ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the agency is practised and strengthened: agency in the natural world, the social world, the democratic world and the Indigenous world. Children have the opportunity to explore what it means to live and learn in a society where value citizenship, agency and democratic process, and where children have the freedom to make decisions about where and how to play. The chapter also discusses the research to help us understand more about how outdoor experiences for children have deep significance in confirming their sense of agency and maintaining the peaceful and democratic foundations of our communities. Embracing pedagogies that move beyond the centre’s four walls and into the outdoors gives young children less restriction in their play, where they are often required to take more responsibility for themselves and their friends to stay safe and negotiate play experiences with their peers.
