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The time children spend in nature has severely decreased. While nature-based learning at school is considered an important strategy in addressing this, numerous knowledge gaps continue to remain. To address these, a systematic review was undertaken. Nine commonly used health and education databases were searched from inception to January 2019. To be included, study participants were required to be children aged 4 to 12 without health or developmental conditions with a focus on nature-based learning. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed, followed by a descriptive synthesis. Out of 4703 results, 20 quantitative studies were included. There was a lack of universal definition of nature-based learning. This resulted in heterogeneity in how interventions were delivered, and outcomes measured. Overall, nature-based learning had varying levels of positive impacts across a range of outcomes. Despite these positive findings, the evidence base is constrained by some methodological issues. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.1921117. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature is moving more and more to the centre of educational reflections thanks to the upheavals of the nineteenth century. While one reflect on the modes of human progress and the fact that fear and optimism complement each other, nature is perceived as the ultimate source of truth and therefore the ideal means to educate new generations. The idea of a necessary return to nature is increasing. The turning point of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is characterised by the development of naturist movements in Europe. Their leaders quickly formalised complete educational projects and tried to establish and enforce them. This article is based on the analysis of a corpus of naturist and educational publications from the period concerned. Its challenge is to highlight the diversity and originality of naturist educational programmes, in order to better appreciate their influence within the education community. Focusing on the case of France, this study does not neglect an international perspective because of the importance of cultural circulation. It will be demonstrated that naturist ideas have had a major influence on the new education movement and in outdoor schools. Naturist considerations and practices are also diffused in the public schools of France, under the Popular Front in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this editorial introduction, we outline recent debates on geographies of education, specifically on themes of nature, place, and outdoor landscapes. We argue for the need to extend these discussions due to the rising popularity and politicisation of educational encounters in outdoor landscapes, as well as their long‐standing relationship to a series of moral geographies. We introduce the main focus of the five papers in this themed collection, and show how together, they add to our understanding of the spatialities and experiences of both formal and informal educational sites, through both historical and contemporary perspectives. We reflect on some of the themes that tie these papers together, the UK‐based focus of this collection, and its wider geographical contributions. In this editorial introduction, we outline recent debates on geographies of education, specifically on themes of nature, place and outdoor landscapes. We introduce the main focus of the five papers in this themed collection, and show how together, they add to our understanding of the spatialities and experiences of both formal and informal educational sites, through both historical and contemporary perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the spaces, materiality, and practices of (in)formal education and citizenship bound up in the educational cultures of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE) in 1930s England. Founded in 1926, the CPRE aimed to preserve rural amenities through concerted action, by working through their constituent societies as a centre for furnishing or obtaining advice and information, and importantly, by educating public opinion. While much work has examined inter‐war preservationism and the CPRE's focus on planning legislation and design, less attention has been paid to the CPRE's cultures of education for children and young people. Drawing on archival research, this paper considers two educational topics, namely, nature study and school design, and makes three key contributions to the geographies of education. First, that the CPRE mobilised the notion of amenity to provide an experiential and intuitive education in preservationism: amenity was both education and educator. Second, that this education was linked to notions of (future) citizenship, hope, and (future) preservationism, becoming an education that would remain with the child throughout their life. Third, this article explores the CPRE's authority, revealing the ways in which it was often complex and precarious, as well as the ways in which the Council drew on other forms of authoritative identities, spaces, and structures. In so doing, this paper contributes to ongoing academic debates on the complex and fluid boundaries of (in)formal education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the attempts of Israeli education, in a similar fashion to other national educational systems, to shape a territorial identity for the pupils of the new State. The Israeli school used a variety of educational means to shape a person who would be modelled on his new birthplace’s landscape, including the use of textbooks, illustrations, and maps, to aid in the process of creating a desired image of the homeland’s landscape. The hidden curriculum used textbooks employing mathematics questions to learn details about the geographical expanse. Alongside the use of a written curriculum, Israeli education made use of the extra curriculum by becoming physically familiar with a place and creating a local time based on the seasons of the year. Local nature was studied duringmoledet(homeland) lessons, similar to the Weimar Republic of Germany’s Heimatkunde studies, as well as during other subjects, such as nature studies and Bible. These studies integrated national goals and progressive humanistic educational schools of thought which viewed a child’s encounter with nature as a vital part of his or her education. The readers, which were built on a timeline of the seasons and the school celebrating nature festivals, created a natural time frame for the pupils in which they acted and studied. The discussion about the ways territorial identity was structured by the Israeli education system is another chapter in the wider debate about national education and illustrates the schools’ function as one of the State’s national social agents, particularly in its early years. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In terms of gaining environmental awareness and sensitivity, preschool is the most important period in an individual's life. Preschool education enables lasting steps to be taken towards sustainable development, which has become widespread issue of increasing importance in recent years, and whose importance continues to increase. There is a need for studies that establish environmental awareness and support sustainable development throughout the world, especially in developing countries, such as Turkey. Taking this need into consideration, the purpose of this study is to introduce the results of the 'Learning about soil with Tipitop and his friends' project, a project organized within the scope of the project group activities of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) Schools of Nature and Science (4004). The aim of the project was to introduce soil and concepts related to soil conservation to preschool children between 5 and 6 years of age. The sample group of the project was comprised of 180 children (90 experimental, 90 control) between the ages of 5 and 6, attending the kindergarten of primary schools, affiliated to the National Ministry of Education, located in the province of Denizli. Research findings demonstrated that the soil-related knowledge scores of children in the experimental group of the project increased in a statistically significant way, in comparison to those of children in the control group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how students invoked different conceptions of ‘nature’ in eight socio-scientific group discussions about human gene therapy. The paper illustrates and discusses how the students articulated nature and to what extent they elicited science factual content in the process. While the students in this study invoked nature at key places in a variety of dialectical contexts in the discussions, these invocations were often uncritical appeals and rarely involved science factual content. Even when an argument from nature was challenged, the author of that argument would often shift the sense of nature rather than elaborate upon the argumentation. It is argued that if students were properly introduced to the evaluative character of the term ‘nature’ it would not just be conducive to the quality of their argumentation, but also invite them to foreground science factual content at key places in their discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

One of the interesting aspects of Dewey’s early educational thought is his apparent hostility toward children’s imaginative pursuits, yet the question of why this antipathy exists remains unanswered. As will become clear, Dewey’s hostility towards imaginative activities stemmed from a broad variety of concerns. In some of his earliest work, Dewey adopted a set of anti-Romantic criticisms and used these concerns to attack what one might call “runaway” imaginative and emotional tendencies. Then, in his early educational writings, these earlier concerns were augmented by several other factors, including problematic trends in progressive education, new developments in psychology, and Dewey’s own educational aims. This analysis explores the roots of these criticisms, and explains how they culminate in the stance on the imagination that Dewey eventually outlined in the early educational writings. Notably, these findings have some important implications for certain prominent contemporary critics of progressivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current challenges (increasing levels of integration in the biological sciences) facing the teaching of zoology and the structure of the zoology curriculum are explored herein. General context is provided and a more focused scrutiny of the situation in North America is presented. The changing emphases in more broadly-based biological sciences programs in North America are outlined, and their influence on the role of zoology as part of fundamental biological training is considered. The longer term impact of such changes in emphasis on the teaching of zoology is discussed, and the central role that zoology can play in dealing with both science content and science education is advanced. Based upon a focal workshop on the future of the zoology curriculum in Canada, a perspective on the challenges facing curriculum evolution is provided. Extensive curriculum redesign is called for to ensure that zoology provides a broad-scale integrative approach to the understanding of biodiversity in evolutionary, ecological and functional contexts. Barriers to, and drivers of change are identified and the need for collaborative approaches to curricular evolution is emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I shall discuss Danish perspectives on nature, showing the interdependence of conceptions of ‘nature’ and ‘nationhood’ in the formations of a particular cultural community. Nature, thus construed, is never innocent of culture and cannot therefore simply be ‘restored’ to some pristine, pre-lapsarian state. On the other hand, invocations of nature are effectively calls to action, often of a sort that involves a degree of (limited) restoration and conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major advantage of STS is the kind of teaching it allows and demands. Twelve middle school teachers who were enthused with STS teaching selected two sections for a research study. One section was the experimental STS section; the other followed the course syllabus and textbook closely. The major findings indicate the advantages for STS as a teaching approach. Students at the STS approach learned as many science concepts as students who were taught such concepts directly. But the students in the STS sections were superior in all other aspects, including understanding and use of 14 process skills, use of creative thinking skills, development of more positive attitudes, better ability to apply and connect ideas and skills to other situations, and developing a better understanding of the nature and history of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the effect of wave action on movement in the owl limpet, Lottia gigantea, in Santa Cruz, California. The section tests the expected curtail movement of limpets, and reports, for the first time, that natural variation in wave energy is correlated with the decision to move: movement in the owl limpet Lottia gigantea is inhibited at high tide during periods of relatively larger waves. Theoretical measurements and considerations of tenacity gathered predicts that intertidal gastropods should minimize the chances of dislodgement during periods of high waves by remaining stationary.

The article discusses the contradictions in purpose and practice of schooling and environmental education. This paper gives an argument about the historical context in the development of environmental education as the rhetoric-reality gap is expected in the traditional purpose and structure of schooling. There is an observed discrepancy between problem-solving and action-oriented goals in the philosophy of environmental education and the acquired environmental knowledge in school programs. The social and political action goals of environmental education are compared with nature study, conservation education, and the role of schooling in maintaining social order.

A phenomenological approach was used to investigate the longitudinal recollections of participants of an out-of-school science program. The experience was a field trip to the Shenandoah National Park (USA) conducted in the fall of 2004. The science topic was geologic history and features related to the Shenandoah Valley. Two major themes relating to the participants 'long term recollection of the out-of-school science field trip were identified after the interview data was analyzed. First, recollections were highly influenced by actions taken by the students, and, second, program content/subject matter were retained by all of the students to varying degrees. The interactive experiences that aided in memory retrieval from this study closely relates to the interactive experiences associated with memory and learning theory associated with the psychological domain. This linkage and its impact on how students learn in out-of-school science experiences are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the implementation of environmental case study teaching method in middle schools in China. Specific procedures in the implementation; Characteristics of the method; Tasks of a teacher in environmental education.

El artículo enfoca en las excursiones escolares durante los años que gobernó México el general Porfirio Díaz, o el periodo llamado "el porfiriato". El objetivo del artículo es conocer el aprendizaje de los escolares mexicanos fuera de la escuela y de las limitaciones del salón de clases. Este aprendizaje fuera del aula tuvo lugar a través de la realización de excursiones y viajes escolares. Estas excursiones permitieron a los estudiantes conocer diferentes aspectos del país, entre ellos, el progreso de la época, con la visita a las industrias, las haciendas, los talleres y el campo.

This paper describes a multidisciplinary action research project that aimed to develop a theoretical framework and four exemplary teaching modules for elementary and secondary school that promote a pluralistic view on nature. In a 2-year study, researchers from three disciplines (pedagogy, sociology and philosophy) collaborated with curriculum developers and textbook authors. This paper presents the theoretical framework that was developed during the project. The teaching modules are described, and one of the modules is delineated. Finally, the results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reviews the evidence on the effects of nature in the study environment on well-being, academic outcomes, and outcomes related to possible explanatory pathways among students in secondary and tertiary education. The protocol was preregistered at Prospero (CRD42019126718). A systematic search of two databases yielded 3410 articles, of which 37 studies were included in the review. Most studies had a high risk of bias and there were heterogeneous outcome and exposure measures. Hence, no firm conclusions could be drawn. However, potentially promising leads were found on the associations between campus green space and improved quality of life, perceived restoration, lower outdoor temperature, and between indoor nature and improved indoor climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a summary of the author's doctoral thesis, which is titled "At the Heart of Art and Earth: An Exploration of Practices in Arts-based environmental education." The author discusses the history of efforts to connect art education and nature study, and he address the implications for potential developments in arts education and sustainability.

The article discusses the use of nature as a learning tool. It discusses the 40th Anniversary Curriculum of the Earth Day Network, a resource where students can explore their summer experiences with the curriculum focus on the history of the Environment Movement. It also looks into the adaptability of the curriculum to the K-12 environment.

Editorial. Presents an article on the importance of teaching how to observe natural patterns as part of science education classes. Views on scientists' study of patterns, or classification; Use of patterns to solve cause-and-effect problems and experiments.

Argues that discipline of science needs to be refreshed. Opinion that scientists can do better in their study of nature if they study it as a whole and not in parts; Interest in teaching science in a holistic, passionate and creative way; View that questioning science while broadening its scope will improve the study of nature.