a An exploration of what contributes to sustaining adult-child interactions in an early years forest school

Abstract

The early years of a child's life are crucial for their development; within the UK there has been an increase in the care and educational provision provided for children under the age of five. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) was introduced in 2008 to provide a framework for consistent, high quality learning environments for children up to the age of five years. Chapter one, provides a meta-ethnographic review of literature exploring what research suggests supports children's language and communication in the outdoor environment within the EYFS. Relationships, environmental influences and child-led exploration were highlighted as supporting children's language and communication within this environment. Adults appeared to be a pivotal aspect in each of these areas. In the studies analysed the main form of data collection was through observations of the children and practitioners in the outdoor environment with some informal conversations with staff. There appeared to be a lack of in depth understanding of what the staff themselves thought supported their interactions with children in the outdoor environment. Chapter two (The Bridging Document) aims to link the meta-ethnography and the empirical research project, it explains my personal interest and motivation for carrying out this research. It considers my conceptual framework and the influence this has had on the way in which the empirical research was carried out. Chapter three, (Empirical Research report), used a collaborative action research approach with early years staff during three of their Forest School sessions. The research explored the following question: Using a collaborative inquiry, what does staff dialogue reveal in relation to what might contribute to developing sustained shared thinking in a Forest School? Within the analysis the following themes were constructed: the role of the adult, conducive environment, active learners and positive relationships. The research findings were placed within the context of existing research into sustained shared thinking, alongside theories of learning, interaction and environmental affordances. Implications for Educational Psychologist's and future research are discussed.