Thank you to current and former PhD Students Lisa Frances, Antoine Deschamps, Emilie Skoglys, Yannick Lacoste, Marie-Claude Beaudry, Theres Mühlberg, Elena Diana, Tommaso Reato, Dorte Eggersen, Salvatore Laneri, Katrine Bergkvist Borg, and researchers Mads Bølling, PhD (Center for Clinical Research and Prevention) and Karen Seierøe Barfod, PhD (VIA University College) for providing this post on behalf of the international network of PhD Students in School-based Outdoor Learning and Teaching.

Part II – This blog post, part 2 of a series of 3 on an international PhD network in school-based outdoor education, highlights four emerging research areas explored by PhD students as part of this network: 1) outdoor practices in schools, 2) teaching methods, 3) place-based literacy, and 4) science education outdoors.

The first blog post can be found here.

PhD projects in the network within the four emerging areas explore how outdoor learning benefits students and teachers; the training needed for effective implementation; how place-based approaches support literacy and sustainability; and the value of outdoor science education across all educational levels. The overarching aim is to enhance engagement, wellbeing, and learning through real-world, nature-based experiences.

School-based outdoor practices

Lisa Frances (University of New England, Australia), Antoine Deschamps (Université de Sherbrooke, Canada), and Emilie Skoglys (University of Agder, Norway)

School-based outdoor practices occur both within and beyond school grounds and can vary substantially across geographic and cultural borders. The benefits of school-based outdoor education are well established, including affective, cognitive, interpersonal, social, physical and behavioural benefits for students (Bølling et al., 2023; Kuo et al., 2019; Rickinson et al., 2004). Recent studies have identified additional advantages for teachers, such as increased job satisfaction, reduced stress, and improved teacher-pupil relationships (Deschamps et al., 2022; Mygind et al., 2019).

The systemic and pedagogical conditions necessary for successful implementation remain underexplored. Insights from educators adapting outdoor learning to promote inclusion and mental health can offer valuable guidance.

Despite these compelling arguments, research across several countries highlights a decline in outdoor learning and play opportunities as children transition from early childhood education settings (e.g. preschool), into formal school settings and higher grades (Patchen et al., 2022; Lauterbach et al., 2024; Waite, 2010). Particularly concerning is the inequitable access to outdoor learning opportunities between preschool and school settings. Despite similar ages and developmental needs, children in the first year of school often have reduced outdoor learning and play opportunities compared to their preschool counterparts (Frances et al., 2024).

As a global network of PhD students committed to advancing school-based outdoor learning and play practices through our research, we are leading several projects. For example, in Australia we are engaging in action-based research exploring outdoor learning practices in the first year of school, with the aim of increasing and enhancing implementation. Additionally, we will be conducting a scoping review of factors that support school-based outdoor education in secondary schools and a case study of a Canadian secondary school implementing regular outdoor teaching. Furthermore, ongoing qualitative research in Norway is exploring educators’ experiences with implementing a school-based outdoor education model, alongside its impacts on pupils’ and parents’ experiences of quality of life.

Teachers and teaching 

Yannick Lacoste (Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada), Marie-Claude Beaudry (Université de Sherbrooke, Canada), Theres Mühlberg (Technical University of Munich, Germany), and Elena Diana (University of Pisa and University of Florence, Italy)

The literature on school-based outdoor education and education outside the classroom (EOtC) (Barfod & Bentsen, 2018) highlights its benefits for teaching and learning (Ayotte-Beaudet et al., 2023; Becker et al., 2017), health and well-being (Becker et al., 2017; Kuo et al., 2019), and environmental awareness and eco-citizenship (Becker et al., 2017; Dale et al., 2020). Despite well-documented benefits, school-based outdoor education faces persistent challenges (e.g., teachers’ lack of confidence, doubt over academic rigor, fears overclass management and having sufficient resources) that continue to hinder its implementation by teachers (Edwards-Jones et al., 2018).

To address implementation challenges related to teachers’ practice, the scientific community highlights the need for high-quality teacher training and ongoing professional development (Mann et al., 2022).

To support the effective implementation of school-based outdoor education, our PhD projects aim to identify what kind of training and pedagogical support teachers need in different educational contexts. Our work concerns a scoping review of reviews on training in school-based outdoor education and a research and development study to create quality pre-service teacher training. In addition, a reflective thematic analysis of the practices of EOtC by Italian and Danish primary school teachers—part of the Udeskole network in Denmark, “UdeskoleNet”, and the “Scuole all’Aperto” network in Italy—conducted using qualitative data collection methods, will highlight shared themes between countries regarding these challenges. Additionally, to get better insight into teaching that occurs during EOtC classes, observations of EOtC and classroom teaching was conducted in German elementary schools. To expand the international scope of this work, upcoming research will include studies with K–6 teachers in Canada, particularly in science education, to better understand how outdoor learning is broached across disciplines.

Place-based reading and writing 

Tommaso Reato (University of Padua, Italy), Dorte Eggersen (VIA University College & Aarhus University, Denmark), and Salvatore Laneri (University of Palermo, Italy)

Language education is a central component of the curriculum at every grade level. A challenge of EOtC approaches in school contexts is to deal with first language subjects. Exploring the relevance and pedagogical values ​​of linguistic and literary teaching practices that intertwine with embodied learning in, from, and about places is the purpose of research interested in place-based reading (Eggersen, 2024; Laneri, 2024) and place-based writing (Reato, 2024). These are complementary and aligned practices and research approaches, although developed in different socio-cultural contexts: Denmark and in Italy, respectively.

There are several theoretical frameworks that inspire these language practices and research approaches, such as the outdoor and place-based pedagogies (Bentsen et al. 2009; Gruenewald, 2003), the phenomenology of places (Casey, 1993, Greve, 2008), ecological and emancipatory pedagogies (Biesta, 2021), an embodied understanding of literacy practices (Ingold, 2020), as well as topographic literary theories (Moeslund, 2010).

Qualitative analysis of students’ experiences also suggests many common elements, from which the most evident is about the bidirectional text-place attention (e.g., attention towards text (reading and imagining) and attention towards place (the environment – e.g. buildings, brickwalls, the sea or whatever decribed in-text). Working with either placebased reading or placebased writing can widen students’ attention to include both the text and the place. This can promote learning processes based on exploring and discovery and also support the development of linguistic skills.

In a broader sense, finding creative ways to support student educational experiences that promote a connection to place may be a more inclusive approach to learning while also fostering pro-environmental behaviour. How all these concepts intertwine with each other may inform future studies and school practices.

Science education outdoors

Katrine Bergkvist Borch (University of Southern Denmark, Denmark)

Science is everywhere, especially outdoors, and outdoor teaching is crucial for learning science, across educational levels from early childhood education to tertiary education. Science education takes place in three different types of learning environments: Classroom, laboratories, and field settings. Field settings as learning environments are especially under-studied (Borch & Svabo, 2025).

Outdoor science education in primary education and early childhood education can support cross-curricular learning connected to place (Fägerstam, 2012). Furthermore, varied outdoor experiences can potentially connect children cognitively and emotionally with the natural world (Carrier & Stevenson, 2017). In secondary school, outdoor science education can contribute to a joyful learning environment, and it has both cognitive, social and emotional outcomes (Fägerstam, 2012). In higher education, science fieldwork can promote not just knowledge and skills but also more general generic and transferable competencies (e.g. teamwork, oral and written presentations; Harper et al., 2016).

This ongoing PhD research project concerns science fieldwork in nature-based learning environments. Preliminary findings show that immersive, sensory experiences promote curiosity, exploration and nature connectedness, especially if supported by pedagogical practices that allows for weather and place (Ingold, 2010) as well as non-human agents (as for example other species and field equipment) (Barad, 2003), to inform the experience.

Following blog posts III: The frontier of outdoor learning and teaching research

This blog post has introduced four research themes currently being explored within the PhD network, each offering new insights into how school-based outdoor education is understood, implemented, and experienced across diverse educational contexts. From inclusive practice and teacher development to language and science education outdoors, these projects reflect a shared commitment to rethinking schooling beyond classroom walls. The network’s strength lies in its ability to gather such varied approaches and perspectives, offering fertile ground for both critical dialogue and collaborative development.

To learn more about how you can get involved with the PhD Student School-based Outdoor Learning and Teaching Network, contact Mads Bølling at: mads.boelling@regionh.dk and/or Karen Barfod at: ksba@via.dk.

This blog post is the second in a series of three consecutive posts. In the third and final blog post, we continue the exploration of emerging fields by turning to three additional research perspectives that address how school-based outdoor education can foster children’s connection to land, place, and nature. The series concludes with reflections on the potential of international PhD networks to shape future collaboration and innovation in school-based outdoor education research.

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