Abstract

This qualitative study explores educators’ perspectives of outdoor and nature play in Seoul, South Korea and Montreal, Canada. The study was divided into two parts, focusing on the research questions: (1) What are the characteristics of existing forest schools and settings in Seoul, South Korea and Montreal, Canada?, and (2) What are the perspectives and beliefs of the teachers in these settings in terms of the benefits and challenges of forest schools? Observational data were gathered from visits to six outdoor play settings in Seoul and four outdoor settings in Montreal. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 educators at these sites: seven educators from Seoul and four educators from Montreal.
This study describes each setting’s unique characteristics. Findings from educator interviews suggest that there are more similarities than differences in perceived benefits and challenges on outdoor and nature play between the two countries. In analyzing the Canadian and Korean observations/interviews, six subthemes were found in terms of benefits: (1) Accessibility, (2) Children’s ability/development, (3) Meeting children’s needs, (4) Pedagogy, (5) Positive support, and (6) Teacher’s growth. Five subthemes were found in both cities in terms of challenges: (1) Accessibility, (2) Weather, (3) Safety, (4) Negative condition, and (5) Teacher. The current research conveys valuable implications for educators interested in forest schools in that it compares two international cities and includes diverse participants within the field of education.