Exploring Primary School Children’s Views and Experiences of Learning Activities within the School Grounds : A Case Study of a Selected Primary School in Malaysia

This paper explores the use of nature elements and nature environments within the school grounds in learning activities and its potentials to strengthen children’s learning and development in the context of a primary school in Malaysia. Employing a case-study method, one-to-one interview session was conducted with two informants, an 8 and 9 a year old child to explore their learning experiences with and in nature, to understand the perceived benefits acquired through learning activities with and in nature, as well as to discover the contributing factors of the implementations in school. An analysis of these interviews yields two school subjects are dominantly associated with learning activities with and in nature namely Physical Education, and World of Science and Technology (Dunia Sains dan Teknologi). Findings supported that nature elements and settings within school grounds have potentials to increase children’s physical fitness, promote social-emotional enrichment, enhance enthusiasm and independent learning, improve academic performance, empower collaborative learning between teacher and students, and foster experiential learning through real engagement with nature elements. According to the informants, contributing factors for the use of nature elements and nature settings in the school by teachers were first, their function as useful learning resources for children’s conceptual understanding and task assessment, and secondly the convenience of using them for physical activity and socialization. Finally, implications of this study for primary school education in particular were discussed