Shaping space and practice to support autonomy: lessons from natural settings in Scotland
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Shaping space and practice to support autonomy: lessons from natural settings in Scotland Alexia Barrable1 Received: 22 May 2019 / Accepted: 24 November 2019 © The Author(s) 2019
Abstract In the present paper, I explore some of the concrete manifestation of autonomy support in natural childcare and early childhood education settings, under the organising framework of self-determination theory. More specifically, I present the ways in which early childhood educators shape the space of natural settings and use the affordances of the natural environment to promote autonomy in children aged 3–8 years. The practices presented are a result of direct observation in several Scotland-based outdoor settings, observations and organic conversations with educators in outdoor and forest kindergartens. Hopefully the practices and spaces presented in this paper can be of use by educators and setting managers who aim to support autonomous learning and intrinsic motivation in their pupils in outdoor natural early years’ settings. Keywords Autonomy · Early childhood · Forest school · Practice · Self-determination theory
Introduction Self-Determination Theory (SDT) identifies autonomy as one of the basic psychological needs for humans to develop optimally and flourish within their environment (Ryan and Deci 2017). Autonomy within SDT retains the literal meaning of the word as rule by the self (Ryan and Deci 2006). Being autonomous is about acting with full volition and selfendorsement but, within SDT, the concept of autonomy is quite distinct from independence (Ryan 1993). Indeed, to define autonomy fully, one needs to take into account the external environment, because being fully autonomous indicates that the individual’s actions are coherent with both self and environment (Deci and Vansteenkiste 2004). In this respect, when we think about autonomy in young children, the environment and socialising agents (e.g. parents, teachers) must be actively supportive of the child’s tendency to lead the self. In traditional educational contexts (e.g. classroom), Autonomy Support (AS) and autonomy supportive teachers have been found to correlate with higher academic achievement (Boggiano et al. 1993; Flink et al. 1990). The way in which students * Alexia Barrable [email protected] 1
School of Education and Social Work, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, Scotland, UK
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Vol.:(0123456789)
Learning Environments Research
perceive their own competence in relation to academic tasks is also related to AS teaching practices, with more AS linked to higher perceived competence (Deci et al. 1981; Ryan and Grolnick 1986). In this way, higher AS levels of various social agents, including teachers, parents and school administrators, are related to a heightened sense of competence and autonomy, as well as to better chances of staying in school and avoiding dropout in teenagers (Vallerand et al. 1997). However, autonomy supportive practices in education differ according to the developmental needs of the child. Early childhood is a time
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