a balance between healthy risky play and actual
hazard overburdens the FS educators, as they have to maintain strict protocols and report
everything that happens in FS to the developers and the parents (Constable, 2014; FSC,
2014).
According to Constable (2014), FS educators sometimes find it difficult to let children
take complete control of the learning. As FS pedagogy takes place in the wilderness, the FS
educators have a great responsibility towards the safety and well-being of children. However,
letting children take complete control may give rise to unavoidable risks and increase
parental fear. Although there are challenges in the development and pedagogy of FS, these
are far outweighed by the multitude of benefits FS offer.
Benefits of Forest Schools
Evidence suggests that FS have the potential to positively impact children’s growth,
learning, and development. In this section we will look at each of these aspects in turn.
Children’s Growth in Forest Schools
The unstructured play-based pedagogy of forest school provides children with ample
opportunities to grow physically and emotionally (Cooper, 2015; Ernst et al., 2018).
Physical Agility and Nourishment. Playing in the outdoors and learning about the symbiotic
relationships between plants and animals help develop gross motor skills and nutritional
habits. Kahriman-Pamuk (2020) argues that children learn the act of balancing on uneven
grounds, strolling for lengthy hours, and climbing on steep and rocky hills when learning in
FS. These activities build muscle strength in children. Fjrtoft (2001) states that the natural
world is dynamic and bestows a potential landscape that significantly improves young
children's physical activity. The time spent in the natural environment affects physical
mobility positively and weight gain negatively (Stone & Faulkner, 2014, as cited in Yildirim

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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
& Akamca, 2017). FS focuses on using natural and open-ended materials like grass, wood,
flowers, plants, puddles, slopes, and hills, which can help the children balance their grossmotor and sensory skills (Cooper, 2015). Moreover, learning about the nutritive values of
flora and fauna motivates children to choose healthy eating habits (Waliczek et al., 2001, as
cited in Cooper, 2015). Involving the children in growing vegetables and fruits ultimately
inspires them towards long-lasting healthy eating patterns. Physical fitness achieved through
FS in return supports children’s emotional well-being.
Social-Emotional Wellbeing. According to Ernst et al. (2018), spending time in nature is
directly proportional to resilience and inversely proportional to mental fatigue. In addition, it
promotes self-regulation in young children. Unstructured play in FS pedagogy supports
building self-confidence, reducing anxiety, and developing abilities to deal with adversity
(Ernst et al., 2018). Nature-based education promotes the qualities of self-assurance, dignity,
and emotional development. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms
can be curtailed by staying outdoors (Cooper, 2015; Jacobi-Vessels, 2013). According to
Yildirim and Akamca (2017), children learn autonomy and express their insights with
conviction and independence when learning occurs in the outdoors. Thereby social-emotional
well-being enhances children’s positive encounters with various emotions.
Emotional Awareness. Early childhood is the critical period for laying the foundation to
develop emotional awareness in children. Self-efficacy and self-regulation are closely related
protective factors essential for the development of autonomy. According to Bandura et al.
(1999), “a sense of personal efficacy is the foundation of human agency” (p. 258). The ethos
of forest schools includes developing young children’s social and emotional growth, learning,
and development. According to Maynard (2007), forest schools provide an environment of
challenges, possibilities, and problem-solving capabilities. Learning in FS encourages
children to develop a sense of personal efficacy, leading to the development of self-regulatory
mechanisms. According to Zimmerman (1989), self-regulation is the capability to regulate
one’s behavior, learning, and development. Child-initiated free play provides opportunities to
children to face challenges and regulate their inner-self to develop coping mechanisms.
Through children’s belief in their own capabilities, they can achieve a high level of selfregulation. Child-led activities, teamwork, and peer bonding are the foundations of forest
schools that support children in developing a sense of autonomy (Ernst et al., 2018). The
forest schools’ principles thus act as support systems for developing independent thinking,
learning, and decision-making skills in young children.

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Children’s Learning in Forest Schools
The non-traditional learning approach of forest school supports children in selfdirected and critical learning styles. In addition, FS provides children the opportunity to learn
about the local culture of the land where the learning takes place (FSC, 2014). The forest
school pedagogy supports children’s skills of conceptualizing and synthesizing the
knowledge.
Effective Learning. Forest school promotes a self-directed learning approach. Imitation play
is an essential component of learning in a FS. According to Constable (2014), FS encourages
children to develop their interests and carve out ways to achieve the desired goal. Such
persistent efforts by the children support them in times of challenges. Learning in the
outdoors advances problem-solving skills in children and thereby invokes numeracy and
literacy inquiry as recommended by British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2019b). Love
of nature supports scientific inquiry as stated by Constable (2014). Embedding FS pedagogy
in the early years facilitates this unique kind of learning. Supporting children’s creativity and
imagination can also be achieved through spending time in nature.
Critical Thinking and Imagination. Louv (2008) stated that “given a chance, a child will
bring the confusion of the world to the woods, wash it in the creek, turn it over to see what
lives on the unseen side of that confusion” (p. 7). Abstract reasoning and exploratory skills
increase manifold while playing and learning in nature. According to Yildirim and Akamca
(2017), learning in the natural environment provides children with numerous opportunities to
craft their imagination and dive deep into the various interactions in the environment. The FS
pedagogy focuses on more free time for children to construct their play in the natural settings
with teachers being only the facilitators in the process of learning. Such autonomy and
flexibility encourage the children to discover their cognitive abilities. Creativity augments
children’s potential and, in return, brings societal development (Kiewra & Veselack, 2016).
According to Jacobi- Vessels (2013), proximity to nature increases children's discovery,
admiration, and observation skills. The richness of being outdoor promotes curiosity and
ignites the joy of learning from the land.
Indigenous Ways of Knowing. Learning from the land is deeply rooted in Indigenous
pedagogy. For Indigenous people, hands-on experience outside the concrete classroom is
essential (Preston et al., 2011). Although there are differences in the perspectives of forest
school pedagogy and Indigenous ways of knowing, learning, and teaching (Jhonston, 2020),
there are some similarities. Similar to FS pedagogy, Indigenous land-based learning varies
with the area's geography. According to Bowra et al. (2021), both rural and urban terrains of
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Indigenous lands can be used as teaching grounds. According to FSC (2014), Indigenous
pedagogy focuses on observation, reflection, and learning from the natural life present on the
land. For Indigenous people, the land is the “first teacher” (Bowra et al., 2021, p. 133), and
the ways of knowing and learning about daily life exist within the usual activities related to
land. Indigenous knowledge, which is thousands of years old, works on the reciprocal
relationship concept with nature (Bowra et al., 2021). For Indigenous people learning from
the varied life that exists around them is important. According to Bowra et al. (2021),
bilateral relation with nature is of utmost importance as it helps reflect on our actions and
changes our attitude toward nature. According to FSC (2014), the Indigenous age-old
traditional way of learning from the land can support the development of FS by enriching the
FS through local Indigenous culture.
Children’s Development in Forest Schools
The whole-body approach of forest school helps children develop a positive mindset
towards others and self (FSC, 2014).
Children’s Developing Attitudes to Nature. When Louv coined the term “Nature-deficit
disorder” (Louv, 2008, p. 36), he envisioned the detrimental effects that humans have on
nature. The 21st century children are growing up with detachment from nature. Much data
has been recorded indicating that if a child has been in close vicinity with nature, he becomes
a nature lover (Wells & Lekies, 2006, as cited in Cooper, 2015). “Biophilia” (Wilson, 1894,
as cited in Turtle et al. 2015, p. 4) is the term which describes children’s innate ability to
connect with nature. Learning carried out in the natural environment promotes ecological
awareness amongst children. The more interaction children will have with nature, the more
they will empathize with the environment (Cooper, 2015; Kiewra & Veselack, 2016).
Learning in the outdoors provides children with the opportunities to experience different life
processes in the natural world, making them responsible for the environment. According to
Constable (2014), children who learn in nature are more likely to develop stewardship
towards nature, understand the environmental issues and find ways to tackle the problems.
According to Turtle et al. (2015), FS pedagogy influences children’s attitude towards nature
and make them environmentally friendly individuals who feel connected to nature and work
towards building sustainable environment. The children will understand the concept of
‘taking care’ if they see the strong interdependence between flora and fauna. Therefore, it is
hoped that FS will help children develop into adults who will take better care of nature.
Additionally, FS promotes children’s whole-body development by preparing them for future
through immersion in nature.
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Preparation for School. Peer-interaction, pretend play, and expressing self are critical skills
that must develop in early years in children (Cordiano et al., 2019). The immersion in natural
places supports children to develop abilities which help them in their succession to school. FS
provide learning opportunities for children in the form of collaboration with peers and adults,
role-plays, and self-care (Coates & Pimlott-Wilson, 2019). According to Vygotsky
(1967/2016), pretend play supports children in developing “abstract thought” (p. 20). This
abstract thinking helps children in understanding the “rule-governed behavior” (Cordiano et
al., 2019, p. 21). Children develop knowledge and skills to exercise their emotions and roles
in the society at an early age. According to FSC (2014), FS promote play-based learning
which enhances communication, fosters relationship-building, and articulates inner nature in
children. Interpersonal and cognitive skills are stepping-stones towards school. Therefore, it
is essential to develop these skills to prepare children for school and for their holistic
development.
Holistic Development. The decline in children's time in contact with nature and how it
negatively affects their well-being are evident. According to Jacobi-Vessels (2013),
integrating and encouraging nature education in the traditional curriculum adds
knowledgeable experiences for children and educators. Apart from academics, FS pedagogy
supports whole-child development in nature (Williams-Siegfredsen, 2012, as cited in
Kahriman-Pamuk, 2020). A considerable amount of research indicates an upsurge in
concentration, physical fitness, and resilience in children with the increase in nature
interaction (Jacobi-Vessels, 2013). In addition, a growing body of research shows a multitude
of benefits of play in children’s development through FS. According to Bergen (2009):
1. Play serves as a channel of communication for children who are not always
articulate in other ways.
2. Play enables them to examine materials and try techniques in artistic and creative
endeavors.
3. Play helps them convey ideas and accomplish goals before their language skills are
fully developed.
4. Play substance provides a filter that allows them to take risks without concern for
world realities.
5. Play allows them to feel powerful in transmitting forceful ideas and producing
exciting effects.
6. Play promotes an optimum learning environment within which they can function
and flourish naturally (p. 416).
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
Pioneers in the early years of education, including Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky,
Rousseau, and Froebel, have appreciated the role of play and nature interaction in the
development of young children (Constable, 2014). Moreover, interaction with nature supports
children in developing autonomy.
Children’s Autonomy. Developing confidence and independence are integral to FS
pedagogy. According to Maynard and Waters (2007), if children have a freedom of choice,
they become confident and independent thinkers. The unstructured play supported by FS
empowers the children to explore and make decisions independently. The child-centered
aspect of FS promotes self-centered learning where children develop a sense of self-care and
preparedness to function actively while learning. According to McCree et al. (2018), FS
practitioners promote autonomy by supporting the children’s interest and choice. The
autonomy in return prepares children to deal with problems and find solutions. FS pedagogy
provides interesting, challenging, and problem-solving environment which helps the children
think independently and make choices confidently. The pedagogy of FS can further be
explored by looking at the role of FS educators.
Role of Educators
According to FSC (2014), FS educators are enthusiastic nature lovers who share their
passion with children by facilitating their experiences in the outdoor environment. The FS
educator’s role is multidimensional which includes encouraging children to develop
constructive relationships with nature, providing students with multiple opportunities to learn
on their own, offering them support to engage with the local biodiversity, and making them
responsible humans of society. FS practitioners make learning enjoyable, valuable, and
positive in the outdoors (Constable, 2014). The FS educators are facilitators of learning and
fun, motivators of the little researchers, applauders of the children’s discoveries and
inventions, and the promoters of the children’s creativity and imagination in the natural
environment. Forest School Canada (2014) states that FS educators “act as stewards of the
place, conscious of the group’s interactions with it and their impact on it over time” (p. 18).
The role of educators is not only limited to providing children with open, unstructured play,
but they fuel children with a great amount of information about the local biodiversity,
facilitates children’s interaction with the same, and foster the enthusiasm of acquiring new
knowledge of the ecology. Additionally, the perceptions of parents about the choice of
education together with the educators can create wonderful learning opportunities for
children.

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Parent’s Choice
Parents are the gatekeepers for choosing the right education for their children. Parents'
viewpoints play vital role in children’s growth, learning, and development. According to
Beckett (2014), multiple factors influence parents’ decision to choose an ECE for their
children. There is a vast body of research on the benefits of parents’ involvement in their
children’s academic achievement (Fan & Chen, 2001) and parents’ perceptions of the
benefits of outdoor play (Parsons & Traunter, 2020). Parents are the collaborators in
children’s holistic growth and development. Beckett’s (2014) study discussed that “friends,
neighbours or family” (p. 71) influence parents’ decision to choose an educational approach
for their children. Parents who are actively involved with their children’s early year education
provide valuable learning experiences for the young generation. Parents echoed that
participation in forest school has positively impacted children (Griffiths et al., 2010, as cited
in Close, 2012). Parents’ perceptions of the ECE, therefore, support the development of a
better learning environment for children.
Theoretical Underpinnings of Forest Schools
Although there are several theorists who have influenced FS pedagogy (see
theoretical framework), it is the guiding ideas of Gardner’s naturalist intelligence which
makes FS pedagogy unique. Gardner who proposed multiple intelligences believed that
people possess different intelligences and should be presented with the information in the
form which is most closely related to their intellectual power. Gardner added naturalist
intelligence to the list of intelligences (Louv, 2008) based on the idea of different learning
capabilities. According to Gardner (2000), naturalist intelligence is a person’s ability to
understand the presence of natural life in the environment and develop sensitivity towards
nature care and environment. The conception of naturalist intelligence is well supported by
FS pedagogy.
Learning from nature is an age-old traditional way of knowing things. Gardner (2000)
believes the presence of naturalist intelligence dates to evolutionary theories where survival
of the varied living beings was based on the organisms’ intelligence of the natural living life
around. Early age is the critical time where children’s intelligence increases rapidly. Playing
in nature thus, can prove beneficial in the growth and development of young children.
According to Gardner (2000), young children have an undeniable affinity towards the natural
world. Children gravitate towards learning about the living and non-living forms of life
present in their environment.

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Learning in the outdoors presents opportunities to children to develop their naturalist
intelligence. According to Hyun (2000), restricting children’s exposure to nature and
experience in the environment may hinder their naturalist intelligence which will ultimately
affect their attitude towards nature and its sustainability. Disregarding children’s fondness
toward nature may result in damaging relations with nature.
Learning in nature and naturalist intelligence are closely related terms. The former
supports encouraging learning in the outdoors while the latter encourages presenting
information in the naturalistic way. According to Armstrong (2009, as cited in Supriadi et al.,
2020), naturalist intelligence can become a part of learning when children are encouraged to
learn in the natural habitat. Learning outdoors promotes ecological awareness and caring
attitude among children. Developing children’s natural intelligence by encouraging their
nature interaction make them environmentally literate individuals. Such compassionate minds
embrace nature stewardship and are sensitive toward future environmental concerns.
Richard Louv’s nature-deficit disorder (2008) is an indication of the depletion of
children’s nature interaction. Louv’s belief is that children’s connection with nature has been
detrimentally affected because of many reasons. According to Louv (2008), Gardner’s
naturalist intelligence has provided a great argument for those who believe that intelligence
lies only in literacy and numeracy. Naturalist intelligence encourages children to learn in the
natural environment and uncover the hidden knowledge of the environment. Letting the
children stimulate their natural intelligence will make them nature-lovers and responsible
humans.
Theoretical Framework
The study of the importance of nature interaction in children’s development has a
long history ranging in different fields like sociology, pedagogy, philosophy, and health.
Moreover, the essentiality of playing in nature as perceived by pioneers like Froebel,
McMillan, and Steiner was related to the notion of autonomy, creativity, and self-directed
learning. Therefore, I will review Froebel’s kindergarten philosophy and theory regarding
raising children with freedom and self-regulation.
Froebel discouraged memorization of knowledge and believed in the liberation of
children’s identity and inner thoughts (Gutek, 2015). Froebel opened his first school based on
the principles of play in 1837 in Germany, which he later renamed “Kindergarten” (Weston,
2000, p. 15). The Froebel Kindergarten provided children the experience to explore
themselves and nurture their latent skills.

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The Kindergarten
Froebel’s philosophy of kindergarten was dominated by the concept of idealism
(Gutek, 2015). According to idealism, children are born with inner spirituality, and it is
essential to externalize their inner self. Following Idealism, Froebel developed the
kindergarten where children were autonomous and learned different skills naturally with
dedication. According to Hermann (1926), Froebel’s knowledge of education is a gift to
humankind. Froebel asserted the importance of accepting gradational changes in children’s
growth and development and encouraged humans to be mindful of their effects on the
children’s character.
In Froebel kindergarten, play is placed at the top of the hierarchy. Froebel believed
that play is a critical aspect of the growth of children. While playing, children learn to express
their emotions, viewpoints of adults’ life and work and form connections with society (Gutek,
2015). Playing in the outdoors was essential to Froebel. The kindergarten offered children
time to explore freely by stimulating their senses (Tovey, 2013). A Froebelian educational
approach involves freedom of expression, interconnectedness with nature and society, risktaking behavior, dramatic play, and critical thinking. Such engaging skill-building activities
bring out the hidden potentials of children (Hermann, 1926) and give them the confidence to
express their thoughts and emotions. Scandinavian Naturbørnehavens’ concept of playing
outdoors was deeply rooted in the Froebelian educational philosophy of learning in nature
(Constable, 2014; Williams-Siegfredsen, 2021). Froebel encouraged nurturing the children in
nature for their holistic development. Kindergarten is the most powerful age where children
develop the skills of inquisitiveness, observation, creation, and exploration.
Froebel’s Theory of Engagement with Nature
Froebel emphasized the interconnectedness between children and nature. Froebel
argued that children learn wonderful things in nature apart from just knowing about the
environment (Tovey, 2013). Froebel’s education system encourages using natural
environment to help children make relations with the broader community. According to
Tovey (2013), in Froebel kindergarten, children learn gardening through play, which supports
their understanding of taking care of nature by learning about flora and fauna life cycles.
Association with nature develops a sense of responsibility in children for a sustainable
environment. Rich Froebelian play fosters child-centric activities which fill the children with
wonderment. According to Tovey (2013), a Froebelian educational system involves learning
from the four elements of life: land, water, air, and fire; additionally, the Froebelian approach
focuses on the importance of free movement, adventurous opportunities, free play, and
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
unhindered learning. The child should experience nature “in all its aspects – form, energy,
substance, sound and colour” (Froebel in Lilley, as cited in Tovey, 2020, p. 8). A wealth of
hands-on experience, freedom to create, engagement with self and others, and meaningful
learnings of varied curriculum like numeracy, literacy, and art are values of Froebelian
approach in the natural surroundings.
Froebel’s Educational Approach and Forest School Pedagogy
The Froebelian educational philosophy has several ideologies which align with the
current FS pedagogy. Both pedagogies are deeply rooted in bringing children in close vicinity
of nature. The table below will enunciate the similarities between Froebelian learning and FS
pedagogy.
Table 1: Summary of Froebelian Kindergarten and Forest School Philosophy
Froebelian Philosophy of Kindergarten
Play is foundational to learning (Constable,
2014; Gutek, 2015; Tovey 2013).

Forest School Philosophy
Outdoor play is the underlying principle of
FS (Constable 2014; FSC, 2014;
MacEachren, 2013).

Learning cannot be bracketed, and the sole
purpose of learning is to make connections
with nature and society (Hermann, 1926;
Tovey, 2013).
Children learn significantly through selfactivity (Tovey, 2013; 2020).

Children have an innate ability to make
connections with nature which is nurtured by
FS (FSC, 2014; Turtle et al., 2015).

Educates children to be independent and
interdependent at the same time (Gutek,
2015; Tovey, 2013, 2020).
Believes children are innovative, curious, and
powerful individuals (Gutek, 2015; Hermann,
1926; Tovey, 2013).
Free-play, problem solving skills are essential
for growth of children (Tovey, 2013).

Rich natural environment is important for
learning (Constable, 2014; Tovey, 2013).

Learning in FS is child-centric (FSC, 2014;
Ridgers et al., 2012, as cited in Coates &
Pimlott-Wilson, 2019).
Independent and collaborative work are
instrumental to FS (Constable, 2014; FSC,
2014).
Children are competent, mighty, and innately
capable (Child and Nature Alliance of Canada
[CNAC], 2021; FSC, 2014).
Playing with natural materials in their raw
form enhances children’s exploratory skills is
a guiding principle of FS (CNAC, 2021;
Constable, 2014; FSC, 2014).
Availability of plentiful natural material is an
essential component of FS (FSC, 2014;
Tovey, 2013).

Froebelian approach encourages to develop
Develops protective factors in children (Ernst
confidence and self-regulation in children
et al., 2018; FSC, 2014; Maynard, 2007).
(Gutek, 2015; Tovey, 2020).
Note. The table reviewed the resemblances in the ideologies of early year theorist Friedrich
Froebel with the contemporary FS pedagogy.

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Therefore, understanding the philosophy of Froebelian approach is essential in the
development of FS principles.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
This chapter was divided into three broad areas. Firstly, I reviewed the understanding
of early childhood education and its importance on the children’s growth, learning, and
development. Followed by early childhood education, a detailed account of forest school
history was discussed. This section elaborated the beginning, development and the risks
associated with forest schools.
In the second part of this chapter, I reviewed the forest school pedagogy in detail.
This section elaborated the ways in which forest school supported children’s growth,
learning, and development in the outdoors. The section also discussed the benefits associated
with employing forest school pedagogy in early years of education.
The last part of this chapter discussed the theoretical support and framework for
nature-based education elaborating the Froebelian principles of kindergarten including
positives of nature engagement and Gardner’s naturalist intelligence.

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CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research can be defined in multiple ways; however, the essence of research in any
field of study is to inquire, investigate, and analyze the information in a methodical manner
(Creswell, 2012; Merriam, 2009). This study involves the use of a qualitative research design
and uses semi-structured interviews to collect the data and thematic analysis. This qualitative
study will focus on parents’ perceptions of their children’s growth, learning, and development
when enrolled in a forest school. In this section, I will elucidate the rationale behind using
qualitative method, explanation of the use of semi-structured interviews, data collection and
thematic analysis and efforts made to build trustworthiness.
Qualitative Design
Qualitative research is a process of understanding the uniqueness of the meaning of an
experience of individuals in a natural environment (Creswell, 2012; Merriam, 2009).
Qualitative research aims to develop a detailed understanding of a specific phenomenon.
According to Merriam (2009), a qualitative researcher aims to comprehend individuals’
interpretations of their lived experience. Braun and Clarke (2013), states “qualitative research
is that it uses words as data, collected and analysed in all sorts of ways” (p. 3). The purpose
of qualitative research is to understand the perceptions and perspectives of the participants
through their meaning making. According to Merriam (2009), a qualitative researcher’s role
in data collection and analysis is critical as the aim of the inquiry is to understand the
phenomenon. While inquiring in qualitative research, the researchers should be aware of their
biases and subjectivities which can inform the elucidation of the collected data. For this
reason, the researcher has included a section entitled “Locating myself as a researcher” (see
p. 18).
Case Study
Case study is a research methodology which focuses on a detailed explanation of an
issue within a bounded system (Creswell, 2012; Merriam, 2009). According to Miles and
Huberman, a case is “a phenomenon of some sort occurring in a bounded context” (1994, as
cited in Merriam, 2009, p. 40). Merriam (2009) concludes that “the single most defining
characteristic of case study research lies in delimiting the object of study, the case” (p. 40).
The above definitions, therefore, served my purpose of inquiry into parents’ perceptions of
their children’s growth, learning, and development as a phenomenon in context of forest
school. A qualitative case study involves the understanding of comprehensive meanings of
the phenomenon. According to Stake (1995), case study is beneficial when the boundaries are
clearly identified and the purpose of the study is to gain a deeper understanding (as cited in
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
Creswell, 2012). Therefore, a case study proved an excellent methodology for this research as
it helped the researcher gain a deeper insight into the case of children’s growth, learning, and
development in a forest school through their parents’ lens. Merriam’s case study
epistemology revolves around constructivism, where she believes multiple realities exist and
reality can be interpreted in multiple ways (Yazan, 2015). As an emerging researcher, I find
myself located close to the constructivist paradigm. Therefore, I believe it is essential for
qualitative researchers to use subjectivity and look for understanding the meaning of an
experience. The intention behind choosing Case Study methodology was to understand the
phenomenon of parents’ perceptions of their children’s growth, learning, and development in
forest school in detail. According to Merriam (2009), case study is concrete and contextual
and helps in producing rich descriptions of a phenomenon. The descriptive style (Merriam,
2009) of case study makes this qualitative approach a well-defined methodology for the
investigator. Through case study, I intended to gain a deeper insight into the knowledge
constructed of the growth, learning, and development of children in context of forest school
by parents’ perceptions.
Locating Myself as a Researcher
Merriam (2009,) claims that “the researcher is the primary instrument for data
collection and analysis” (p. 16). Therefore, it is imperative for the researcher to identify any
biasness at the outset of the study and its potential effects on the interpretation of the research
findings (Merriam, 2009). Creswell (2007) states that the clarification of biasness can be
accomplished by, “researcher comments on past experiences, biases, prejudices, and
orientations that have likely shaped the interpretation and approach to the study” (p. 208).
Therefore “reflexivity” (Merriam, 2009, p. 219) is one of the strategies to ensure credibility
in qualitative research.
I am an Indian female and a mother of two daughters. My educational qualification
includes a master’s in Environmental Sciences and Biochemistry. My interest in the field of
Forest School and understanding the perceptions of parents are rooted into my background as
a graduate in Environmental Sciences and a parent. Being a parent in this technologically
advanced era, I am intrigued to understand why parents would choose nature over traditional
learning for their children. Apart from that being in the field of Environmental Sciences, I
always worked with nature only from within the college laboratory and never stepped out to
understand the actual functioning of nature. I believe not experiencing the environment in its
real sense left my understanding of nature and its uses fragmentary. Gaining education in
India and raising my children in Indian educational culture which does not support
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experiential learning to the fullest, I was encouraged to explore the topic of FS and the
viewpoints of parents whose children are enrolled in the FS. As stated by Peshkin (1988, as
cited in Merriam, 2009) researcher’s subjectivities “can be seen as virtuous, for it is the basis
of researchers making a distinctive contribution, one that results from the unique
configuration of their personal qualities joined to the data they have collected” (p. 15). I
believe my identity as a parent helped the participants and me to have transparent discussions
around Forest School. Additionally, my qualification in Environmental Sciences proved
beneficial in understanding the functioning of the FS.
Rigor in the Study
According to Merriam (2009), the purpose of the research is to produce trustworthy
knowledge following the ethics protocols. Therefore, it is critical to observe reliable methods
which can increase the rigor in the study being performed. The researcher should be able to
solve the concerns of the outsiders through the study (Merriam, 2009). For this study, the
trustworthiness was achieved through member checking and inter-rater reliability.
Member-checking
A strategy to increase trustworthiness is member-checking or respondent validation
(Merriam, 2009). Member- checking involves “taking data and tentative interpretations back
to the people from whom they were derived and asking if they are plausible” (p. 229).
Additionally, Creswell (2012) states that member-checking is a critical technique which
supports the researcher to increase credibility to the research by getting the interpretations
examined by the participants. In this study, I followed Merriam’s process of memberchecking by cross checking the preliminary interpretations with the participants. At the end of
each interview, I reviewed my understanding of the interviews with the interviewees by
asking them details of their explanations to enhance the trustworthiness.
Inter-rater Reliability
Consistency in qualitative research is defined as the concurrence between the data
collected and the meaning generated (Merriam, 2009). Achieving consistency in qualitative
research is difficult, given that reality is multi-dimensional, and people may experience same
phenomenon differently. I used the method of inter-rater reliability to increase
trustworthiness in this study. According to Creswell (2012), “intercoder agreement based on
the use of multiple coders to analyse transcript data” (p. 210). For this study, I used
Creswell’s method of intercoder reliability. My supervisor Dr. Carol Rees acted as a second
coder for the research findings who examined my interpretations of the result. Initially the

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primary investigator and the second coder coded the data separately and discussed the
emerging themes throughout the analysis.
Data Collection
Data is defined as pieces of information around the field of study (Merriam, 2009).
For qualitative research the words spoken by the participants are considered as data
(Merriam, 2009). Hence, the data for this study was collected by conducting face-to-face or
video-conferencing interviews with the participants. As some interviews took place on the
sight of the school that I have called Green Smile Forest School, permission from the Green
Smile Forest School Director was reserved first.
Interview Procedure
The purpose of this study was to explore the parents’ perceptions of their children’s
growth, learning, and development in a Forest School. According to Merriam (2009),
“interviewing is necessary when we cannot observe behavior, feelings, or how people
interpret the world around them” (p. 88). Therefore, the purpose of using interview was to
gain a detailed understanding of a phenomenon under study. For this study, I used a set of
semi-structured interview questions to elicit the parents’ viewpoints. According to Merriam
(2009), semi-structured interviews are common ways of data collection for qualitative
research as they help the researcher to gather specific data. As qualitative research is an
emergent one, using semi-structured interviews allowed the researcher to respond to new
themes emerging in the interview (Merriam, 2009).
Interviews were the primary source of data collection in this study and hence it was
critical for the researcher to follow certain guidelines that could help yield rich information
from the interviews. For this purpose, I used Merriam (2009) principles for conducting the
semi-structured interviews. According to Merriam (2009), asking good questions is critical to
data collection. Therefore, to have information filled interviews, it is important to avoid
asking certain type of questions. According to Merriam (2009), asking “multiple questions,”
“leading questions,” and “yes-or-no questions” (p. 100) does not allow the output of detailed
information. To make this study credible and description rich, I avoided asking the above
types of questions. The interview questions were designed around the research question. To
comprehend the viewpoints of the parents, suggested questions for semi-structured interviews
are:
1. Has FS impacted your child’s learning? And if so, in what ways?
2. Has participation in FS impacted your child’s behaviour at home? And if so, in what
ways?
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
3. Which aspect of FS has influenced the growth and development of your child?
4. Has participation in FS impacted your child’s attitude towards nature? And if so, in what
ways?
5. Is there anything else you would like to talk about FS that I did not ask you?
Probes are sub-questions that are asked to get into the detail of the answers to the
interview questions (Merriam, 2009). Probing helped me gain a better understanding of the
phenomenon and clarification of whether the participants understood the questions correctly.
Some interviews took place at the site of the FS while others were online through videoconferencing platform and lasted for approximately thirty minutes.
Participants and Site
According to Merriam (2009), qualitative research aims at gaining a detailed
explanation of a chosen phenomenon; so, this study involved participants who could prove
beneficial in understanding the phenomenon of growth, learning, and development in
children in connection with nature. For this study, a combination of purposeful and
convenience sampling was used. According to Creswell (2012), purposeful sampling involves
choosing particular participants who can provide a detailed insight of the phenomenon. As
this study involved parents’ viewpoints of their children’s growth, learning, and development
in forest school, the FS chosen for this study was located in Western Canada which I have
called Green Smile Forest School. So, the participants were parents whose children attended
Green Smile Forest School. According to Creswell (2012) and Merriam (2009), convenience
sampling is used when the participants are willing to participate in the study. For this
purpose, a recruitment letter was sent out to all the participants through the director of the
Green Smile Forest School and those willing to participate contacted the researcher and were
then chosen on first come-first basis. The interviews took place at the site of the Green Smile
Forest School at Mc Royal Park and via video-conferencing and lasted for approximately
thirty minutes. A maximum of five participants were chosen based on first come-first basis.
Table 2: Demographic Information of Participants
Pseudonym
Country
Relationship to child
Kayla*
Western Canada
Mother
Susan
Western Canada
Mother
Daniel
Western Canada
Father
Teresa
Western Canada
Mother
Rena
Western Canada
Mother
Note. Kayla* identified their child as First Nations.

24

Child’s Age (years)
3.5
5
3 and 5
4 and 6
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
Data Analysis
According to Merriam (2009), qualitative data analysis occurs in conjunction with the
data collection. This method helps in constant comparing of the data being collected and
analysed. To analyze the data, I used Thematic Analysis (TA) following the steps of Braun
and Clarke (2006).
The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the parents’
perceptions of their children’s growth, learning, and development in the forest school. For
this reason, TA was best suited as it helped in uncovering the rich ideas behind the
phenomenon. According to Braun and Clarke (2006), TA “minimally organizes and describes
your data set in (rich) detail” (p. 79). Braun and Clarke argue that TA is an essential
analytical tool for qualitative research because it is flexible in its approach (2006). Because of
the descriptive nature of this study, the research focused on the emergence of themes from the
collected data. Therefore, for the TA, an inductive approach was best suited for this study.
According to Braun and Clarke (2006), inductive analysis of data is a procedure that allows
new themes to develop from the data and is not dependent on the preconceived notions of the
researcher. I used Braun and Clarke (2006), six-phase thematic analysis for this study. The
steps involved are:
Phase 1 involves getting acquainted with the data set. This involves collecting the
data, transcribing it and then reading and re-reading the data to familiarise myself with the
different aspects of the data. While reading the data it is important to make notes which later
helps in comparing the data.
Phase 2 begins with generating initial codes. Codes are the area of interest for the
researcher (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Coding helps in organizing the data into useful content.
As it was an inductive analysis, the codes were derived from the data. I coded the data
manually by making notes of the data.
Phase 3 is searching for themes and begins when initial coding is completed and
checked for further codes. Themes involve the big ideas behind the different codes generated
in phase 2. The initial codes may be grouped into single or multiple themes and will provide
an overarching idea behind the themes.
Phase 4 involves reviewing and rechecking the themes. This step helps in
authenticating the themes. Reviewing the themes helps in clarification and stratification of
themes. For this step, I worked with my supervisor and discussed the emerging themes. This
helped me attain trustworthiness for my study.

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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
Phase 5 begins with providing names to the themes. This process helps to understand
the essence of the themes and tell the readers the exact definition of the theme.
Phase 6 is the last step and involves writing of the report. The writing of TA helps to
provide a concise image of the research being performed and the findings achieved from the
same. The writing provides coherent and logical account of the data with enough evidence.
I followed the above steps and coded the interview data accordingly. After every step
the progress was discussed with my supervisor who was a second coder for this study. The
emergent themes were analyzed and determined together. The above steps ensured the
cyclical process of the collection, interpretation, and analyzation of the data.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
This chapter presented a detailed record of the research methods, data collection and
analysis process. As I wanted to explore parents’ perceptions of their children’s growth,
learning, and development in forest school, I adopted case study methodology following
semi-structured interviews for this study. The interviews were recorded, and transcripts were
used for the purpose of analysis. For qualitative research and case study, I followed Creswell
(2007, 2012) and Merriam (2009). In addition, for this study, I used thematic analysis
following steps of Braun and Clarke (2006).

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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
The purpose of this chapter is to present the thematic analysis of the descriptive data
collected from five participants through semi-structured interviews during the case study at a
Forest School in Western Canada. The aim of this research is to understand the viewpoints of
parents whose children are enrolled in FS. The findings will cover the following research
question:
1. What are parents’ perceptions of their children’s growth, learning, and
development (connection to nature) in a forest school?
Table 3: Summary of Parents' Perceptions of their Children's Growth, Learning, and
Development
Codes
Physical strength, being
outdoors (fresh air), hiking

Categories
Growth

Themes
Physical Fitness

Peer-friendships, taking care
of others, working with
peers

Growth

Social-Emotional wellbeing

Expanding learning of
nature, numeracy,
vocabulary, literacy,
expanding learning, handson learning

Learning

Effective Learning

Learning about Indigenous
culture

Learning

Indigenous ways of
Knowing

Respect towards nature,
nature awareness

Development

Respecting Nature

Increased attention,
imaginative play, pretend
play, ability to understand
instructions
Self-care/ self-preparedness

Development

Stepping- stone towards
kindergarten

Development

Children’s Autonomy

Teachers’ efforts

Role of Educators

Parents’ Views of their Children’s Growth
Parents who participated in the study were of the opinion that forest school provided
their children with ample opportunities to grow physically, socially, and emotionally.

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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
Physical Fitness
When parents were asked about the impact of forest school on the physical growth of
their children many mentioned the significance of regular hikes on building physical strength.
For example, Susan commented:
They do go for walks in safe areas. But they were hiking up pretty like high hills, and
before the snow they were getting a lot of exercise and strength in climbing hills and
being active.
Another parent Teresa commented on the benefits of being outdoors and stated that:
I mean, I think they get a lot of exercise because they have to like go on these hikes
and carry their backpacks and walk around. I mean, they're just outside for like the
whole time so I think it's really good for them. I mean, they're both quite lean and
muscular, so I think it's benefited them.
For Rena, their child’s physical fitness was strengthened because of the varied aspects
of exercise being performed at the forest school:
I mean, my daughter's very active and very physical to start with. I think that it's
continued to help her sort of progress because they're playing outside on the uneven
ground and slippery snowy wet conditions. I think there they do stepping across rivers
and they're climbing on rocks, and they go for a walk every day as part of forest
school. So, they do games and some learning, but then they always go for a walk or a
hike during it. She has to carry the backpack during that time and the backpack has a
lunchbox and her water and extra clothes and everything. So, I think it's you know
helping to develop a sense of sort of activity and exercise and you know I think that's
helping their physical development.
Some parents believed that getting fresh air is a critical component in their children’s
growth and enhances the children’s physical strength. For example, Daniel commented:
So, putting them into a forest school where they're hiking every day, and they're not
sitting there running around, getting fresh air and they're just not subject to being
indoors for hours at a time reinforces some of the things that we've already instilled.
So, you know, did it change, or did it impact on them? Not necessarily, I think again,
it really reinforced.
Social-Emotional Wellbeing
Parents disclosed the role of nature on the growth of mental and social-emotional
wellbeing of their children. Many parents believed that the forest school is a happy place to

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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
be for their children as it helps the children build social relations, improves communication,
and induces calmness.
Many parents believed that the forest school helped their children in developing
strong friendships, working with adults, and taking care of others. For Kayla, increase in their
child’s social skills was significant and they commented:
So, he's been in there for I guess he's going on month number four and in that time he
has progressed. I would say a 110% has totally progress in his social skills. His ability
to parallel play with others, interactions with adults, that kind of learning has been
incredible for him.
Susan believed that forest school helped their child in strengthening emotions where
the child can deal with sadness and overcome it. Susan stated:
When her friend from the forest school wasn't going anymore and you know she was
sad. She learned, you know, sadness and a little bit of grieving because her friend was
not there anymore, but she made new friends and new connections since.
For Daniel increase in their child’s emotional strength was critical. Daniel stated:
The forest school’s been emotionally, really valuable for both my kids like as I
mentioned, I've had two children that have been in the school, and they've developed
friendships.
Some parents believed that their children understood the importance of peer
friendships and there was noticeable growth in taking care of others. For example, Kayla
commented:
I feel like the goodbye train for instance in forest school. They have a thing what’s
called as the goodbye train. So, when the kids are trying to leave, they have to hop on
the goodbye train that everybody sticks together. And it's important that everyone
sticks together, and we support one another, and we leave.
Rena commented on the social aspect and stated:
I mean, I think that they are certainly encouraging social respect as well as social
friendships right, like kids having partners and buddies. And I think when you're
walking, you're supposed to be watching out for your buddy right, making sure that
they're safe.
Some parents mentioned that they noticed a tremendous growth in their child’s
communication skills and working with peers after being enrolled in the forest school.
For example, Daniel commented:

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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
Learning how to communicate, I mean, that's the biggest part of it, I think. For me is
the growth that you see just by getting them into that environment a little bit earlier, I
think is exponential.
Teresa emphasized that their child feels happy talking about their friends and commented:
You know the interactions with the other kids, and he would just like light up. And
how they would just like play it was pretty obvious. And then with [my child] he just
talks about a couple kids in particular. And just kind of, you know, lights up when he
talks about them.
Another parent Susan commented on their child’s enthusiasm in working with peers:
They were like walking across bridge, it’s like little bridges and then there they made
their own whole little houses. They’d put out the hammocks and the kids would hang
out in the hammocks and play together, and you know they can make their own, they
would make their own little houses and play in the house and with their friends.
Another parent Rena disclosed that forest school supported their child in
understanding the meaning of working together and shared:
She tells me stories about I think the teachers help them make little forts. So, they
hang blankets and stuff from the trees that make walls. And then they go in and out of
the forts and [my child] tells me about the interactions while playing in the house with
her friends and in the forest.
For some parents, forest school served as place of calmness and happiness for their
children. When parents were asked about the impact of forest school on their child’s behavior
at home, many parents mentioned that their children felt happy and positive after attending
the forest school. For example, Susan commented that:
Yes, it has been in a very good way it’s you know when she goes, she has fun and
she’s a lot calmer and she’s a lot happier when she gets home. She really likes going
like so there's I can't keep her from not it's like she's always excited to go and then
she's always happy when she leaves the school. She's always had a good experience.
Another parent Rena commented:
I think it’s healthy. I think it’s healthy for her to spend a lot of time outdoors. I think
it's good for their mental health and she's happier outdoors.
Some parents mentioned that being outdoors relaxes their child and induces calmness.
For example, Teresa commented:
So, I think just being outside in general for them, they just behave better. Like if
they're inside for too long, then they just become wild animals and start acting out.
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
After like, just being outside playing all morning they're definitely like more well,
they're tired and they're just more like relaxed. Like they don't have like all that angsty
energy.
Kayla commented that being outdoors has helped their child in many ways and they stated:
I think its definitely become stronger and it's become his place of peace. He's able to
go outside if he's angry or feeling upset, he needs to feel connected.
Parents’ Views of their Children’s Learning
The second part of the research question explores the parents’ viewpoints of their
children’s learning in the forest school. The extensive description from parents revealed that
forest school supported and extended effective learning and introduced children to the
Indigenous ways of knowing.
Effective Learning
Parents disclosed that the outdoor environment of forest school supported their
children in expanding vocabulary, literacy, numeracy, curiosity, and hands-on learning in
nature.
When parents were asked about the impact of forest school on their child’s literacy
learning, two concepts surfaced which are elaborated as vocabulary and literacy in the
outdoors.
For Kayla, identification of letters contributed to an increase in their child’s literacy.
Kayla commented:
He’ll read different things like his name on his mittens. For example, you know, and I
think that, that is a 3.5 literacy in some ways. You know like he's actually perceiving
as words and letters on a page. He's telling me that he knows those and so that's really,
that's really cool.
Another parent Susan commented:
I think they do stories with her; I think when they sit to have a snack, they’ll tell
stories, and they'll sing songs. But that's not her looking at the words that’s her
hearing words. The thing she'll tell me about would be, you know, now and then I'll
hear her singing a song or saying a rhyme that I've never heard before. I'll ask her
where she's learned that and she says at forest school or the games that she plays,
those will come home, and she'll teach me how to play the games.
Some parents commented that their children learnt new nature vocabulary in the forest
school. For example, Daniel commented:

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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
The water is running you know quite rapid in the spring, that sort of thing, so as
they're identifying the things that they're seeing and walking through the park, and
you know, the instructors are really great about bringing you know, [the] species to
identify and fossils and that sort of thing. So, I think they learn by seeing and doing
and it and its things that otherwise children might not be exposed to in your everyday
school structure.
Another parent Susan commented:
They do read books, but I don't think they do specific letters or anything in the
preschool. So, like she's been learning about turtles. The other day and they had a
shell and she explained it was, you know there was no turtle inside but there was just
the shell and that they live in their shell. She was explaining very well, a turtle.
Parents also mentioned that learning in nature supported their children’s numeracy in
the outdoors. When parents were asked about the impact of forest school on their child’s
numeracy learning Rena commented:
Yes, I guess, I mean, they play lots of games. So, I mean, one game this I guess they
do play, things like, you know, I think like what time is it, Mr. Wolf? and that
involves numbers and counting steps. That would be the one thing I would think
about that would involve numbers. So, certainly they involve numbers and counting
with their games.
For Kayla, increase in the ability to count was significant and they commented:
I can see the difference in his ability, like I said, to want to learn, which I think has to
do with, forest school, because this has transformed him as a human, you know, to
become an independent learner. He was adding and subtracting which was amazing.
Yes, he has had five things in front of him five grapes I think it was. He was counting
his food and eats a grape and says now I have four grapes and eat another grape and
says now have three grapes. So, that those really need to witness actually.
For Daniel, practical learning of numbers in nature was an important part of their
child’s numeracy learning and they commented:
When it comes to learning numbers and counting and that sort of thing, I mean, they
start with the basics. It's very hands on, it's practical. They count, you know, they
count sticks and rocks, and you know they count the locations that they go to the
different areas in the park. They count the trails[that] they walked, that sort of thing.
When parents were asked about their children’s learning of nature, many commented
on the increase in the curiosity about nature specifics. For example, Daniel commented:
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
It's an appreciation. They notice things that I think they wouldn't otherwise notice you
know looking for. You know plant roots and looking through rocks or fossils and you
know looking for you know bugs and spiders and spider webs and things like that. I
mean, again, kids inherently are curious, but you know they do look for those things.
Another parent Kayla commented:
Now, we’ll look down on the ground and find tracks of different animals, that was a
dog, that's a cat, that's a bird or a rabbit. We see coyotes on our property sometimes.
So, he knows coyote tracks too and coyote scat too. So, he’ll identify that as well. It's
pretty remarkable.
For Teresa, identification in nature contributed towards curiosity and they commented
“yes, like I said, they definitely come up with random animal facts. Or like plant
identification has definitely come up.”
For some parents experiencing the outdoors in different weather conditions was
critical and Rena commented on the impact of forest school on nature learning:
Yes, definitely. I mean, I think that would be the biggest component. So, learning of
nature would be you know experiencing climate. So, experiencing rain, snow, heat,
cold. You know I think last year it hit minus 17, I think one day when she was here.
So, I mean, I think that's an experience for kids to have to be outside for three hours in
that sort of a climate.
For Susan, learning of nature included identification of specific plants and animals;
along with understanding the lifecycle in nature and they commented:
Yes, she's more aware of the circle of life. She's aware that you know there are more
plants, more animals. There's a park near us, that has some deer in it and she's like
there's deer tracks. I'm like good job like she learned that in school if she got to see
them, you know. There's deer poo, I'm like, yep, there's deer poo. She knows that you
know. You know there's spring, summer and fall and winter and things die and come
back. And she knows that animals do die, and they do have babies. You know the
whole circle of life and plant that grows. It's like they were learning about, you know
like plants, you know how they you plant a seed, you water it, it grows, you know,
and then you know it dies usually in the fall, winter. And some of them come, then
she would be like oh yeah, then there's some of them come back and some of them
don't.

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Hands-on learning was another concept that was discussed by the parents. Some
parents mentioned that experiencing learning practically is a significant component of forest
school. For example, Daniel commented:
It's experiential things, again, things that nobody necessarily had to tell them wait that
somebody didn't have to tell them would be proper English. But you know, if things
that they've learned through being able to actually try something by being out there
and doing it, you know they know when their shoes are on, and feel comfortable
because the issue if that's not comfortable in an outdoor preschool, then starts to hurt,
they’ll have blisters after you know 2-3-4 hours. They know that they need you know
extra socks, that kind of thing. My son, as I mentioned, in kindergarten this year and
when it started to get wet outside, he wanted an extra pair of socks in his backpack to
take to kindergarten, right? And that's something that was instilled in them in the
outdoor school. So again, you know, I don't know that I would classify as really highlevel things, but it's experiential learning and it's very practical learning that they do.
Susan commented on the numeracy and literacy learning and stated:
Plus being a tactile experience. And then you know, in the winter they get to play with
the snow, make things up, you know be imaginative with their play and you know
experience the outdoors with it.
Rena shared an incidence and mentioned:
That day we walked up to a creek and slowly by the end of the class, I think every kid
and parent had their feet in the creek you know taking your shoes and socks off and
just kind of playing in the water. And at the end of the day, we sat down and the
teachers that made, you know, quote, unquote forest tea actually don’t remember what
they used in it to get some sort of natural plants to make it. So, it was all very nature
based, experiential based.
Indigenous Ways of Knowing
Learning from the land was one of the themes that surfaced in the interviews. Some
parents commented on their child learning Indigenous ways of knowing and learning from
the land. For example, Kayla commented that:
I really appreciate about forest school that we're here and they have an Indigenous
connection to this land. My child is a part of the First Nations community and here we
live on the reserve.
When asked about the increase in learning of nature, Kayla also mentioned:

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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
I would say that it's strengthen[ed] that part, right? That gets strengthened, his way of
being in the world as a human, as a two-legged person. Learning and giving to the
land too have just strengthened in himself. He is in his spirit, spiritual self, is
interconnected with the land so strongly and that has strengthened, and I think in
many other ways and other programs.
Another parent Daniel commented:
I mean, so the girls down at the local forest school they do try and acknowledge our
Indigenous culture, I guess. In this city we have a lot of Indigenous land and culture.
You know they sing in that language. They appreciate that we have that land to share
with our Indigenous population, you know? So, my kids will come home, and they'll
be singing a song in an Indigenous language that we don't understand. And I mean not
to say that they understand it either. But that's one thing that they do and again is that
directly related to forest school? No, but it's a cultural growth.
Parents’ Views of their Children’s Development
The comprehensive description of parents’ views of their child’s development can be
divided into three themes: sense of respect towards nature, stepping-stone towards
kindergarten, and children’s autonomy.
Respecting Nature
When parents were asked about the forest school’s impact on their child’s developing
attitude towards nature, they emphasized their child’s deeper respect for nature, co-existence
in nature, their child’s deepening consciousness of the human actions on nature and influence
on their parents’ actions. Respect towards nature and nature stewardship was highly
supported by many parents. For example, Kayla stated, “[my child] used to hug trees. Really
respects nature and mother earth in lots of different ways, and participation in forest school,
has only allowed that to grow.”
Kayla also commented on nature stewardship:
Being caretakers of the land knowing that this land is not ours, that we share the land
with all living beings and that everyone's equal and leaving garbage, it's not okay. He
knows that too. That we are a part of a community that were interconnected, woven
together and that makes us stronger.
Some parents emphasized their child’s comfort with nature. When asked about their
child’s attitude towards nature, Susan replied:
She does respect it way more and she understands it a lot more than she was. And she
sees it not as a scary place. She sees it as a wonderful, beautiful place. Like we can go
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
for walks in nature and she's like, this is a beautiful morning, and this is beautiful out
here the trees and like.
For some parents, their child’s awareness of nature being home of other living and
non-living beings that are interconnected and the place of humans within nature was an
essential character in their child’s development. For example, Kayla said:
He looks at the mountains out of the mountain ranges now and talks about the snow,
talks about the trees that are aren't they're noticing their place in the space around him
being more aware of his surroundings and more self-aware of how he fits into those
surroundings.
Daniel mentioned that their child is conscious of the varied lives occurring in the
environment and commented “the world around them you know that there's life all around
them. Plants aren't just features, plants are alive. Plants are a life form you know the creek
bed supports life.”
Another critical component that was emphasized by many parents was that
participation in the forest school has made their child aware of the human impacts on the
varied lives in nature. Daniel mentioned:
The value that they instilled through you know, the bugs and the plants and the life
and the value of the creek bed and there's a particular spot in the park that was eroding
due to some of the high waters and mismanagement. I think from the city's
perspective where they learn that you know this provides like a home for other parts
of life and that's something again that you know they definitely learned there and it's
something they wouldn’t have learned in the classroom.
Another parent, Teresa shared an incident and commented:
They found a dead owl there or a dead hawk one day. And they came home talking
about that. The question was like what happened to this bird? What do you think?
And then you know, forest schools right under that overpass. So then, couple ideas
were that it got hit by a car so they all kind of like thought about that. So, I think that
made them think just about like man's impact on nature.
Influencing parent’s attitude also contributed as a significant component of learning
into the forest schools. For example, Daniel shared:
So, I would say the impacts for us is that we're trying to preserve some of the values
and some of the things that are being, you know, instilled in the kids at that age and
continuing on with that so that it doesn't become a temporary lesson. It becomes a sort
of, you know, a fundamental in their lives.
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
Another parent Teresa mentioned that their child reminds them of taking care of the
natural resources and commented: “I mean sometimes like they'll even remind us like, turn
off the tap. You're wasting water”.
Some parents also commented that their children have made them physically active
and has increased their knowledge of nature.
Susan commented:
It's like she wants to spend more time outside. She wants to, you know, do more
activities outside and she doesn't want to just stay in, you know in the house all day.
So, it kind of pushes us outside as well. We'll go for a walk at the park.
Teresa commented on how their knowledge strengthened because of their child’s
participation in forest school and stated:
Like the hike that we did and then [my child] pointed out what was poison ivy which I
don't know if I had ever actually seen before? I'm like yes. Just pointing on different
plants that are around here because I didn't grow up around here so I'm not familiar
with them all. So, he's definitely like taught us some of that kind of stuff.
Overall, the parents noted their child developing a strong bond with nature. Parents
commented that learning in nature has made their children nature lovers and conscious of
their actions on the environment.
Stepping-stone towards Kindergarten
When parents were asked about a particular aspect of forest school that has impacted
their child’s development, three significant concepts were disclosed which are creativity in
pretend play, imagination in free play, and ability to dissociate from parents in understanding
the instructions. According to parents, the educational philosophy of forest school supports a
child-centered approach where children develop individually. For example, Rena stated:
Some of the things that she does in forest schools is they bring, lots of pots and pans
and spoons and stuff and, [my child] likes to pretend to make cakes, you know, out of
dirt. She scoops in dirt and rocks and sticks and stirs them in a bowl and pretends to
make cake.
Another parent Susan commented on the creativity and stated that:
And then her creativity, like she'll be outside. She asked me for some food color. She
was making her own little kitchen outside playing by herself and creating her own
little world. She was making a castle the other day with the snow, and they do that at
the school. So that she's been applying it at home.

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Increase in imagination was another concept that many parents agreed upon. For
example, Teresa commented:
So, they're really good at pretend play like their imaginations are really good. I feel
like they need less entertainment sometimes, like they're very good at like making up
games and activities on their own without much, without a lot of like, you know,
fancy toys or a lot of like structure. So, I'd say forest school has been really good for
that. I think just when we're out playing in the yard, like we don't have a lot of like
outside toys. But they can just find like sticks and just things like around the yard, and
they can just like make up games and like just do them for a while, like just playing in
the dirt.
For some parents, the outdoor and unstructured approach of the forest school was
essential for their child’s development. Explaining the importance of free play one parent
Teresa stated:
I mean, I think it's a really good program. There's I mean there's a lot of free play,
which I think is good. Like they just need that at this age. Kids can't have like the
structure, and they can't have the walls. They can't have four walls all the time.
Daniel commented on the open-ended structure of the forest school and mentioned:
But the forest school is a much more relaxed environment or less rigid environment is
probably a better way to phrase it. Where they can, learn and you know it's a nice
stepping-stone between not being in a school like structure and then learning some
routine in some structure and then going into the school system.
For another parent Kayla the application of learning in the forest school at home was
significant and they commented “And so, when he is at home, things like taking his plate
from the table to listening skills, I guess it will come down to so cleaning up after himself,
taking care of his toys.”
Some parents mentioned the importance of learning in the forest school to be critical
in supporting the child to become prepared in taking independent decisions without relying
on the parents. For example, Daniel commented:
You come with necessities, but at the end of the day, you're learning to rely on
somebody that , you know you've never taken instruction from before and I think
that's hugely beneficial to the kids, especially at that age that there's you know, you
have to learn and respect people that aren't your parents and you have to be dependent
a little bit on yourself and on those people that you don't necessarily know that well
and on your classmates as well, right? I think that's a big part of it.
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When asked about strengthened abilities, Susan stated:
All the social aspect has definitely helped. I never had her in daycare or, so she's
always been with family members, so the social aspect was being taught but being
around other adults and being taught by them and having other kids, I think that really
helps. She's, her confidence is up. She's not shy, shy as much.
Rena mentioned the leadership skills that are fostered in children in the forest school
and commented:
Then you know they give different children opportunities to lead when they're hiking.
So, [my child] does get a turn to lead the group with a friend, taking turns leading and
following and respecting the rules while you're sitting there having a snack.
Children’s Autonomy
When parents were asked about specific abilities that have developed in their child
after being enrolled in forest school, three areas of growing autonomy were evident:
preparedness, confidence and independence, and problem-solving skills.
According to parents, self-preparedness is one of the most important abilities that
were developed in the forest school which the parents attributed to the outdoor nature of the
learning. On this Daniel commented:
I mean just as simple as when we go out as a family and how they prepare themselves.
You know shoes and backpacks and making sure that you know pants are covering
shoelaces so that you know dust or debris, or bugs or whatever can't get into, you
know, just little things like that. You know how they carry, like a backpack that has
weight and it if they know they've got a hike and carry it for a couple hours they make
sure that their front buckles and things are done out right.
Another parent Teresa commented on increase in the adaptation abilities of their child
and mentioned:
I think the tolerance for being outside is longer like. Just, you know, dealing with the
elements is, they can be outside longer. That's a real benefit.
Kayla also commented on the strengthening of the adaptation abilities and stated:
But as he ascends deeper into nature, he wants to, you know, he will dress warmer. If
it is cold outside, getting my child dressed in the morning has been a can be
challenging. Getting him to wear the proper thing. But he has a healthy respect for if
it's cold outside, we need to wear our warm boots. And so, he understands that now in
his relationship towards be what the climate is outside.

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Rena commented “I think that being in forest school is helping her be comfortable and
appreciate the outdoors. I think it's helping her prepare to be outside and to learn how to deal
with you know different climate.”
Confidence and independence also contributed towards children’s autonomy. Many
parents confirmed the development of confidence and independence in their child’s decisionmaking abilities. For example, Kayla commented on their child being able to take decisions
to meet his own needs:
I think in terms of growth and development, independence has been a huge one for
him as he was three. And gaining more and more independence with this program
helps him to have the confidence that he needed to help understand his own feelings
and interpret them, and then be able to take care of his own needs.
Another parent Daniel commented:
I think there's a level of confidence that they have by being able to do these things on
their own by being able to, you know, be outside. Again, dependent on themselves,
independent on less instruction. I think confidence would be the biggest change.
Susan commented on their child’s increase in confidence level and stated that:
She is not as shy and afraid of people as much. She's more open and she would talk to
people if they talked to her. Before that she would just hide and like before when
people would talk to her in like asocial situation either adults or other kids. She would
be more timid, and not like, hi my name is [this]. Or somebody asking her questions,
she would just hide behind me. Now she'll answer and be more confident.
For some parents, their child developed problem-solving skills and now have
strengthened. They have developed their ability to find solutions to problems at hand.
According to Rena:
We were at the park, and she is you know her water bottle was almost empty, and she
said, we could go collect the snow and put it in our water bottle. And that would turn
into water you know. And I'm not sure where she's got those concepts from right? I
wouldn't be surprised if they talked about that at forest school.
Kayla commented that for their child, developing the ability to understand his own
needs was significant. Kayla stated that:
It could be when you're walking on your legs, you're feeling tired and you're just
expressing that you're feeling tired to teacher instead of stopping crying and saying I
can't walk anymore because my legs are tired, and I am going to need a break. So,
understanding what his needs are and expressing those like that. It's huge and, you
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know, he would never had those experiences, had he not been outside, outside for this
long.
Role of Educators
Parents perceive that teachers’ efforts contribute towards students’ success. Many
parents elaborated on the role of forest school educators and their unwavering support to the
young population.
For Kayla, teacher’s knowledge of land and sharing it with their child was important
and they mentioned:
And I feel that the teacher is having a sense of responsibility towards the people who
have stewarded this land is really important to instill in my child. And I feel that's a
huge piece of it where we talk about the land that was here before all the other people
came. And I really appreciate that they are instilling that in this group of kids this
young. Just talking about residential school. I'm not sure if they do exactly that, but
they talk about the names of the rivers, the names of this place, that real name, not the
English name and that's important to me that they do that.
Another parent Daniel commented:
I quite enjoy all the instructors, they are, I mean really well intentioned first and
foremost. I think they care immensely about the children and about their development
and about, you know, teaching them how to preserve what we have and what we sort
of take for granted in this world. And I think for the most part, you know, the
instructors communicate what's necessary to the parents and we sort of. I don't know
what other families are like, but we were sort of no news is good news if we don't
hear anything from the instructors, we assume that our children are learning and
progressing well. We also have the confidence in them that if there was a problem,
they would bring it to our attention.
Some of the parents expressed that the educators’ behavior towards children is
commendable. For example, Rena stated: “They are very pleasant, they're very calm. They're
just kind of like the biggest emphasizing experiencing what's around you.” Another parent
Susan commented:
They've been wonderful there. They've been, they're kind, they're considerate. They're
you know, I've never had an issue. She's never said she didn't like her teachers or any
problems with any teachers or kids. Like they managed the kids very well.
Another parent Teresa appreciated the forest school instructors for the positive
attitude they practiced with their child and commented:
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I mean, I think they're great. I mean the parents aren't there to like see how they teach
exactly, or like how it all goes. It's just kind of like the drop off and pick up. But they
were always like available and communicated very well with like what was going on.
I mean there was a couple like behavior incidents with my older son, which is just
him. Not unique to a forest school at all. But they're very really good at talking about
it, and just, you know, seeing if there's any concerns. And then we tried to work
together with, like you know how can we support him to? How about it? A more
positive experience. So, they're really good with communication and just very patient.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
This chapter has chronicled the data analysis procedure and identified eight themes
under three broad categories of growth, learning, and development. The findings were guided
by the research question to understand the parent’s perceptions of their children’s growth,
learning, and development (connection to nature) in a forest school.
The first part revealed the parents’ perceptions of their children’s growth in the forest
school. Two themes emerged in this section which were physical fitness and social-emotional
well-being. Parents viewed forest school’s educational philosophy as an important factor in
strengthening their children’s physical strength through hiking and spending considerable
amount of time in nature and having fresh air. Parents were also of the opinion that being in
the forest school has promoted their children’s communication skill, encouraged them to
form new relationships, made them emotionally aware of their own feelings.
The second part of the findings section elaborated the parents’ views of their
children’s learning in the forest school. Parents viewed that forest school encouraged
effective learning in their children. The unstructured educational system supported the
children in learning numeracy and literacy. Parents also viewed that their children became
curious of the varied processes of nature through the hands-on learning experience in the
forest school. Indigenous ways of knowing was another theme that emerged in this section.
Parents believed that forest school helped their children in learning about the Indigenous
culture and community around them.
The third part of the findings covered the parents’ perceptions of their children’s
development in the forest school. Parents’ views were that their children’s developing sense
of stewardship towards nature was strengthened because of being enrolled in forest school.
Parents observed their children’s growing interest in understanding the meaning of coexistence in nature and human impact on nature were critical to their development. The
findings also revealed that forest school proved to be a brilliant stepping-stone towards
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
kindergarten where children were creative and imaginative. Moreover, parents viewed
autonomy as a skill that developed impressively in their children.
The last theme elaborated the parents’ views of their children’s forest school’s
teachers. The role of the educator was critical, and parents had positive experience with their
children’s teachers. The theme furthered that, teachers were well intentioned, had great
ability to share knowledge with children, and their calm behavior towards children supported
children’s growth, learning, and development in forest school.

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CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION
I begin this chapter with a quote from a parent Kayla “It's a great school for them to
be at the start.” The above quote was a unanimous call from all the parents. The parents, who
participated in this study acknowledged that enrolling their children in the Green Smile
Forest School has been a positive learning experience. This indicates the significance of
nature learning as an essential component of early childhood development. This study was
designed to explore parents’ viewpoints of their children’s growth, learning, and development
(connection to nature) in the Green Smile Forest School. I collected qualitative data using
semi-structured interviews and analyzed them using thematic analysis. This chapter will
follow the structure of the themes that emerged in the findings chapter. The findings of this
study will be discussed in relation with the past literature that was summarized in the
literature review chapter.
Figure 1: Key Themes Emerging from Parents' Interviews

Physical Fitness
Growth
Social-Emotional
wellbeing
Effective
Learning
Learning
Indigenous Ways
of Knowing

What are parents’ perceptions of
their children’s growth, learning,
and development (connection to
nature) in a forest school?

Respecting
nature

Development

Role of
Educators

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Stepping-stone
towards
Kindergarten
Children's
Autonomy

CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
Parents’ Views of their Children’s Growth
How the Green Smile Forest School supported children’s physical, social, and
emotional growth were some of the main themes that emerged during the interviews. The
majority of parents viewed that forest school strengthened their children’s growth in a variety
of ways which led to a healthy lifestyle.
Physical Fitness
Previously, Fjrtoft (2001) argued that children’s physical activity improves because
of the varied natural landscape. In this study parents expressed that hiking, exercising, and
fresh air were critical factors that influenced physical growth in their children. This study
revealed that for parents spending time in nature and performing various physical activities
resulted in the children becoming more active and physically stronger. This study extended
the literature of Fjrtoft (2011) where parents opted for the Green Smile Forest School
because of its philosophy of learning in the outdoors where they carry their backpacks and
hike, walk, and exercise on uneven terrains. According to the parents, the unstructured
learning environment provides ample opportunities for children to grow physically. Another
critical component that parents brought up was the benefit for the children to feel the fresh
air. This aspect shows that parents consider having a healthy life essential for their children’s
proper growth.
Social-Emotional Wellbeing
As argued by Ernst et al. (2018), unstructured play in a forest school can boost
children’s social and emotional strength. In my study most parents believed that the forest
school was a happy zone where their children built strong friendships, developed
communication skills, and developed a sense of calmness. This study further reinforced the
concept of self-regulation and ability to form emotional bonds (Bandura et al., 1999;
Zimmerman, 1989) with peers and adults. During this study parents emphasized that their
children understood the meaning of taking care and took responsibilities to help their peers.
The example of the goodbye train strengthened the idea of forming strong bonds. For parents,
the Green Smile Forest School served as a place of initiation and continuation of new
emotional relationships.
Another critical component that surfaced in the interviews with parents was that the
forest school enhanced children’s communication skills. As previously argued in the
literature from Forest School Canada ([FSC], 2014), play-based pedagogy of forest schools
can promote communication by encouraging articulation of inner thoughts. This concept was

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supported in this study where parents emphasized that being enrolled in forest school
encouraged their children to share stories, ask questions, and interact with peers. Parents
believed that learning in the Green Smile Forest School encouraged children to think deeply
and critically. The forest school’s educational philosophy also supported children to have
meaningful and concrete discussions with peers and adults.
When parents were asked about the impacts of the forest school on their child’s
behavior, the majority commented that forest school filled their children with positivity and
calmness. Previous research suggested that Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD) symptoms can be curtailed by staying outdoors (Cooper, 2015; Jacobi-Vessels,
2013). Though this study cannot confirm the above claim, parents did emphasize that forest
school promotes calmness in their children. Parents revealed that time spent at the Green
Smile Forest School suppresses anger and induces feeling of positivity and happiness in their
children. Some parents also believed that forest school served as a place of peace for their
children which supported their children’s mental growth and stability.
Parents’ Views of their Children’s Learning
How forest school supported children’s learning was another component that was
explored in this study. According to the parents, forest school supported their children’s
learning into two main themes: effective learning and Indigenous ways of knowing.
Effective Learning
The majority of parents commented on the novel ways by which the forest school
supported their children’s vocabulary development, literacy, numeracy, curiosity, and handson learning. According to the British Columbia Ministry of Education (2019b), outdoor
learning can encourage children to think critically and rationally and thereby support literacy
and numeracy learning. Parents commented on the different aspects of learning in the forest
school that enhanced children’s literacy and vocabulary. Parents communicated that story
telling sessions in the forest school encouraged their children to identify new words.
Additionally, some parents viewed learning in the forest school encouraged children’s active
listening. This active listening was proved when children shared the minute details of the
stories and their everyday forest school experience with their parents.
According to Constable (2014), scientific inquiry is enhanced by being in nature. This
claim was elucidated in the study when parents commented on their children’s acquired
knowledge of nature vocabulary. Many parents mentioned that their children discussed with
them names of fossils, plants, and animal species which they encountered in the forest school.
Another component of learning that emerged in the interviews was numeracy. Though
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parents commented that the children did not learn numeracy in a traditional way on a
number-line but learning of numeracy in the forest school was a unique experience. The
different types of outdoor games being played in the forest school supported children’s
counting techniques. The study also strengthened the idea that learning in the outdoors helps
the children to express their thoughts independently (Yildirim & Akamca, 2017). Parents
suggested that forest school imparted education of numeracy to children in a practical way
where children counted the food they eat and measured the distance of their walks in the
forest school. The unique environment of learning that occurs in forest school encourages the
children’s curiosity about the nature (Jacobi- Vessels, 2013). This claim was highly supported
when parents shared examples of their children sharing animal facts, identifying different
animals by looking at their paw prints and scat, and looking through different living and nonliving beings. Some parents extended the above claim and mentioned that learning in the
forest school also enhanced their children’s happy encounter with the varied weather and
climatic conditions. These encounters helped the children to experience extreme climate and
understand the life cycles of living beings around them. For parents embedding forest school
in the early years generated curiosity-driven children.
A majority of parents commented on the hands-on experiential learning to be the most
effective way of learning in the early years. The child should experience nature “in all its
aspects – form, energy, substance, sound and colour” (Froebel in Lilley, as cited in Tovey,
2020, p. 8). This claim was well supported when parents explained that children were aware
of their needs and requirements during a day in the forest school. The findings of this study
also concur with the Froebelian philosophy of having rich natural environment critical for
learning. The tactile experience of touching, imagining, and creating things in the outdoor
was well appreciated by all the parents. The parents elaborated the above report by sharing
examples of their children doing the things by experiencing and touching.
Indigenous Ways of Knowing
Previously Bowra et al. (2021), stated that Indigenous ways of knowing in nature
encourages humans to develop a reciprocal relationship with nature where individuals learn
to respect and have positive attitude towards nature. This claim was supported by parents’
viewpoints where they mentioned that forest school inculcated the value of bilateral
relationships. For some parents the Green Smile Forest School strengthened their children’s
connection to nature and helped the children understand their existence in the world.
Moreover, the parents viewed the importance of the Green Smile Forest School having a
connection with the Indigenous land. The parents appreciated that being on an Indigenous
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land provided their children with ample opportunities to learn the Indigenous culture. The
above viewpoints of parents extended the literature where Bowra et al. (2021) stated that any
part of the Indigenous lands can be used as teaching grounds. Another critical component that
arose during the interviews was that learning in the forest school which is located on an
Indigenous land also helped the children to learn the language and culture of Indigenous
community. The parents mentioned that the forest school practitioners made every effort to
help children understand the significance of co-existence and developed a sense of
community. These viewpoints extended the claim of Forest School Canada [FSC (2014)],
which stated that the Indigenous pedagogy focuses on observation, reflection, and learning
from the natural life present on the land.
Parents’ Views of their Children’s Development
Another key component of this study was to understand the parents’ viewpoints of
their children’s development in the forest school. The study revealed three themes which
were critical to development in children which are respecting nature, stepping-stone towards
kindergarten, and children’s autonomy. This research reinforced the claim made by WilliamsSiegfredsen (2012, as cited in Kahriman-Pamuk, 2020) where the researcher mentioned that
forest school pedagogy enforces holistic development of the children.
Respecting Nature
Learning in the natural environment promotes nature awareness among children. This
study of parents’ perceptions of their children’s connection to nature reinforced the term
“Biophilia” coined by Wilson (1894, as cited in Turtle et al., 2015, p. 4) which reciprocates to
children’s natural ability to connect with nature. The majority of parents viewed the process
by which forest school helped their children to become nature steward as an excellent
developmental goal. The study suggested that parents perceive forest school broadened the
children’s outlook towards nature and children started to appreciate and feel comfortable in
the outdoors. The interviews elaborated how children’s development in terms of taking care
and respecting nature was integral to forest school educational philosophy. Another claim
that was highly appreciated in this study was of Turtle et al. (2015), which states that the
influence of forest school pedagogy on children makes them nature friendly, aware of human
impacts and influence their own actions toward the environment. During the interviews,
parents discussed multiple incidences where the children shared ideas about keeping the earth
clean, avoiding littering, and taking responsibility towards a cleaner environment.
Froebelian’s philosophy of making connections with nature and society (Hermann, 1926;
Tovey, 2013) was also strengthened through this study. During the interviews parents
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commented that their children became conscious and aware of their natural surroundings and
their own presence in the natural world. Turtle et al. (2015) claim of children becoming
aware of human impact on nature and thereby working together to building better community
was reinforced in this study. The parents discussed that their children were inquisitive to
learn about how humans’ actions deteriorate the natural environment. The children also
reciprocated the mannerisms of taking care of nature in their homes and influenced the
parents to become nature stewards. A majority of parents appreciated that the Green Smile
Forest School made nature stewardship a fundamental concept in their children’s lives. The
parents revealed that their children inculcated in them the habit of being outdoors and
physically active. This result reflects those of Bergen (2009) who found that play empowers
children to communicate their ideas rationally.
Stepping-stone towards Kindergarten
A discussion on a particular aspect of forest school that influenced children’s
development revealed that parents’ view forest school as an influential first step towards
kindergarten. As mentioned in the literature review, the evidence of the positive impact of
early childhood education on the children’s preparedness to enter school years are many
(Phillips et al., 2017). The findings from this study are in alignment with the above report and
is explained by three critical components creativity, imagination, and ability to dissociate
from parents. The child-centric approach of forest school was highly appreciated by all the
parents. Consistent with the literature, this study found that pretend play encouraged the
children to create a self-learning environment. Parents discussed that the children’s creativity
increased manifolds after being enrolled in forest school which supported their children to
move a step closer to become autonomous. Prior studies including Cordiano et al. (2019),
Louv (2008), and Vygotsky (1967/2016) reported that pretend play is critical in the holistic
development of children as it fortifies the exploratory skills. The finding from this study
supports the above reports where parents mentioned and appreciated that their children’s
imagination was constantly evolving where the children did not need a structure to entertain
themselves. The importance of child-centric free play and unhindered learning as was
enunciated by Froebel (Tovey, 2013), is well elaborated by parents of forest school. The
parents viewed open structure of forest school as pivotal as it did not confine the children in
four walls. The free-play philosophy was well appreciated by the parents when they
mentioned that it was important for them to provide their children an environment which is
less rigid. An interesting category that emerged in the findings was parents’ views that
learning in a forest school made their children self-sufficient where they were able to part
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
ways from their parents at a very early age. The findings suggested that children develop
control over themselves and learn how to lead and follow in the forest school. Although it is a
small study, the analysis indicates that forest school helped children in taking their own
decisions without much assistance from their family.
Children’s Autonomy
Several reports have indicated that forest school pedagogy reinforces the concept of
self-preparedness, confidence, independence, and problem-solving skills in children (Ernst et
al., 2018; Kiewra & Veselack, 2016; Maynard & Waters, 2007; Yildirim & Akamca 2017).
Parents stated that children became autonomous in choosing what they want to do and
preparing themselves for situations. The examples shared by parents indicate that children
learn the ability to adapt because of long outdoor hours in varied climatic conditions. The
above finding restated the Froebelian educational approach of risk-taking powers in children
(Hermann, 1926). Another significant concept that was revealed during the interviews was
increase in children’s confidence and independence skills. Previously Maynard (2007)
reported the increase in children’s confidence and independence because of the opportunity to
choose the learning. According to the parents, the forest school pedagogy of free-play in the
natural habitat provided the children ample opportunities to express their thoughts, feelings,
and emotions. The findings suggested that forest school empowered children to make
decisions confidently through rational and independent thinking. Consistent with the
literature, this study found that forest school encouraged children to take risks and solve
problems independently. The parents’ comments indicated that there was a significant
increase in how children developed abilities to deal with issues at hand and learnt life and
survival skills. Parents viewed forest school as an opportunity which supported their children
in understanding the risks involved and find solutions to the problems at hand.
Role of Educators
Parents’ statements suggested that forest school instructors are excellent facilitator of
their children’s growth, learning and development. A majority of the parents acknowledged
the vast amount of knowledge that the instructors possess of the local land and how
beautifully the instructors inculcated those values in children. These findings are in alignment
with previous study. FSC (2014) reported that forest school practitioners take every effort to
facilitate children’s enjoyment and experience in the outdoors. Another interesting finding
suggested that forest school educators are compassionate, passionate, and considerate with
children. Parents viewed the above qualities immensely essential for their children’s overall
growth and development. Parents’ comments also revealed that educators encouraged the
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
children to become responsible humans socially, emotionally, practically, and globally. These
findings further support the ideas of Constable (2014) and FSC (2014) which reported that
forest school practitioners are well-intentioned and passionate nature stewards who motivate,
promote, and applaud children’s growth, learning, and development.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
In this chapter, I discussed all the interview findings, reviewed them along with the
past literature and interpretated them into three broad categories and eight themes: (a)
parents’ views of their children’s growth into (i) physical fitness and (ii) social-emotional
wellbeing, (b) parents’ views of their children’s learning into (i) effective learning and (ii)
Indigenous ways of knowing (c) parents’ views of their children’s development into (i)
respecting nature, (ii) stepping- stone towards kindergarten, and (iii) children’s autonomy,
and (d) role of educators. Many of the findings in this study were consistent with the previous
literature, however, there were some phenomena which were distinctive and were analyzed
and interpreted in this chapter.

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CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION
This study began with an inquiry into understanding the perceptions of five parents
who enrolled their children in a forest school that I have called Green Smile Forest School.
The findings of this study helped in comprehending the parents’ viewpoints of their
children’s growth, learning, and development in a forest school. The results of this research
were in alignment with the literature discussed in this study. Nevertheless, there were some
interesting viewpoints revealed by the parents that enriched the literature and has given a way
into future research.
The parents differed with the norms of raising their children in a structured classroom
environment. The parents’ viewpoints did not support the concept of standardized testing and
aligned with the curriculum theory of Pinar (2004) which rejects the “business- minded
school reform” (p. 16). On the contrary, parents considered nature as a wonderful school for
their children to attain desired learning. Though it was expected and was revealed in the study
that parents considered physical exercise and staying outdoors critical for their children’s
holistic development, however, what was additionally interesting was when parents
commented that having fresh air is significant in their children’s growth. Fresh air is a
surprising element in that we did not see reference to fresh air in previous studies. This part
of the findings reinforces the idea of understanding the importance of the basics of living in
the outdoors and is contrary to the belief that parents deem a set pattern of education indoors
as safest for their children.
A potential parental concern that was discussed in the introduction was “strangerdanger” (Pimlott-Wilson & Coates, 2019, p. 270). In the beginning of this study, it was
anticipated that parents would share their thoughts of any fear of their children being in
association with strangers in the outdoors. However, it was astonishing to know that parents
did not show this fear and on the contrary, they appreciated and encouraged their children’s
engagement and connection with peers and adults. The parents surprised the researcher by
sharing the thoughts that they like the educational philosophy of forest school which
encourages their children to develop love and care for others. In addition, the parents
considered the risk-taking philosophy of forest school to be extremely critical in their
children’s overall development. These thoughts give new insight to the area of forest school
pedagogy and encourage the research community to further investigation in the area of forest
school philosophy of developing this care for others and care of self which is part of the
mechanism of self-regulation in early years.

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An interesting finding of this study disclosed the parents’ views of the importance of
their children learning about the circle of life. Though the literature supported the benefits of
forest school on the social-emotional well-being of children; however, the parental emphasis
on their children learning about sorrow, departing, happiness, and the joy of coming together
is valuable to be thought upon. This parental observation and sharing encourages the research
community to work towards comprehending children’s understanding the meaning-making of
life through living close to nature.
As a part of this study, it was expected that parents would discuss about the concerns
that they have in having their children transition to a traditional school. It was surprising that
none of the parents weighed neoliberal education heavily for their children. On the contrary,
the parents supported Dewey’s (1897) concept of “education, therefore, is a process of living
and not a preparation for future living” (p. 7). The parents’ thoughts on their children being
involved with self, others, and nature as a way of holistic development suggests the
importance of learning in nature. In addition, the parents denied the idea of preparing their
children for capitalistic gain. The parents’ viewpoints about the current educational system
aligned with Freire’s (1968/2005) idea that “education is suffering from narration sickness”
(p. 71). This segment of the parents’ perceptions encourages the educational community to
move beyond producing robotic children and emphasizes the inclusion of the nature-based
pedagogy along with the traditional educational philosophy for raising a self-regulated,
autonomous, confident, and independent younger generation.
The perceptions of the parents involved in this study provided a detailed
understanding of the functioning of this forest school (Green Smile Forest School). This
research, therefore, is a starting point to delve deeper into comprehending the multi-layered
benefits of forest school incorporation in early years. This study deepens the understanding
and the advantages of these parents’ involvement in their children’s growth, learning, and
development in early childhood. It is hoped that this study can support prospective parents,
policymakers, and administrators to make knowledgeable and reasonable decisions about the
importance of Forest School pedagogy for early year’s education.
Educational Implications
The purpose of this study was to investigate the parents’ perceptions of their
children’s growth, learning, and development (connection to nature) in a forest school. The
findings revealed that parents considered forest school as a potential early childhood
education approach for their children. The findings implied that parents expect early
childhood education to be flexible, open-structured, and experiential to support their
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children’s holistic development. For children to get involved in nature and take their growth,
learning, and development to a more whole-body approach, it is essential to understand what
parents would want their children to be involved in. This study supported in revealing the
parents’ perceptions and their opinions of what would be a commendable alternative
educational approach for their children. The study disclosed the multiple benefits of forest
school pedagogy; hence involvement of parents is critical which will support the prospective
parents in choosing the right educational approach for their children. Additionally,
understanding the demands, expectations, and suggestions of parents would inform early
childhood education policymakers to make informed decisions for younger population. This
study will also support and enhance the understanding of forest school practitioners to
collaborate with parents on a larger scale. By involving the parents in the everyday practice
of forest school would help the practitioners to gauge the expectations of parents for their
children and a promise for a long-lasting and stronger learning environment.
Recommendations
As the primary researcher for this study, I have realized that early childhood is a
critical phase and hence should be supported with all things positive and strong. While this
study reported the benefits of forest school according to parents’ lenses, it would be
beneficial to recommend some suggestions:
1. conduct regular workshops in traditional schools for teachers, parents, and
administrators to make them aware of this alternative learning approach;
2. incorporate forest school philosophies in the regular educational curriculum;
3. invite forest school practitioners to talk about the way of teaching and learning in
nature with traditional schools’ teachers and parents;
4. encourage teachers and parents to get involved and take short courses in forest
school practices to enhance self-understanding.
Limitations
The study was conducted to understand the parents’ viewpoints of their children’s
growth, learning, and development (connection to nature) in a forest school; however, it has
limitations.
For this study, I applied a combination of purposeful and convenient sampling.
Though purposeful sampling was a must because of the given nature of the study, however
convenient sampling did have some limitations. As this study involved only one forest school
in a small city in Western Canada, the number of participants is not enough to generalize the
results from this study. Also because of the convenient samplings, only those participants
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CHILDREN’S GROWTH, LEARNING, & DEVELOPMENT IN FOREST SCHOOL
were chosen who contacted the researcher earlier than others to participate in the study and so
the first come-first serve basis hindered the participation of other parents. In future, it would
be recommended to have a large-scale study where many parents from different forest
schools across Canada could participate and voice their opinions.
Another limitation of this study was data collection method. The data collection
involved one-on-one semi- structured interviews with the participants. Given the exploratory
nature of the study, it would have been beneficial to have focus group interviews. The focus
group interviews would have revealed specific and detail-oriented viewpoints of the
participants which could have furthered this study.
Moreover, though I located my identity at the outset of this study, yet my own
background of being an Environmental Science graduate and a mother could have brought
biases in designing the interview questions for this research. Also, a human cannot be
extracted from their subjectivity, my own viewpoints of Forest School pedagogy and limited
knowledge of research methodologies would have acted as a biased approach during analysis
of the data and generating themes out of the interviews.
Future Research
This study is qualitative research conducted using semi-structured, one-on-one
interviews with only five participants. In future, to get a clear understanding of the benefits of
forest school, it is recommended to have an elaborative study involving more parent
participation and different forest schools across Canada.
Another suggestion would be to have a quantitative study to quantify the viewpoints
of the benefits of forest schools’ educational philosophy through parents’ lens. The
quantitative study will provide statistics to ministries to include forest school pedagogy into
the traditional curriculum.
Moreover, it is also essential to understand the viewpoints of children and teachers.
Such study will elaborate the understanding of any issues or problems that are faced by the
people who are on the grounds experiencing the actual learning.

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APPENDICES

Thompson Rivers University

900 McGill Road

Appendix A: Interview Questions

Box 3010
Kamloops, BC
V2C 0C8
Telephone (250) 828-5000
To comprehend the viewpoints of the parents, suggested questions for semi-structured
interviews are:
1. Has FS impacted your child’s learning? And if so, in what ways?
Prompts: Has FS impacted your child’s numeracy learning? And if so, in what ways?
Has FS impacted your child’s literacy learning? And if so, in what ways?
Has FS impacted your child’s learning of nature? And if so, in what ways?
2. Has participation in FS impacted your child’s behaviour at home? And if so, in what
ways?
Prompt: Is your child developing a sense of responsibility towards nature? And if so, in
what ways?
For example: Does your child remind you to always throw the garbage in the bin?
3. Which aspect of FS has influenced the growth and development of your child?
Prompt: Has FS impacted your child’s physical development? And if so, in what ways?
4. Has participation in FS impacted your child’s attitude towards nature? And if so, in what
ways?
5. Is there anything else you would like to talk about FS that I did not ask you?

The interviews will begin with these questions. Supplemental questions will be added as
needed.
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Thompson Rivers University

900 McGill Road

Appendix B: Recruitment Letter

Box 3010
Kamloops, BC
V2C 0C8
Telephone (250) 828-5000
Dear potential participant,
This letter is to invite you to participate in a research project that I am undertaking as part of
my Master’s in Education program at Thompson Rivers University. My research focus is to
understand parents’ perceptions of the growth, learning, and development of their children
enrolled in Forest School. As a parent of children enrolled in Sprouting Knowledge Forest
School, you are in an ideal position to give valuable information on your experiences.
The interview will be either face-to-face at the site of Sprouting Knowledge Forest School in
Peterson Creek Park or via video-conferencing and will take place for 40 minutes. Your
responses to the questions will be recorded. All recordings and transcripts will be kept
confidential. Personal identities will not be revealed at any time in the study.
There is no compensation or incentives for the participation. However, your participation will
be greatly appreciated and will benefit our knowledge of Forest Schools. The findings will
help the research community to understand the voice and expectations of parents choosing
this alternative learning approach for their children.
If you have any further questions, please contact me at madarwalas20@mytru.ca or by phone
at 236-979-7555.
Thanks,
Saba Madarwala
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Thompson Rivers University
900 McGill Road

Appendix C: Verbal Explanation

Box 3010
Kamloops, BC
V2C 0C8
Telephone (250) 828-5000

Hello, my name is Saba Madarwala. I am in Master of Education program at Thompson
Rivers University, Kamloops, Canada.
For the purpose of data collection, this interview will be recorded. Do you consent for this?
Firstly, I will briefly introduce the research. The title of the research is “Exploring parents’
perceptions of a Forest School in Western Canada”, researcher Saba Madarwala.
Introduction: Although there is lots of research on the benefits of Forest Schools, little is
known about parents' perspectives. This study will focus on the viewpoints of parents whose
children are enrolled in Forest School.
In this study, I will ask you a range of questions to understand your perception of your child’s
growth, learning, and development in the Forest School. The interview will last for
approximately 40 minutes.
The data you provide will form the basis of my MEd thesis.
Your identity will be protected, and any data shared will remain strictly confidential. The data
will be stored in a password protected laptop and a password protected hard-drive and will be
used only for this study and will be deleted after five years.
The participation in this study is completely voluntary. You may choose to withdraw from
the study and/ or may not answer any question at any point of time without suffering any
consequences. If you wish to withdraw, the data will not be used for this study and will be
deleted.
If you wish to obtain the executive summary of this study, you can contact me and let me
know how you would like me to share it.
Do you have any questions?
Do you consent to be interviewed for this research?
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Thompson Rivers University

900 McGill Road

Appendix D: Participant Consent Form

Box 3010
Kamloops, BC
V2C 0C8
Telephone (250) 828-5000
Title of Research Project:
Exploring parents’ perceptions of a Forest School in Western Canada
Researcher: Saba Madarwala, TRU 00677336, M.Ed. candidate, madarwalas20@mytru.ca,
236-979-7555, Supervisor- Dr. Carol Rees, crees@tru.ca
Project Description:
Research Purpose: Childhood is the critical phase for children's development of positive
attitudes to nature, stewardship, and awareness of human impact on nature. In addition,
experience in nature can support better physical health, mental processes, and appreciation of
self and others. Outdoor education has been an emerging and exciting issue in Europe, UK,
and North America (Dean, 2019). One example is Forest Schools. The Forest School
pedagogy is a dynamic method which places its foci on the holistic development of the child
(Kahriman-Pamuk, 2020). Although there is substantial research in the field of benefits of
Forest Schools, little is known about parents' perspectives. This study will address this gap in
the literature by focusing on the viewpoints of parents whose children are enrolled in Forest
School.
Research Procedure: This study will use interviews to understand parents’ perceptions of
Forest School. The interviews will be conducted either face-to-face at the Sprouting
Knowledge Forest School running in Peterson Creek Park or via video-conferencing. The
interviews will be conducted for approximately 40 minutes. During the interviews,
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participants will be asked to reflect on their experience of how their children’s growth,
development, and learning are affected in Forest School.

Consent: I am invited to participate in the abovementioned research study conducted by Saba
Madarwala, TRU 00677336 for the purposes of her Thesis in Master of Education.
Participation: My participation will consist of either a face-to-face or video-conferencing
interview during which I will answer questions pertaining to the research topic. The interview
will be approximately 40 minutes and will be conducted either at Sprouting Knowledge
Forest School in Peterson Creek Park or via video-conferencing. The audio of the
interview(s) will be recorded for transcription as part of the data collection for the research
project.
Benefits: My participation in this study will help create a body of knowledge about the
Forest School education. The results of the research study will help the research community
to understand the parents’ viewpoints of the Forest School. I will be able to read the summary
of the findings and use the information to help my understanding.
Risks: There are no known risks in this study.
Use of the data: I understand that the data will be used for the thesis and potential
conferences, or academic journals, or other publications.
Anonymity: My identity will be protected through anonymity in the interview transcription
and no names will be used for the purpose of thesis or other publications.
Confidentiality: The information I will share will remain strictly confidential. The data
collected (audio recordings of interviews and transcripts) will be kept securely on a password
protected electronic device (laptop and hard-drive). The data will be kept secured for five
years. After that all electronic data will be discarded using secure electronic data disposal.
Voluntary Participation: I am under no obligation to participate. If I choose to participate, I
can withdraw from the study or refuse to answer any question at any point in time without
suffering any consequences. If I choose to withdraw, all the data from my interview will be
destroyed and will not be used for this study.

Acceptance: I, _____________________________________, agree to participate in the
above research study conducted by Saba Madarwala of the Faculty of Human, Social and
Educational Development at Thompson Rivers University. If I have any further questions
about the study and the procedure, I may contact the researcher.

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Participant's signature: _____________________

Date: ______________

(print name)

Researcher's signature: _____________________

Date: ______________

(print name)
If you have any concerns about this study or need to file a complaint, please contact my
supervisor Dr. Carol Rees at crees@tru.ca , and/ or the Chair of the Faculty of Education (Dr.
Howe) at ehowe@tru.ca or by phone 250-371-5526, and/ or TRU’s Chair of the Research
Ethics Board at TRU-REB@tru.ca or by phone at 250-828-5000/ 250-828-5120 .

Copies of The Consent Form and The Summary of The Research Findings
If you would like to receive a copy of the executive summary of completed project and any
information during the course of the research, or wish to view your transcript, please contact
me (Saba Madarwala), and tell me the way you prefer to receive them.

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