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.
45 items
A trip to a Great Barrier Reef island led to a grounded theory of five dimensions of giving (to self, others, communities, environment and the whole), offered as a beginning framework for teaching with meaning and social concern.
In two 28-day Australian outdoor education programmes, carefully sequenced activities, a facilitative teaching style and active engagement were the teaching strategies that stood out.
Drawing on anxiety, school refusal and homesickness research, this article sets out a case-based approach for supporting Australian students who are reluctant to attend school camp or refuse to go.
Two kindergarten teachers used one authentic multimodal text before, during and after a zoo trip to build children's scientific literacy and their identity as 'scientists'.
A review of 22 articles brings together what motivates teachers to run outdoor education field experiences and what holds them back.
School camps in Victoria, Australia were linked to gains in some areas of adolescent wellbeing and connectedness, with no change in others.
On a residential science week in a German national park, students felt more competent outdoors, and this appeared to have the biggest impact on their higher intrinsic motivation.
The first study of its kind in England found only one in five children experiences a residential each year, and young people in the poorest areas are least likely to go.
Outdoor educators on field trips often pointed out scientific concepts but rarely worked on values and attitudes; structured active learning stood out as contributing to a variety of outcomes.
The research stresses supporting students through the transition home after a long outdoor programme, including assessing learning through project work.
The chapter reflects on how young people on international school trips develop autonomy and learn, using views from students, parents and school leaders.
An ethnographic study follows how community feeling changed for three teachers and students on a week-long residential fieldtrip.
An independent evaluation finds residential learning has a positive effect on engagement, achievement and relationships.
A Singapore secondary camp improved competencies such as self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship management and responsible decision-making.
The article shows how field trips and professional development activities shaped teachers' ability to create meaningful maths problems.
After five days at an outdoor camp without screens, preteens improved at reading nonverbal emotional cues.
The paper examines how residential outdoor learning relates to mainstream schooling in Scotland and how qualitative and quantitative studies fit together.
Teachers became more sensitive to place through collaboration, planning visits and practice, and the authors propose a theory of place-responsive pedagogy.
The paper asks how pupils change after a residential adventure education experience and how that change relates to what they experienced.
The study looks at peer dynamics around body consciousness on camp and suggests ways to prevent body dissatisfaction.
A pilot gave handheld computers to Year 12 geography students on a field trip and produced recommendations for using them in fieldwork.