ABSTRACT
Previous studies have focused on children’s experience of place, their particular interest in an undeveloped, unstructured environment, and how they interpret particular places and spaces (Hart, 1979; Moore, 1986; Fjørtoft and Sageie, 2000). Gibson’s (1979) Theory of Affordances is an ecological approach to development and learning which proposes that a close interrelationship exists between the perceptual and motor systems. He argued that perception drives action. To be ecologically valid-applicable to the real world-perception cannot be studied independently of movement, and the individual has to be studied in relation to their surrounding environment. The term “affordances” describes the functions environmental objects can provide to an individual. For example, if a rock has a smooth and horizontal surface, it affords a person a place to sit. If a tree is branched, it affords a person the opportunity to climb it. This exemplifies an intertwined relationship between individuals and the environment, and implies that people assess environmental properties in relation to themselves, not in relation to objective standards (Konczak, 1990).
