Parent Survey
At the beginning of my project, I prepared a survey on Survey Monkey to send out to parents. I wanted to gauge what parents valued about outdoor education, if they had any concerns or reasons to not let their students learn outdoors, how much time their children spend outside on an average week, and if they knew of any benefits or side effects of students spending time outdoors. I sent the link out via email to my parents and was lucky to have 75% of my parents participate in the survey. Please see the results of the survey at the bottom of the page. Here are my conclusions of the survey based on the responses provided in this survey.
Conclusions from parent survey
Parents in my classroom seem to be aware of the many benefits of having their children outside. It also seems that they are maybe unsure of how to convince their children to go outside and explore on their own and how to teach them to enjoy the dramatic weather conditions we see in Calgary. Parents also posed some concerns about safety outdoors, and I believe that the current social context of our society is part of that. Many parents seem to be nervous of letting kids outside without constant supervision on their part, which is probably impacting the number of hours kids spend outside due to parents busy schedules. One of the other conclusions I drew from my contact with parents, is that they want to see their kids spending more time outside while at school. This is most likely due to the clear health benefits of being outside, limited free time in the evenings to spend outdoors, and desire to engage their children in a rich education by learning about the world around them. Parents don't have the time to offer an outdoor education at home, but would still like their children to be exposed to this type of environment. Therefore the desire to see an increase in integrated learning environments in their schools is something that seems to be desired in this community.
Parent Responses - Summary of results
Question 1: Do you think outdoor education is important for students in Division 1 (Grades 1-3)?
All parents in the survey responded yes
Question 2: Does your child enjoy spending time outdoors?
All except for one parent responded yes. The parent who responded no had actually addressed this question during our September parent conferences as a goal for his child for the year.
Question 3: How many hours a week does your child currently spend outdoors in their free time?
One parent responded with <1 hour per week
The results were nearly equally split between the next three categories of: 1-2 hours/week (4 responses); 3-4 hours/week (4 responses); and >5 hours/week (5 responses)
Question 4: What types of side effects (positive or negative) do you notice on your child's overall health, mood, or attitude when your student spends time outdoors?
There were a lot of responses to this question. Here are some of the main categories I have sorted the responses into.
Positive Effects
Positive attitude (smiling more)
Increase in appetite
Better quality sleep
Less stressed
More willing to explore
More physically active
Negative Effects
Tires easily
Minor injuries
Question 5: How many hours a week do you wish your child could spend learning outdoors?
Zero parents responded with <1 hour/week
5 Parents responded with 1-2 hours/week
4 Parents responded with 3-4 hours/week
5 Parents responded with >5 hours/week
Question 6: Do you know of any specific benefits for integrating outdoor education?
The best way to teach children about the real world
Best way to teach about nature
Physical health benefits
Mental health benefits
More inclusive environment
Inspires curiosity
Better interaction with peers, developing social skills
Teaching students how to be diverse learners in new environments
Question 7: What are some of the concerns you have about outdoor education?
Calgary's cold weather
Knowledge of poisonous plants growing in the area
Outdoor allergies
Insect bite reactions
Safety - injuries
Distractions, rule following, setting clear boundaries
8 parents responded that they have no real concerns
Question 8: Does your child attend any after school clubs or programs that promote spending time outdoors? (ie. Brownies, Scouts, 4H Club)
Only 3 parents responded yes. These clubs include scouts, outdoor soccer, and outdoor swimming lessons.
Question 9: What types of skills or activities would you like your child to experience and develop while learning outside?
Science: laws of nature; plants and animals; seasons
Free play and exploration
Physical education: strength; exercise; outdoor games; physical literacy
Social: communication; fair play; teamwork; independence; confidence; community engagement
Other: gardening; navigation; safety awareness;
Mindfulness
Cross curricular abilities
All parents in the survey responded yes
Question 2: Does your child enjoy spending time outdoors?
All except for one parent responded yes. The parent who responded no had actually addressed this question during our September parent conferences as a goal for his child for the year.
Question 3: How many hours a week does your child currently spend outdoors in their free time?
One parent responded with <1 hour per week
The results were nearly equally split between the next three categories of: 1-2 hours/week (4 responses); 3-4 hours/week (4 responses); and >5 hours/week (5 responses)
Question 4: What types of side effects (positive or negative) do you notice on your child's overall health, mood, or attitude when your student spends time outdoors?
There were a lot of responses to this question. Here are some of the main categories I have sorted the responses into.
Positive Effects
Positive attitude (smiling more)
Increase in appetite
Better quality sleep
Less stressed
More willing to explore
More physically active
Negative Effects
Tires easily
Minor injuries
Question 5: How many hours a week do you wish your child could spend learning outdoors?
Zero parents responded with <1 hour/week
5 Parents responded with 1-2 hours/week
4 Parents responded with 3-4 hours/week
5 Parents responded with >5 hours/week
Question 6: Do you know of any specific benefits for integrating outdoor education?
The best way to teach children about the real world
Best way to teach about nature
Physical health benefits
Mental health benefits
More inclusive environment
Inspires curiosity
Better interaction with peers, developing social skills
Teaching students how to be diverse learners in new environments
Question 7: What are some of the concerns you have about outdoor education?
Calgary's cold weather
Knowledge of poisonous plants growing in the area
Outdoor allergies
Insect bite reactions
Safety - injuries
Distractions, rule following, setting clear boundaries
8 parents responded that they have no real concerns
Question 8: Does your child attend any after school clubs or programs that promote spending time outdoors? (ie. Brownies, Scouts, 4H Club)
Only 3 parents responded yes. These clubs include scouts, outdoor soccer, and outdoor swimming lessons.
Question 9: What types of skills or activities would you like your child to experience and develop while learning outside?
Science: laws of nature; plants and animals; seasons
Free play and exploration
Physical education: strength; exercise; outdoor games; physical literacy
Social: communication; fair play; teamwork; independence; confidence; community engagement
Other: gardening; navigation; safety awareness;
Mindfulness
Cross curricular abilities