Research, reports and guidance on education outside the classroom and outdoor education, with a plain-English summary of each and a link to the original. New items are added every week.
The library began with Education Outside the Classroom: Applied Research Readings 2010–2017(McNatty & Boyes, University of Otago, 2017). Later items were found, summarised and checked with AI assistance using the same method: every reference is checked against the publisher's record, every summary against the published abstract, and only items rated high confidence by two independent relevance checks are published. Summaries are a guide: read the original before citing it.
211 items
In a Vancouver urban forest, young children's self-chosen play centred on sticks, which suggests outdoor curriculum should build on children's choices and tactile contact with natural objects.
A Northern Ireland Assembly research paper sets out the benefits of outdoor education, the barriers to it, potential lessons from elsewhere, and the key issues to address to embed outdoor learning in schools and other settings in Northern Ireland.
A pilot analysis of data from the EVOLVE visit-planning system suggests that pupils at schools in the North of England are less likely to take part in residential visits than those in the South, and that provision has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
A scoping review of 50 studies found possible benefits of EOtC for children with neurodevelopmental disorders in special education settings, but the overall evidence is weak.
A review of 25 years of Welsh policy argues that outdoor learning should be mainstream primary practice, supported by professional learning and held to account through school inspection.
A large Quebec trial found that two hours a week of outdoor classes for 12 weeks did not reduce overall mental health symptoms in 10–12-year-olds.
Preschool teachers saw field trips as valuable gateways to out-of-school learning, but limited time, resources and security concerns can hold back practice.
A survey of 154 high school teachers found that their barriers to using school outdoor spaces differ from those reported in earlier studies, which have mostly focused on K-8 teachers.
A rapid evidence assessment of 44 studies found that experiential learning had an overall positive effect on the academic achievement of children aged 4–14.
An afterschool birding club for elementary students supported social relationships, scientific knowledge and a growing appreciation of nature.
Two secondary teachers and a student argue that history learning about colonisation and local ecology should not stay in the classroom, and that teachers and students should, wherever possible, go into the field alongside mana whenua.
Young people rated activities at immersion semester high schools as more meaningful than activities at home, and activities were more meaningful when they were engaging and emotionally positive.
A year-long UK study uses Foucault's ideas to show how power is negotiated between early years teachers and Forest School leaders.
Staff at one Irish primary school described Forest School as promoting children's connection to nature, offering a distinctive space for social-emotional development, and broadening the expression of teacher identity.
Young women looking back on a month of immersive school outdoor learning in remote New Zealand said it shaped their identity and wellbeing well beyond school.
Experienced primary and intermediate teachers in an online community of practice identified a need for accessible outdoor play and learning resources and initiated the idea of a teacher-made website.
Few teachers in Greece take students outdoors, even though they see clear mental, cognitive and physical benefits.
Norwegian primary teachers used outdoor swimming and water safety lessons at a local beach to build learners' resilience and teach about sustainable living.
A national New Zealand study found that health and safety legislation has reduced EOTC in many schools, and that staff anxiety was heightened by threats of personal legal liability. School culture, EOTC champions, effective systems and teacher education are seen as pivotal to sustaining EOTC.
Health and safety paperwork is a major barrier to EOTC for many schools. The authors propose well-resourced systems staffed by dedicated EOTC coordinators as a possible solution.
Essays by eight students at a semi-rural New Zealand primary school show the emotions and impact of a three-day camp, and how outdoor experiences can feed into literacy and other learning.
An ethnographic study of how Forest School teachers build children's connections to forest places through the interplay of materials, meaning, time and space.
This conceptual paper argues that Forest School should combine Western affordance theory with Indigenous place-based relationality to support children's social and emotional wellbeing.
A forest closed for biosecurity cut Year 6 children off from a place that mattered to them. A creative arts project that made them environmental communicators re-established their relationship with the forest.