Affordances of Ditches for Children in Preschool

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This study aims to expand understanding of the affordances provided by ditches in a Danish preschool context. Affordances are defined as the meaningful action possibilities of the environment. At a forest preschool, a group of 21 children aged approximately 3to 6.5 years accompanied by two to three staff members walked to various sites in the forest and stayed for two to five hours every day. The researcher observed the children’s activities and the features they used at 15 different forest sites during all seasons, following an ethnography-inspired, participant observation approach. Ditches offered varied and changing action possibilities for the preschool children. The paper discusses the possible incorporation of this largely unrecognized design element by planners and managers of green spaces and playgrounds for children in preschool.
Original languageEnglish
JournalChildren, Youth and Environments
Volume26
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)43-60
Number of pages18
ISSN1546-2250
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

ID: 177381097