Outdoor Environments for Children and Youth
Course evaluation
Additional course evaluations for MP0006
Academic year 2024/2025
Outdoor Environments for Children and Youth (MP0006-10011)
2024-09-02 - 2025-01-19
Academic year 2023/2024
Outdoor Environments for Children and Youth (MP0006-10218)
2023-08-28 - 2024-01-14
Academic year 2022/2023
Outdoor Environments for Children and Youth (MP0006-10015)
2022-08-29 - 2023-01-15
Academic year 2021/2022
Outdoor Environments for Children and Youth (MP0006-10292)
2021-08-30 - 2022-01-16
Syllabus and other information
Syllabus
MP0006 Outdoor Environments for Children and Youth, 15.0 Credits
Utomhusmiljöer för barn och ungdomSubjects
Environmental Psychology Landscape ArchitectureEducation cycle
Master’s levelModules
| Title | Credits | Code |
|---|---|---|
| The child | 5.0 | 0202 |
| The microsystem | 5.0 | 0203 |
| The macrosystem | 5.0 | 0204 |
Advanced study in the main field
Second cycle, has only first-cycle course/s as entry requirementsMaster’s level (A1N)
Grading scale
The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.
Language
EnglishPrior knowledge
The equivalent of 120 credits and English 6Objectives
The overall aim of the course is to give insights about the role of outdoor environments for children and youth in their everyday life, and how these spaces can be located, developed and maintained to support their health and social life, with benefits for their play, learning and development.
After completion of the course, the student will be able to:
• Describe characteristics of outdoor environment important for children’s social life including opportunities for play, learning and development
• Apply relevant strategies to investigate children’s experiences of and perspectives on place
• Analyse what a specific setting implies for children concerning its location, content, design and management
• Suggest general principles for planning and designing an outdoor environment for and with children and youth
• Discuss the interaction between physical and social planning on issues related to children and youth
• List documents regulating the planning and design of children’s outdoor environments
Content
This course focuses on the role of outdoor environments in the everyday lives of children and youth. It introduces perspectives, concepts and methods from the interdisciplinary study of how children and youth interact with and experience outdoor spaces. Participants will learn strategies to explore children and youth’s relationships with different environments, examining how use spaces support their evolving needs from childhood through adolescence. This knowledge can be applied to improve the quality of outdoor settings, enhancing opportunities for play, learning, social connection and well-being. The course also explores practical approaches to addressing these needs through effective planning, design and management.
The course combines independent work with group activities and includes four online modules (via Zoom), each held over 2-3 days in September, October and November and January (dates published separately). Each module includes lectures, literature seminars and three assignments including field work and presentations.
Grading form
The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.Formats and requirements for examination
Successful completion of assignments and attendance at all mandatory course moments.
If a student has failed an examination, the examiner has the right to issue supplementary assignments. This applies if it is possible and there are grounds to do so.
The examiner can provide an adapted assessment to students entitled to study support for students with disabilities following a decision by the university. Examiners may also issue an adapted examination or provide an alternative way for the students to take the exam.
If this syllabus is withdrawn, SLU may introduce transitional provisions for examining students admitted based on this syllabus and who have not yet passed the course.
For the assessment of an independent project (degree project), the examiner may also allow a student to add supplemental information after the deadline for submission. Read more in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.
Other information
The right to participate in teaching and/or supervision only applies for the course instance the student was admitted to and registered on.
If there are special reasons, students are entitled to participate in components with compulsory attendance when the course is given again. Read more in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.
Additional information
The course is given as a distance course at 50% speed, mandatory online meetings. Basic knowledge of landscape architecture, architecture, cultural geography, pedagogy or psychology are recommended.Responsible department
Department of People and Society
Further information
Litterature list
LITERATURE LIST 2024
The below literature should be read in preparation of each literature seminar (see separate instructions on Canvas). Note, literature seminars are mandatory. To access these texts, please make use of SLU’s VPN service: Access to databases and e-journals requires VPN | Studentwebben (slu.se).
** Literature seminar I: 09:00-12:00 13th September**
- Chawla, L. (2015). Benefits of nature contact for children. Journal of planning literature, 30(4), 433-452
- Laaksoharju, T., & Rappe, E. (2017). Trees as affordances for connectedness to place–a framework to facilitate children’s relationship with nature. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 28, 150-159.
- Loebach, J., Sanches, M., Jaffe, J., & Elton-Marshall, T. (2021). Paving the way for outdoor play: examining socio-environmental barriers to community-based outdoor play. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(7), 3617.
- Wales, M., Mårtensson, F., Hoff, E., and Jansson, M. (2022). Elevating the Role of the Outdoor Environment for Adolescent Wellbeing in Everyday Life. Frontiers in Psychology 13. Doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.774592.
Literature seminar II: 09:00-12:00 31st October
- Ergler, C. R., Freeman, C., & Guiney, T. (2021). Walking with preschool‐aged children to explore their local wellbeing affordances. Geographical Research, 59(1), 118-135.
- Jansson, M., Herbert, E., Zalar, A., & Johansson, M. (2022). Child-Friendly Environments—What, How and by Whom?. Sustainability, 14(8), 4852.
- Mårtensson, F., Jansson, M., Johansson, M., Raustorp, A., Kylin, M., & Boldemann, C. (2014). The role of greenery for physical activity play at school grounds. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 13(1), 103-113.
- Wales, M., Mårtensson, F., & Jansson, M. (2021). ‘You can be outside a lot': independent mobility and agency among children in a suburban community in Sweden. Children's Geographies, 19(2), 184-196.
Literature seminar III: 09:00-12:00 27th November
- Jansson, M., & Lerstrup, I. (2020). Children's perspectives on green space management in Sweden and Denmark. In Place, Pedagogy and Play. Taylor & Francis.
- Rodela, R., & Norss, E. (2023). Opening up spatial planning to the participation of children and youth: the Swedish experience. European Planning Studies, 31(2), 252-269.
- Sandström, I., Ericsson, S., & Hedvall, P. O. (2024). Gendered Sustainability: Are Public Spaces Designed for Girls Good for Everyone? Examining Female Participation as a Strategy for Inclusive Public Space. Examining Female Participation as a Strategy for Inclusive Public Space.
- Wenger, I., Prellwitz, M., Lundström, U., Lynch, H., & Schulze, C. (2023). Designing inclusive playgrounds in Switzerland: why is it so complex?. Children's Geographies, 21(3), 487-501.