Nature as a Teacher? Social and Cultural Conditioning of Outdoor Education
A Case Study of a Private Forest Preschool
Abstract
The article examines the social and cultural determinants of outdoor education in the context of early childhood education, recognized as the notion of nature as an educational environment. The aim of the study is to identify the factors shaping the implementation of outdoor education in Poland and to analyze the tensions arising from its incorporation into the formal education system. The main research question concerns how social and cultural determinants influence educational practices in a forest preschool. The study was conducted within a qualitative research paradigm using a case study approach. Institutional documents, educational materials, and secondary data were analyzed. The article is structured into theoretical, methodological, and analytical sections, the latter focusing directly on the selected case. The findings indicate that outdoor education responds to children's diminishing contact with nature while simultaneously revealing constraints resulting from cultural norms, the institutionalization of education, and social inequalities. The originality of the study lies in integrating theoretical analysis with an empirical case study of a specific educational institution and demonstrating the local adaptation of global outdoor education models.
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