A national research agenda supporting green schoolyard development and equitable access to nature
Green schoolyards can be a tool for equitable access to nature, but more coordinated research and action are required
Inequities related to access to nature and its associated benefits are well documented in the literature. This paper addresses this concern and makes the case that green schoolyards can become a mechanism for providing access to nature for all children. The paper also presents a research agenda for generating, accelerating, and coordinating research around green schoolyards in the hopes that this would inspire further research to support the goal of increasing green schoolyards in every community in the United States and beyond.
The proposed research agenda includes six priority areas: academic performance, teacher retention and satisfaction, social and emotional learning, individual health and wellbeing, community wellbeing, and cost-benefit analysis. Each of these areas are discussed and related research questions proposed.
The paper includes a discussion about the policyscape in which green schoolyards exist and describes the process used in developing the research agenda. Also offered are some ideas about how to leverage interdisciplinary research to garner cross-sector support for green schoolyards. Researchers across multiple disciplines are invited to contribute to the research agenda and to share their insights with the larger community. They are also invited to address different areas of the research agenda, especially regarding equitable access to nature through green schoolyard initiatives.
The authors recognize that for related research to have its greatest impact, it will need to involve cross-, inter- and transdisciplinary work and be intentionally shared with others outside individual disciplines. Organizations which can be helpful in coordinating and communicating related research include the Children & Nature Network and the North American Association of Environmental Education.
Citation
Stevenson, K.T., Moore, R., Cosco, N., Floyd, M.F., Sullivan, W., Brink, L., Gerstein, D., Jordan, C., Zaplatosch, J., (2020). A national research agenda supporting green schoolyard development and equitable access to nature. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, 8(10)
