The competent Child: developing children’s skills and confidence using the outdoor
environment: A Danish perspective.
Jane Williams-Siegfredsen, Viborg University College. Denmark
Paper presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference,
University of Glamorgan, 14-17 September 2005
Early Childhood Education and Care SIG. Friday 16.09.05
Historical Perspectives
Using the outdoor environment as a medium for developing children’s skills and competencies is a
Scandinavian tradition. Froebel’s first kindergarten in Germany in 1840 inspired Danish
Headmaster Soeren Soerensen to open a ‘play and preparatory school in 1854, he wrote: “ Children
at the ages or 4 and 5 years should not be imprisoned in a dirty airless schoolroom, at such a young
age they should have play and movement, especially in the fresh air” ( Stigsgaard, 1978). Other
pioneers in using outdoor play and activities have included Sofus Bagger and Hans Dragehjelm
(teachers and founders of the Froebel Society in Denmark in 1902).
In 1943 John Bertelsen, one of the first trained male kindergarden pedagogue’s, started the first
adventure playground called ‘Emdrup Banke’ in Copenhagen. By the 1980’s it made economic
sense to use the outdoor environment – when there was a rapid increase in the numbers of working
mothers and a high demand for child care places - by having outdoor groups, the nurseries could
offer more places.
Types of provision
It is a myth that there is one type of forest or nature nursery in Denmark – there are many different
types depending on the area and the people in them.
Today there are 7150 child care institutions in Denmark, though it is difficult to say how many of
that number are specifically forest or nature nurseries it can be said that a large number of them will
use nature education in their nurseries to some degree or another.
Specifically designated forest or nature nurseries are normally permanent institutions located either
in woodland or have developed their own natural environment around the nursery. For these
institutions the natural surroundings provide the starting point for activities and most keep animals
and grow fruit and vegetables.
Other types of nurseries normally have what are known as ‘wood groups’, that is, a set group of
children (usually in rotation) have a day or more out of the nursery each week. This group, together
with pedagogues from the nursery, either walk or are bussed to a woodland area. Some of these
woodland areas are shared by a number of nurseries and have some form of basic shelter available.
Some nurseries, particularly those in urban areas, rent an allotment and use it as their outdoor
environment.
The Danish early years curriculum
The curriculum for pre-school institutions in Denmark is not so formally laid out as it is in
England, but as from August 2004 every institution has had to make an institutional curriculum
that covers six areas of learning:
1. the child’s all-round personal development
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
social development
language
body and movement
nature and natural phenomenon
cultural expression and values.
Within these six areas are included four learning processes:
1. To be able to:
 develop physical skills
 develop positive self image
 ‘test’ oneself
 self-regulation
 fellowship
2.




To experience:
the wonderful
the frightening
joy
oneself
3. To enjoy:
 sensory experiences
 rhythm
4. To understand:
 ethics and morals
 close relationships
 communication.
There is a lot of emphasis placed on the development of children’s social and emotional skills –
inter- and intra-personal. The formal pre-school teaching of children (in the traditional sense of
classroom learning) is generally frowned upon by educators and parents alike. Using the outdoors
to develop these skills is common; in fact, there is a strong belief that early year’s institutions
should use nature and environmental practices to develop children’s competencies.
Developing children’s skills and competencies using the outdoor environment
What is competence?
Competence, in terms of the Danish curriculum, represents the abilities (social, emotional and
cognitive) and proficiencies that can be fostered and developed in children, in particular using the
outdoor environment.
A list of competencies in this instance includes, literacy, numeracy, logical thinking, physical
education and, importantly, a range of dispositions such as to:
 attend
 concentrate
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



co-operate
reason
imagine possibilities
inquire – try to understand.
There has been a tradition in Denmark that it isn’t enough for children just to have ‘knowledge’,
how to read, write, add and so on. Alongside knowledge, children need to have the skills and
competencies to use the knowledge that they have.
Global changes in society today affect every part and stage of our lives. There is a real need that
children develop the skills for living and for citizenship – respect for others, social competence and
a positive disposition to learn.
How is competence fostered?
The first tenet in developing children’s competencies is Dewey’s ‘children learn from doing’
theory, (Mooney, 2000). In the outdoor learning environment children are active and interactive
participants in their learning processes. Dewey thought that rather than saying, ‘The children will
enjoy this,’ teachers need to ask the following questions when they plan activities for children:
 How does this expand on what these children already know?
 How will this activity help this child grow?
 What skills are being developed?
 How will this activity help these children know more about their world?
 How does this activity prepare these children to live more fully?
The second is that children should experience first-hand real-life materials and learn to use real
tools. Today there is much written about ‘risk’ and the dangers and fears that adults have about
young children using real tools, such as knives, hammers and saws.
We presuppose that the children will harm themselves or others – in fact, this has a very negative
effect on children, making them feel unsure, unable and incompetent. In reality, the opposite is
true, if children are shown how to use tools properly their confidence grows and their
competencies increase, (Williams-Siegfredsen, 2005)
Thirdly, to develop children’s competencies, we need to plan a challenging curriculum. This
approach is in line with Vygotsky’s theory of the Zone of Proximal Development, which held that
through observing children we can plan a curriculum that extends children’s knowledge and then
to scaffold their learning by putting them in situations where their competence is stretched
(Mooney, 2000). Vygotsky’s theory has re-emerged in the work carried out in, for example,
Reggio Emilia.
Fourthly, children learn best when happy and confident, using the Optimal Experience theory of
Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi, many Danish pedagogues use the notion of ‘flow zones’ to identify the
best learning conditions to foster children’s development. These conditions include:
 Clear goals
 Tangible rules
 Linking skills to challenges
 Giving positive feedback
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When we are in the ‘flow zone’ we are happy and learn more. People in a state of ‘flow’ are those
who feel they are engaged in a creative unfolding of something larger; athletes call it ‘being in the
zone’, mystics call it ‘ecstasy’ and artists ‘rapture’. Basically, you stop ‘thinking’ and just ‘do’!
(Csikzentmihalyi,)
The intelligence theory of Howard Gardner (Gardner, 1993), is very popular in Denmark,
particularly his theory of multiple intelligences. Gardner’s theory challenges the classical view of
intelligence (IQ) with the view that multiple intelligences (MI) is not so much concerned with
explaining and presenting patterns of scores on psychometric tests as with accounting for the
various roles that exist across cultures. His key point is that there is not just one underlying mental
capacity, rather, a variety of intelligences, working in combination for example:
 linguistic
 musical
 logical-mathematical
 spatial
 bodily-kinetic
 intrapersonal
 interpersonal
 naturalist.
The importance that this multiple intelligence theory has can be seen in most nurseries and
schools, where the intelligences’ strengths are developed in a mindful and purposeful way.
Pedagogically appropriate practices
By this I mean the educational practices that we use to facilitate and develop children’s skills,
competencies, and the confidence to use them.
To develop children’s competencies there needs to be competent educators. The training of
pedagogues in Denmark is a three-and-a-half year education leading to a Bachelor in Social
education. A large part of the education is developing the students’ own competencies, educational
and personal, through a range of problem-solving techniques and group work projects.
To help children to develop their strengths and competencies, pedagogues need to be confident in
their own strengths and competencies. The pedagogue students have, alongside their theoretical
education, activities that stretch their own self-awareness and challenge them physically and
mentally.
The key competencies for pedagogues working with children are:
 inquisitiveness – being curious and interested
 wonder – showing surprise and amazement
 sharp attention – being alert and observant
 knowledge – being attentive and informed
 experimental behaviour – being adventurous
 exploration – inquiring and challenging
 practical and real sense – perceptive and pragmatic
 imagination – being creative, inventive and resourceful
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
happy and playful – fun-loving and animated.
Using the outdoor environment not only develops children’s physical, cognitive, social and
emotional competencies, it also keeps them healthy. Research is showing that children who spend
a significant time outdoors each day:
 have better motor skills
 are more creative
 have fewer infections
 are less stressed
 have fewer conflicts
 have well developed social skills
 are less obese
 have fewer allergies
An example is the research carried out in 1997 which compared children in nurseries with little or
no outdoor provision to those that had provision and where children were outside for a significant
time each day. The research showed that the children with outdoor experience had a higher degree
of development in:
 concentration
 play
 creativity
 motor ability and control
 social skills
And that the children had fewer infections and allergies. (Grahn et al, 1997)
The physical and mental well-being of children is the strongest argument for using the outdoor
environment more, it outweighs the fear of minor scrapes and dirty clothes, it develops children’s
competencies and life-skills and puts them in good stead for a happy, healthy and fruitful life.
Issues
There is a need for more research into this area, particularly action/practitioner research in
collaboration with higher education institutions, for example:
 Longitudinal research following children’s development
 How using the outdoor environment helps children with special needs
 How using the outdoor environment help adults with special needs
 The formation of European/international networks of practitioners to develop and innovate
practice
References
Csikzentmihalyi, M. (1990) Optimal Experience: Psychological Studies of Flow in Consciousness.
Harper Collins. New York.
Gardner, H. (1993) (2nd ed) Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Basic Books.
New York.
Grahn, P., Martensson, F., Lindblad, B., Nilsson, P. & Ekman, A. (1997) Ute på dagis. Hu
randvander barn daghemsgården? Utformingen av daghemsgården och dess betydelse for lek,
motorik och koncentrationsformåga. Stad & Land nr 145. Alnarp
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Mooney, C.G. (2000) Theories of Childhood: An Introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson,
Piaget and Vygotsky. Redleaf Press. St Paul MN.
Stigsgaard, J. (1978) Folkeboenehave og Socialpaedagogik. Børn og Unge, Copenhagen.
Williams-Siegfredsen, J. (2005) Run the Risk. Nursery World 04.08.05. London
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