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.
23 items
Beginner early childhood teachers from migrant backgrounds moved from protective views of risk towards seeing children as competent, while managing tensions with regulation, culture and relationships.
Norwegian teachers made outdoor aquatic education meaningful by focusing on pupils' experiences, adapting activities and putting safety first, but large groups and limited time got in the way.
Adding cultural factors to a systems-based risk assessment of a mock led outdoor programme significantly increased the number of risks identified. The authors link this to the Mangatepopo Canyon tragedy.
All 40 studies in this scoping review linked nature-based risky play and adventure education with positive development, but parental anxiety and liability concerns still limit practice.
A year-long UK study uses Foucault's ideas to show how power is negotiated between early years teachers and Forest School leaders.
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.
A school board was ordered to pay more than $500,000 in reparations after a student drowned on a caving trip. WorkSafe found weather triggers, oversight and emergency planning were inadequate.
Using the death of Jeremiah Perry on a Toronto school trip as a case, the authors extend the '7 Rights' into '9 Rights' to guide legal literacy and risk management in outdoor education.
Three Canadian outdoor education deaths shared administrative failings: undefined risk tolerance, risk creep, weak oversight and problems with parental consent.
NZ high school teachers who led international study tours faced expectations and challenges that affected their lives, and found it hard to balance student safety with adolescents' desire for freedom.
An analysis of Australian incident reports found heat and sun illness in led outdoor activities linked to participant, equipment and environmental factors that system-focused approaches could reduce.
Deliberately building fear into adventurous activities can isolate and marginalise students who struggle with it, which challenges the assumption that fear benefits everyone.
Outward Bound instructors were stressed by unsafe conditions and student behaviour. Taking responsibility for safety, learning and control on themselves made that stress worse, and seeing themselves as failing to meet these demands led to role strain.
US preschool playgrounds scored lowest on challenge, and teachers' average risk tolerance score was 29 out of 100, which points to a need for teacher education about risky play.
Croatian early childhood teachers' attitudes to risky play differed by education level. The authors suggest that teacher education shapes attitudes but not the ability to act against restrictive safety procedures.
Interviews with ten forest and nature school practitioners explore how they define and manage risky play, and how they handle tensions with regulatory policy.
Toddlers in the same class took very different amounts of risk in nature play, and children whose parents saw outdoor play as riskier tended to be more risk-averse.
Dutch childcare professionals said regulations, organisational protocols and overprotective parents were the main barriers to children's risky play.
Oral histories from NZ early childhood leaders show how ideas of 'safety' have shifted over time and carry paradoxes for teachers who must also support risky play.
Friluftsliv teachers' safety strategies both included and excluded students, revealing tension between teaching important winter outdoor skills and keeping friluftsliv inclusive.
A close look at one bush walk shows how an early childhood teacher and four-year-olds worked together on outdoor features in ways that encouraged risk-taking and resilience.
Australian outdoor practitioners reported confusion and uncertainty about risk assessment, along with little policy guidance or formal training.
An Australian edited guide to designing and using early years outdoor spaces for exploration, discovery and risk-taking.