Enhancing resilience in youth through a 10-day developmental voyage
Youth on a ten-day New Zealand sail training voyage gained resilience that lasted after the voyage.
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.
Research library
63 items
Learning Away final evaluation report
An independent evaluation finds residential learning has a positive effect on engagement, achievement and relationships.
Which social emotional competencies are enhanced at a social emotional learning camp?
A Singapore secondary camp improved competencies such as self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship management and responsible decision-making.
Five days at outdoor education camp without screens improves preteen skills with nonverbal emotion cues
After five days at an outdoor camp without screens, preteens improved at reading nonverbal emotional cues.
A 10-day developmental voyage: converging evidence from three studies showing that self-esteem may be elevated and maintained without negative outcomes
Evidence from the NZ sail-training vessel Spirit of New Zealand shows participants' self-esteem rose and stayed higher over time.
Promoting resiliency in adolescent girls through adventure education
A mountain biking programme was linked to small but consistently higher resilience in 87 adolescent girls, which persisted over time.
Breaking the mold: Impacts of adventure education on girls
A mountain biking programme for adolescent girls is explored for its effect on body image, gender stereotyping and resilience.
Freedom, flow and fairness: exploring how children develop socially at school through outdoor play
Audio recordings of children show outdoor spaces with less adult control gave freedom for sustained play and interaction between children.
Does a nurturing approach that uses an outdoor play environment build resilience in children from a challenging background?
Case studies of three at-risk children show how a nurturing forest programme stimulated resilience.
Boys go bush: Pedagogical insights to the experiences of New Zealand adolescents on solo
The research questions the educational value of overnight solos for adolescent boys and points to anxieties that need careful support.
'It's good for their self-esteem': the substance beneath the label
The paper argues outdoor educators should be more critical and specific about what they aim to achieve around self-esteem and how they measure it.
Taking a step back: learning without the facilitator on solo activities
A solo study found participants named personally meaningful outcomes, centred on self-awareness, social relationships and a sense of connection to landscape.
The experience of body dissatisfaction and body change behaviors among young adolescents in an overnight camp setting
The study looks at peer dynamics around body consciousness on camp and suggests ways to prevent body dissatisfaction.
All-girls adventure programmes: what are the benefits?
Girls reported three benefits of all-girls adventure programmes: safety and comfort, connection to others, and freedom from stereotypes.
Reintroducing adventure into children's outdoor play environments
The article discusses declining outdoor play and how adventure playgrounds support learning, independence, self-esteem and positive risk-taking.