ABSTRACT

This chapter attempts to demonstrate that the outdoor environment is a different place to indoors and how children behave in this space is often very different to how they behave inside. But there are even more subtle differences: this can be a space where some children ensure others do not get equality of opportunity. This is a space where boys often get a better deal than girls. Even who they play with and how they play can be altered by minor changes to practice. We have to be acutely aware of these issues so we can then address them. Outdoor play may suit some children more than others, but it may also give all children the opportunity to develop the necessary dispositions to help them to become learners, including a sense of self-worth and self-regulation.