Curiosity and creativity are crucial for children's learning and engagement within their worlds. However, research on creative teaching that also addresses children's curiosity is quite limited. In this case study, we adopted visual methods in combination with video-stimulated recall dialogue (VSRD) to explore children's experiences in a Forest…

Despite significant physical, emotional, and cognitive benefits, outdoor and environmental education (OEE) is not regularly implemented within a K-12 setting. Yet there are some teachers across the United States who have embraced OEE in a thoughtful and innovative way, successfully overcoming noteworthy barriers. The goal of this study was to…

This is an international study in which 125 secondary-level students from different European countries came together and were exposed to outdoor education. The purpose was to investigate the impact level of outdoor activities on the students' success rates and explore how they perceived their experiences in outdoors. The analysis of the data…

Continuing education programs for educators are designed to advance educators' teaching practices and ultimately advance students' academic success. However, many non-traditional wilderness-based programs lack evidence of proven efficacy. Experiential wilderness-based programs are believed to enhance participants' character traits through…

In this article, we explore inconsistencies in the implementation of outdoor learning across Australian early years' education. The benefits of outdoor learning justify regular employment of this pedagogical approach in both early childhood education and primary school settings. Early childhood education services provide daily outdoor learning…

This paper examines Forest School's potential to support gender equality among primary school-aged children. Using a rights-based perspective, an observational study - including children's drawings - explored children's constructions of gender in Forest School and classroom sessions. The study found that although children generally appeared…

This paper considers the recent growth in different kinds of learning outside the classroom, especially Forest Schools. It shows how the activities associated with Forest Schools often involve mainstream curriculum content delivered in outdoor settings, with a focus on developing skills and attitudes that can be utilised when back in the…

Autonomy has been an important trait that marks the transition from childhood to adolescence. This study examines the effectiveness of the use of an autonomous learning component in outdoor programs, the final expedition, in enhancing youth autonomy in outdoor programs. This study used a mixed-method quantitative and qualitative research design to…

Smartphone use in outdoor recreation settings is somewhat controversial. Some individuals claim smartphones engage audiences and promote access to resources. Others claim they distract from the setting and disrupt others' experiences. This study examined the perceptions of 151 outdoor instructors regarding appropriate student smartphone use during…

This article focuses on transitioning from boys to men -- the possibilities of "becoming-man" -- through outdoor education programs, while acknowledging that a similar investigation could be carried out in relation to girls and women, as well as other gender identities. In relation to becoming-man, contact with nature through an…

Training school administrators to be more effective leaders through Missouri's Outdoor Leadership Experience is a unique concept that has been in place since 1987. Many other fields have used outdoor experiences for leadership training. This qualitative study discusses participants' perceptions of their experience and how it has impacted their…

There is a growing body of empirical evidence documenting the positive effects associated with participation in environmental education and outdoor learning for students, teachers and the wider community. Despite this, there has been a substantial reduction in outdoor learning opportunities for school students, possibly due to the focus on…

This qualitative exploratory research explores meanings that practitioners of adventure activities in nature, who are 60+ years old, attribute to their activities and leisure. The intentionally selected participants were 24 practitioners of adventure activities in nature, in Florianópolis, Brazil. The instruments were a semi-structured interview…

The purpose of our study was to systematically compile fatality data in Canada involving minors in school and youth groups engaged in outdoor learning, and then compare these incidents to other available data related to risk of fatalities, fatality rates, patterns, and contributory causes. This mixed methods study involved collecting fatality data…

The idea that certain outdoor education (OE) programs consistently improve character traits has been a recurring theme not only in OE practice but also in some approaches to research and theory (Brookes, 2003a, 2003b). Sometimes referred to as "character building," such approaches to OE persist although perhaps less prominently than in…