Phones have become pervasive in many teenagers' lives, and outdoor educators are increasingly faced with making decisions regarding technology. This case study sheds light on the complex relationship between teenagers, phones and residential outdoor environmental education by exploring the experiences of participants at a phone-free summer camp in…

Forest schools are distinctive outdoor spaces that are often regarded as an alternative to mainstream education. Their increasing popularity in the United Kingdom is often attributed to a perceived decrease in children's outdoor play, due to a concomitant increase in children's use of digital technologies in the home; further compounded by the…

Digital technologies are receiving increased attention in outdoor and environmental education (OEE). Historically, debates on digital technology in these fields have tended to focus on how technology might hinder authentic relationships with the outdoors or how it might be used instrumentally to meet educational aims or support pedagogy. More…

As part of the empirical survey, we worked with a deliberately selected set of 1,135 respondents who are interested in the work of Jaroslav Foglar. We sought an answer to the question of whether readers appreciate the importance of nature and camping and whether they also look for it in real life. Data were analysed through descriptive procedures…

Outdoor environmental education programs frequently aim to influence participants' environmental values and behaviors. Published studies have frequently documented their success in doing so. However, few studies have examined the characteristics of programs in relation to accomplishing those goals. Using characteristics identified as important in…

Children's experiences with nature may develop ecological literacy and enhance their psychological well-being. However, a limited understanding of how the village landscape has functional impacts on the children's play behaviour and perceptual performances can influence ecological literacy. This study investigated children's preferences in the…

This study asked the participants of place-based educational programs in Micronesia and the Philippines between 1992 and 2017 how past learning experiences impact them now and how the learning changed over time. The responses of 128 program participants, mostly Japanese, were examined using a mixed-methods approach with an emphasis on qualitative…

This paper draws on data collected during an outdoor education camp in regional Australia, where the researchers observed the teaching practice of a veteran outdoor educator. We first situate the study in a summary of the outdoor education literature and policy that informed our research. We then present the observed teaching strategies, detailing…

This study investigates the interconnectivity between art and ecology within a Forest School model. The success of outdoor programming, like Forest Schools, suggests that other outdoor curriculum art-based environmental education could provide valuable learning experiences. Within this article, the author dispels myths surrounding a romanticized…

This study was carried out within a project to promote health and ecosystem services, 'the benefits people obtain from ecosystems', in preschools in Sweden. The paper applies the concept 'affordance' to capture the functional meaning that children assign to different material aspects of their schoolyards before and after the installation of…

The purpose of this study is to explore the development of pre-service science teachers' systems thinking skills through an outdoor education for sustainable development (ESD) course. The study was composed of four stages, which are defining systems thinking skills, designing an outdoor ESD course, developing measurement tools, and implementation.…

The teaching of environmental topics is still the main challenge. In this paper we discuss how student teachers learning of experiential teaching strategies influenced their teaching of EE in primary schools in Tanzania. Student teachers learning to use tree-planting as example of outdoor learning for the teaching of environmental topics were the…

Finnish nature schools are environmental education organisations offering outdoor programmes for classes in natural environments. They are intended to contribute to the aims of the national curriculum in various subjects. This qualitative study examines how students describe their learning in a nature school context and how they describe…

Today, cities become more dense, green spaces disappear and children spend less time outdoors. Research suggests that these conditions create health problems and lack of ecological literacy. To reverse such trends, localities are creating urban green spaces for children to visit during school time. Drawing on ideas in ecological literacy, this…

The recent surge in interest in progressive education ideas has often been accompanied by an increased advocacy for learning outdoors, with experiential and holistic learning approaches considered the most beneficial method for cultivating personal and social development and raising awareness of contemporary environmental concerns. However,…