Natural Environments Near Schools: Potential Benefits for Socio‐Emotional and Behavioral Development in Early Childhood.
Features of the natural environment such as tree canopy and green space have been found to promote health and well‐being; however, minimal research has investigated potential benefits of nature near schools for early childhood development. This study examined differences in teacher ratings of presch...
| Published in: | American Journal of Community Psychology Vol. 62; no. 3/4; pp. 419 - 433 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article |
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Wiley-Blackwell
Dec2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=133626983&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 133626983 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00910562 CMP jtl: American Journal of Community Psychology issn: 00910562 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Dec2018 vid: 62 iid: 3/4 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell artinfo: ui: 133626983 10.1002/ajcp.12272 ppf: 419 ppct: 14 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: C – @attributes: type: P size: 204KB tig: atl: Natural Environments Near Schools: Potential Benefits for Socio‐Emotional and Behavioral Development in Early Childhood. aug: au: Scott, J. Taylor Kilmer, Ryan P. Wang, Chuang Cook, James R. Haber, Mason G. affil: The Pennsylvania State University, State College PA, USA University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte NC, USA Judge Baker Children's Center, Harvard University Medical School, Boston MA, USA su: Psychology of preschool children Child development School environment Social skills in children Neighborhoods Urban planning Nature & psychology Plant canopies sug: subj: Psychology of preschool children Child development School environment Social skills in children Neighborhoods Urban planning Land Subdivision Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development Nature & psychology Plant canopies keyword: Behavior Problems Natural environment Nature exposure Preschool Socio‐emotional Development Behavior Problems Natural environment Nature exposure Preschool Socio‐emotional Development ab: Features of the natural environment such as tree canopy and green space have been found to promote health and well‐being; however, minimal research has investigated potential benefits of nature near schools for early childhood development. This study examined differences in teacher ratings of preschoolers' socio‐emotional and behavioral functioning in relation to the presence of natural elements (e.g., trees, parks) near children's homes and schools. Students' development of emotional and behavioral regulatory skills was the greatest when there were high levels of tree canopy either at home or school. Additionally, students developed greater independence and social skills when their schools were in neighborhoods with limited impervious surface (e.g., concrete); this trend was the most pronounced for students from neighborhoods low in impervious surface. Further, results suggested that associations with tree canopy may fluctuate seasonally (i.e., stronger relationships in the spring) and that the potential impact of school nature may depend on levels of home nature exposure. Although not yielding causal evidence regarding the impact of nature exposure or the effectiveness of greening interventions, findings suggest that school administrators and city planners could collaborate to maximize potential benefits of greening efforts near schools or within their catchment zones. Highlights: Natural features near schools are associated with early childhood development.Preschoolers near more trees and fewer built features improved most in socio‐emotional competencies.Associations may fluctuate by season and depend on the level of exposure near children's homes. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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