Determination of outdoor learni̇ng environment quality of preschool education institutions providing outdoor education

This research was carried out to determine the quality of outdoor learning environments of preschool education institutions that provide outdoor education. The pattern of this research, in which the maximum variation technique, one of the purposive sampling methods, is used, is quantitative. In the research, survey model, which is one of the quantitative research designs, was used. The sample of the research consists of nine pre-school education institutions selected from different types of schools and different institutions located in different geographical regions and provinces of our country. In the study, the Evaluation Checklist of Outdoor Learning Environments of Preschool Educational Institutions Providing Outdoor Education was used to determine the quality of outdoor learning environments of pre-school education institutions, which was developed and content validated by the researchers. The Checklist for the Evaluation of Outdoor Learning Environments of Preschool Educational Institutions Providing Outdoor Education was created by scanning the literature, and its content validity was tested by directing 7 experts in the field. The Checklist for the Evaluation of Outdoor Learning Environments of Preschools Providing Outdoor Education consists of seven sub-areas: safety, physical environment, child-appropriateness, suitability for children with special needs and individualisation, access, equipment and ecological and sustainable practices. After obtaining the necessary permissions during the data collection process, the researcher went to nine institutions in five different provinces of Turkey and observed with the relevant checklist. The "Checklist for the Evaluation of Outdoor Learning Environments of Preschool Institutions Providing Outdoor Education", which was used as a data collection tool in the research, was scored with 1 and 0 points. In this context, the percentage calculations of the relevant criteria and sub-criteria were presented in the data analysis. In the research findings, it was seen that most of the preschool education institutions providing outdoor education met the outdoor quality standards. Based on the results of the research, the quality of the institutions providing outdoor education has changed in the context of the province, climate, geographical location and school type; it can be said that the forest schools and the village school have the best quality outdoors.