A Nature-Based Intervention and Mental Health of Schoolchildren
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.
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
356 items
Field trips as gateways to out-of-school learning: perspectives and practices among preschool teachers*
Preschool teachers saw field trips as valuable gateways to out-of-school learning, but limited time, resources and security concerns can hold back practice.
Barriers and Strategies for Utilizing School Outdoor Spaces: Exploring the Experiences of High School Teachers in the Southeastern U.S.
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.
The effect of experiential learning on academic achievement of children aged 4–14: A rapid evidence assessment
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.
Exploring Nature and Learning Science Through an Afterschool Birding Club
An afterschool birding club for elementary students supported social relationships, scientific knowledge and a growing appreciation of nature.
Ka ara ake te akoranga i te whenua: Perspectives from the classroom and the field
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.
Meaningful Experiences for Adolescents: Investigating the Impact of Immersion Semester High Schools
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.
Foucault and power: UK forest school as a socially constructed space for early years teachers and forest school leaders
A year-long UK study uses Foucault's ideas to show how power is negotiated between early years teachers and Forest School leaders.
Towards flourishing: the understanding and experience of the staff in one Irish primary school of Forest School
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.
Looking back: the lasting impact of outdoor education for adolescent girls
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.
Outdoor Play and Learning in Elementary Schools: A Critical Participatory Action Research Project
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.
The Participation of Teachers in Greece in Outdoor Education Activities and the Schools’ Perceptions of the Benefits to Students
Few teachers in Greece take students outdoors, even though they see clear mental, cognitive and physical benefits.
Building resilience and teaching learners about sustainable living through outdoor swimming and water safety learning
Norwegian primary teachers used outdoor swimming and water safety lessons at a local beach to build learners' resilience and teach about sustainable living.
The work that the law does in education outside the classroom: part 1 – the law and student safety
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.
The work that the law does in education outside the classroom: part 2, the paperwork dilemma
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.
Writing as a method of inquiry about students’ experiences in a New Zealand primary school outdoor education programme
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.
Place, space and time: A topological perspective of a forest school-based educational mode of existence
An ethnographic study of how Forest School teachers build children's connections to forest places through the interplay of materials, meaning, time and space.
Synergies of affordances and place-based relationality in Forest School practice: implications for socio-emotional well-being
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.
Addressing Epistemic Injustice: Engaging Children as Environmental Communicators to Support the Long-Term Sustainability of Forest Ecosystems
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.
Digital Technology in Outdoor and Environmental Education: Affects, Assemblages and Curriculum-Making
This study reframes digital technology in outdoor education as something learners are entangled with, and suggests video-making can shape outdoor learning in new ways.
Use of a mobile plant identification application and the out‐of‐school learning method in biodiversity education
After using the PlantNet app outdoors, 5th-grade students named more local plants and showed more biodiversity-related behaviours than before.
‘Watching what they can do on their own is beautiful’: a navigation of shared agency in school-based outdoor environmental education
Outdoor environmental educators described sharing agency with students and place as complex, ongoing work that disrupts the traditional classroom hierarchy. The authors argue it can be a pathway to empowering students as agents of their own learning.
“When the real stuff happens”: A qualitative descriptive study of the psychosocial outcomes of outdoor adventure education for adolescents
Connections with others, real responsibilities and genuine challenges in outdoor adventure education appear to support adolescents' psychosocial wellbeing.
Investigating How Immersion Semester High Schools Promote Meaningful Experiences
Hanging out with peers was the most meaningful activity for youth, and immersion semester high schools produced more meaningful experiences than home, especially emotionally engaging ones.