Perceptions of Continued Resilience Development in Nature Preschool Alumni

Abstract

This study explored the perceptions of educators, parents, and children who attended a nature-based preschool in Minnesota on how resilience continues to develop in youth as they enter middle childhood. Parents explored what attributes associated with resilience their children demonstrate, ways these are encouraged outside the nature-based school, and reflected on what role nature may play in their family. Youth participants reflected on the resources they used when faced with challenging or adverse experiences. Through thematic analysis, common traits identified by parents include confidence, leadership, empathy, self-regulation, and problem solving. Youth demonstrated a familiarity with place, reliance on self-regulation tools, and trust in their family, friends, and more-than-human companions. The Lead Guide identified programmatic features which instilled a sense of security, belonging, and independence among preschoolers and centered connections to the more-than-human world. Examined together, the perceptions of participants highlight the role of connection, safety, and independent exploration as factors which promote resilience within youth.