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.
52 items
After a single 4.5-hour forest programme, pupils aged 11–13 described forests and foresters' work in more specific, sensory and forestry-related language.
An eight-week outdoor activity-based PE programme was linked to large gains in physical literacy, fitness and environmental awareness for fifth-grade pupils.
Most of 148 young women who did a compulsory 28-day remote school outdoor programme at 14–15 reported learning that lasted into their 20s, though some found it uncomfortable.
Young women who did a compulsory 28-day school outdoor programme still recognised enduring learning years later, and some recalled significant difficulty.
A Northern Norway school shows how regular, leadership-backed outdoor learning can become part of school identity, though teachers had few chances to share practice.
A 10-week nature play programme for Year One students in Sydney was linked to significant gains in mathematics, along with children expressing joy, autonomy and a growing awareness of their relationship with nature.
A 10-week Bush School programme for Year One students in Sydney supported wellbeing and engagement and did not harm reading or maths outcomes.
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 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.
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.
After using the PlantNet app outdoors, 5th-grade students named more local plants and showed more biodiversity-related behaviours than before.
After a two-week GNS Science GeoCamp in the Wairarapa, 10- to 13-year-olds drew scientists in more varied, realistic ways and less as lab-coated eccentrics.
An updated Natural England evidence briefing reports a substantial body of evidence supporting a positive association between engagement with the natural environment and a diverse range of learning processes and outcomes, including educational, social, developmental and health outcomes.
An outdoor learning experience in a Year 7/8 English writing course in Victoria, Australia was linked to significant gains in students' creative writing.
Moving a social skills group outdoors several times a week supported autistic students towards their individual education goals and also benefited their special educators.
In German student-led 'challenges' projects, voluntary participation and the team aspect were the most central factors in students feeling they benefited.
In one Australian primary school, findings indicate that school-ground teaching framed by self-directed learning tasks increased student autonomy, efficacy and achievement.
In a kindergarten quasi-experiment, outdoor learning had a significant effect on young children's early numeracy literacy.
Year 10 students who made climate change films with iPads in Westland National Park showed significantly more positive attitudes to science than a comparison group that stayed in Dunedin.
A field studies course produced cognitive gains without the expected affective learning, which raises questions about how learning domains connect on residential courses.
The first synthesis of Canadian outdoor education research produced a model linking common teaching components, learning processes and students' short-term outcomes.
In three Welsh primary schools, regular curriculum-based outdoor learning was seen to improve pupils' engagement, concentration, behaviour and wellbeing. Curriculum and testing pressures held it back.
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.