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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 opportunities as required by Australian national policy documents. However, Australian primary schools are not subject to such requirements and teachers often face challenges regarding outdoor learning, thus regular implementation in primary classes can be a low priority. As children in the year before school and the first year of school have similar learning and developmental needs, we argue that the benefits of outdoor learning should be available to all children across the early years. We also recommend regular outdoor learning in the first year of schooling to promote continuity as children transition from early childhood education to primary schools.

This qualitative study examines definitions of school gardening used by preschool educators and examines their views on the value of school gardening in their curriculum. The participants consisted of school principals and teachers working in two different types of preschools as traditional and nature-based. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews and content analysis technique was used. Findings showed that the educators routinely implemented school gardening, both outdoors and in greenhouse. School gardening was integrated with other curriculum activities. Its positive effects on children's development were expressed with emphasizing the need for additional space, time, financial support, and collaboration with experts.

The widespread benefits of creativity have become more salient in recent years. This has led to scholarly interest in finding ways to foster creativity. Nature immersion may be one way to enhance creativity, particularly as many individuals involved in creative pursuits have found nature to be a source of inspiration and a haven for restoration. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) extension for scoping reviews and the PRISMA-ScR 22 item checklist, we conducted a scoping review to examine the evidence on the relationship between nature and creativity as well as any underlying mechanisms facilitating this relationship. A scoping review was deemed appropriate given the infancy of the topic and the need to understand the broad landscape. Our aim was to present a range of interdisciplinary applications of nature interventions on different types of creative performance. We found 45 publications exploring the relationship between nature and creativity, with the majority (n = 36, 80%) published within the past seven years. Overall, the quantitative studies in our scoping review provided evidence of a significant positive relationship, or effect, between nature and creativity. These relationships held across various types of nature including for wilderness, rural and urban settings, as well as in different applications of creativity such as in the arts, workplace, education, and laboratory conditions. Qualitative and case study research also supported the positive relationship between nature and creativity including in diverse nature settings and in different applications such as in visual arts, design, writing, music, free play in kindergartens, and work. Qualitative studies highlighted potential mechanisms behind this relationship, including time in solitude, appreciation of impermanence, relaxation and inspiration, and disconnection from technology. Moreover, the degree of exposure to nature may be an important consideration for creative performance with more immersive, real-life experiences typical of outdoor nature, tending to be more effective than indoor spaces with window views or indoor plants. These preliminary findings suggest that more opportunities to connect with nature, especially in the outdoors, may help to stimulate creativity in a wide range of settings including education, the creative arts, and workplaces, although more high-quality research examining the sustained effects of nature on creativity is needed.

Promoting children's and adolescents' mental, physical, and social wellbeing is highly important to help them learn, create social connections, and stay healthy. Nature has the potential to restore cognition, reduce stress and mental fatigue, and improve wellbeing, all factors that are conducive to learning. There is growing interest in understanding the effects of nature on the wellbeing of children and adolescents, particularly in the school context. This paper presents a PRISMA-guided systematic review of the literature examining the effects of school-led nature interventions on the mental, physical, and social wellbeing of school children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years. Examples of school-led nature interventions include outdoor learning, walks in nature and green schoolyards. Experimental and quasi-experimental studies employing quantitative measures were selected, yielding 19 studies from 17 papers. Included studies were rated as being of high (n = 6) and moderate quality (n = 13). The results provide some evidence that nature exposure in the school context can improve the wellbeing of children and adolescents, particularly their positive affect, physical activity, and social relationships/interactions. The wellbeing effects of school-led nature interventions were also examined according to age and gender, with results indicating a gender effect, but inconclusive findings for age. Findings from this review support the integration of nature in schools to enhance the mental, physical and social wellbeing of children and adolescents.

Several health experts have strongly recommended spending time outdoors for physical and mental well-being. As students progress through the schooling system, they spend less time outdoors. There is an insufficient amount of research on how outdoor learning can benefit students at the university level. There is a consistent stream of research looking at methods of learning and how to create better environments for learning. However, studies on outdoor learning have been few. Outdoor learning, in general, and at the university level, in particular, has numerous advantages for learners when conditions are taken into consideration. In this review, 20 studies were selected. They discuss ways in which outdoor learning in universities can benefit both students and teachers alike. The review concludes that outdoor learning can have various advantages if properly taught.

The term nature deficit disorder describes the "human costs of alienation from nature" (Louv, 2019). While not meant to be a medical diagnosis, Louv argues that the condition has, "profound implications, not only for the health of future generations but for the health of the earth itself" (Louv, 2008). Children most at risk are those who live or go to school in an urban setting, as well as students diagnosed with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD). Students diagnosed with EBD are often kept indoors as their teachers and caretakers are frequently trained in the indoor use only of behavior management techniques (Riden et al., 2022). This means that during professional development training, any that pertain to behavior management techniques, procedure, or protocol are routinely taught inside of a classroom, conference room, or recently home office, using an indoor scenario (classroom, auditorium, cafeteria, etc.) as an example of when and how to use these behavior management tools. Outdoor professional development, equipping students with natural tools that can help improve not only their physical but also their mental health, as well as connecting students with nature in a way that teaches them to advocate for the health of the earth, thus becoming citizen stewards are all themes that are part of the massive, currently dysfunctional system that is outdoor education in schools. This study shows that when students are encouraged to interact with nature on their own terms on-task behaviors and motivation increase. Students also retained lesson information and asked follow-up questions after the lesson when taught outside using hands-on activities.

As China's economy and culture become increasingly globalized and open to exchange, students' aesthetic views have revealed potential danger signals during the evolution of civilization, sometimes manifesting as deliberate neglect and challenge to righteous culture. This study focuses on the issues faced by contemporary aesthetic education for students, particularly the oversight by teachers during lesson preparation in identifying learning materials that are both engaging for students and have experiential educational value. Based on the immersive learning characteristics of intuitive experiential education, the study employs an exploratory case study method, utilizing the industrial heritage cultural landscape of Fanshan Town in Anhui, China, as a tool and resource for students' aesthetic education. It constructs a knowledge system of alum culture landscape aesthetic literacy, grounded in the thought of "Harmony between Man and Nature", centered on the elements of contemporary students' aesthetic literacy. The findings indicate that the cultural landscape of the alum industrial heritage situates the construction of the aesthetic literacy knowledge system within a broader and more credible temporal and spatial context. This provides high-quality learning materials for the experiential teaching process, helping students draw lessons from historical reflection and enrich their aesthetic cultural literacy.

This three-year qualitative research study examined the knowledge and experiences of 20 early years educators while introducing Indigenous perspectives and pedagogies on Land-Based Learning in10 urban childcare centers. Educators were introduced to Indigenous perspectives and pedagogies through workshops with Indigenous speakers and Indigenous-authored picture books. These perspectives included the importance of supporting children to develop responsive and caring relationships to the Land for their own wellbeing and for the wellbeing of all their fellow creatures. Supported by their educators, the children increased their sense of belonging in the world, expressed gratitude for their fellow creatures, and recognized and enacted their responsibility to care for nature.

Nature-based early childhood education (NBECE) is a growing field for children aged 3-6 in North America. This growth demands the need for NBECE professionals. Often grounded in personal journey and perceptions, pedagogical practices of NBECE teachers play a vital role in learning experiences and nature-connectedness. This qualitative research delves into North American NBECE professionals' perceptions of nature, their journey into NBECE, and their responses to the pervasive influence of settler-colonial values in education. The data was generated through teacher interviews with four outdoor preschool teachers. Each teacher participated in two interviews. Between the two interviews they wrote a journal entry. At the end of the second interview, I led each participant through a cognitive mapping exercise in which they created a visual representation of their journey with nature. Findings indicated that these teachers have a close connection and history with nature. This often translated into their feelings about NBECE. Framed within settler-colonial studies, I deconstructed teachers' discussions to illuminate examples of resisting a nature-culture divide and human exceptionalism. I identified most teachers exhibiting awareness of settler-colonialism, with more experienced teachers thoroughly exploring their connection to its ongoing influence.

Children are born into a world today with a drastically changing environmental climate. When young people develop an emotional attachment and sense of identity with nature, they may be more likely to behave in less destructive ways toward the planet and possibly live with a sense of responsibility and respect for nature. This mixed method study aimed to measure to what extent 3- to 6-year-olds demonstrated environmental sensitivity, awareness, and preferences at a nature-based Montessori school in the upper Midwest of the United States and asked if age was an influencing variable. Young children's connection to nature in these categories was determined using a modified age-appropriate psychological games testing tool, field observations of the types of nature features and activities the children experienced indoors and outdoors, and interviews with the two lead teachers. Results indicated that this cohort of children demonstrated a moderate to strong connection to nature in all three categories. Age was an influencing variable measuring environmental sensitivity and some aspects of environmental awareness, but not environmental preferences regarding where to play. This study adds to the body of work conducted in early childhood education, environmental education, early childhood environmental education for sustainability, and Montessori education.

Scientific literacy is decreasing in the Czech Republic and inquiry-based science education (IBSE), believed to enhance it, is used rarely. Meanwhile, outdoor teaching is on the rise, but it is unclear if it could help promote inquiry. This study examines the frequencies of outdoor teaching and IBSE and their relationship in self-reported practice among motivated educators. Two questionnaires were f illed out by educators who downloaded teaching resources in 2019 (N = 796) and those who enrolled in an online course in 2020 (N = 745). A high proportion of educators used some form of IBSE. Many of them unexpectedly often involved students in research design as part of IBSE. The frequency of student-designed investigation was correlated with the frequency of outdoor teaching in both samples. Both frequencies increased after the online course. This indicates that involving students in research design can be supported indirectly and that new professional development courses could use the attractiveness of outdoor education. Two groups of active teachers were identified, one focused on inquiry in their own class and the other motivating colleagues to teach outdoors. As they were represented more among primary school teachers, establishing learning communities consisting of both primary and lower-secondary science teachers could bring change to science education.

Existing research evidence pertaining to the occupational therapy (OT) role with adventure-based outdoor activities for military veterans and the authors' positive experience serving members of a non-profit veteran-run organization that promotes rehabilitation archeology suggest that outdoor rehabilitation for this client population is a promising avenue for the profession. Moreover, students' exposure to outdoor experiences designed for military veterans as well as other populations presenting with physical and mental health conditions has the potential to significantly augment OT curriculum by impacting both the learning trajectory and personal transformation of the students. This paper describes a unique service-learning experience involving graduate OT students who engaged with and provided services to veterans participating in archeological fieldwork, as well as the impact of this experience on the students.

Italy has recently and rapidly become a country of immigration with an increase in school contexts, especially of second-generation children, leading to the need to deal with the issue of inclusion. This contribution aims to enclose the scientific literature that addresses the inclusion of children with a migrant background within the national school context. After analyzing the ministerial documents and the literature that address this issue, the school context at the local level will be investigated, emphasizing the challenges that teachers must face within increasingly multicultural school contexts, in which they must cope with the numerous needs deriving from the relationship with CNI families and the management of cultural diversity at school.

The study aimed to investigate preschool children's learning needs related to science and their teachers' science activity practices. A basic qualitative research design was applied. Interviews were conducted with 15 preschool teachers and 48 children living in Ankara and subjected to content analysis. It was found that teachers mostly carried out activities and science experiments to support sense development and observation skills, used science and sensory centres and mostly preferred natural objects and living things. However, it was found that about half of the teachers considered themselves inadequate in science activities. Teachers stated that children need science activities that they can experience on their own, that take place outdoors and that are appropriate for their age, development and interests. They also stated that children need learning experiences that will improve their sensory development, observation and questioning skills. It was found that children mostly wanted to get to know scientists, learn how tools and equipment work, and conduct experiments. As a result of the research, it was revealed that teachers were aware of the importance of developing children's skills and reflected this in practice, but they could not identify the topics that children were interested in very well.

This study was carried out within the scope of a nature education and science camp project. It aimed to investigate the effects of STEM activities conducted in out-of-school environments on teachers' STEM awareness and 21st-century skills. The research was designed according to the explanatory sequential pattern of the mixed method, and the quantitative and qualitative methods are the continuation of each other. Twenty-three science, elementary math, technology, and design teachers who worked at public middle schools participated in a six-day program that integrated STEM subjects with out-of-school learning. Seven different STEM-integrated out-of-school activities were implemented for six days in one of the central Anatolian regions in Turkey. STEM awareness and 21st-century skills scales were implemented in the study for data collection. A semi-structured interview was also conducted with teachers. The aim was for the teachers who participated in the project to integrate out-of-school and STEM education and then transfer this newly gained knowledge to their students. Both quantitative and qualitative findings support that teacher's acquisition of knowledge and skills throughout the science camp would support their students' craft, analytical thinking, motivation, problem-solving skills, and self-esteem. As such, out-of-learning environments should be used more in both STEM and 21st-century skills education.

This article describes the author's experience as a specialist working at a nature-based sleepaway camp for children and their families in Antalya Geyikbayiri. The camp was organized by a psychotherapist and three expert instructors to enhance the connections between parents and children, other children and parents present, and with the natural world, enabling everyone to gain different perspectives. The workshops are diverse and include activities such as nature discovery walks, awareness activities in nature, music sessions, philosophy workshops, movement exercises, circus arts, creative arts, storytelling, and rock climbing. With the support of natural settings throughout the different philosophy workshops, the participants gain insights into their perspectives on specific subjects, recognize beliefs accepted without much contemplation, understand their thought patterns, identify contradictions, and explore the possibilities of thinking differently. Their opinions may evolve, becoming clearer, more uncertain, or even changing altogether through interacting with other participants, the examples and counterexamples they provide, and the questions posed by the instructors and participants.

Children who live in under-resourced communities and attend under-resourced schools deserve access to high-quality teachers and educational opportunities to support their success and well-being. This study emerged from a professional development (PD) for urban teachers working in such schools, to expand educational opportunities for elementary students through outdoor science teaching. Engaging frameworks of communities of practice (CoP) and critical pedagogy of place (CPP), this critical ethnographic study investigates how urban elementary teachers engage in discourse about critical issues of place. Additionally, the investigation seeks to understand how a CoP supports such discourse. The primary data for this study were multiple sets of researcher field notes collected from participant teachers during virtual spring and in-person summer PD. Over the course of the PD, participants shifted from viewing their outdoor teaching spaces with a deficit perspective to an asset-focused one. As they visited one another's teaching sites, the CoP the teachers were a part of created opportunity for discourse about social justice linked to issues of place within their particular school neighborhoods. The ability of urban elementary teachers to connect social justice to issues of place and to the teaching of science has implications for countering the injustice that characterizes many urban communities in the USA and elsewhere.

Introduction: Different international guidelines indicate the need for improving educational procedures. This study aims to contribute to the professional development training program of higher education professors from a Physical Education Teacher Education degree in México. Methodology: This qualitative study used a participatory action research design through four cycles: (a) diagnosis; (b) elaboration of the action plan; (c) implementation and evaluation; and (d) feedback. The participants were the professor, six experts, and 17 students. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with students and the professor, the analysis of the class syllabus, and nonparticipatory observations. Findings: The importance of carrying out a diagnostic cycle allowed us to identify the specific needs of the class. Similarly, the model of development and evaluation of academic competencies (M-DECA) allowed the professor to develop specific pedagogical and disciplinary competencies from the training program. Conclusion: A continuous professional development training program for university professors in pedagogical and disciplinary strategies generates better learning results. The inclusion of innovative content in the class syllabus was also crucial.

Land-based literacies scholars have worked to expand understandings of literacies to include often marginalized cultures who understand literacy as resulting from human and more-than-human relations. In this article, we contribute to this broadening of literacies with an analysis of how nature influences the meaning-making practices of rural, subaltern communities in the Global South. Our inspiration stems from indigenous scholars who have advanced indigenous and relational epistemologies, seeking to bridge the nature/culture divide that remains prevalent in Western thinking. The central question that guides this article is: How are Land-based literacies produced through the felt and sensed relationships with nature, history and culture in the Callemar community? Drawing on micro-analysis of participant-generated video data from two walks with Colombian youth and adults from the Callemar community, we illustrate ways naturecultures, specifically the assemblages of Land, collective memory and cultural practices, produce Land-based literacies. We describe Land- walking, including forest- and creek-crossing practices, as literacies that require reading and meaning-making with the Land, and that which allow individuals to relate to other beings and thrive in the changing landscape of their rural community. Our description and discussion of Land-based literacies in this rural community poses important implications for informing pluriversal literacies pedagogies that draw on local knowledges and contexts to make literacy learning more relevant and equitable. Furthermore, we describe the relevance of Land-based literacies for sustainable stewardship of the Land during times of drastic environmental change.

Background: More women are going outdoors and menstrual hygiene is a concern for these women, we do not know how collegiate outdoor programs are addressing this topic, if at all. It is possible that feminine hygiene may not be adequately discussed in these settings. Because of this, the overall health and outdoor experiences of female participants are potentially at risk. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of current practices and potential barriers surrounding feminine hygiene and menstruation dialogs in college outdoor recreation programs in Texas. Methodology/Approach: An open-ended online survey was distributed to 36 schools with outdoor recreation programs in Texas. Responses were independently analyzed and coded for emergent themes. Findings/Conclusions: Thirty-eight percent of schools did not address feminine hygiene and menstruation in pretrip communications. Predominant themes consisted of an emphasis on health and hygiene, dependence on female leaders, a need for more knowledge and resources, and a desire for normalization. Implications: Most professionals expressed that resources to expand their knowledge on these topics can help to better prepare participants. Current practices surrounding these topics may be insufficient and able to improve. Further research is needed to evaluate the efficacy of the curriculum and the preference of participants.

Background: The United States Air Force Academy's Center for Character and Leadership Development developed the 'Adventure and Experiential Based Learning' (AEBL) course--a new experiential education summer course intended to develop interpersonal leadership skills in 1,100 sophomore cadets. Purpose: Improving cadet emotional intelligence (EI) is of particular focus due to its value in leader effectiveness. Methodology/Approach: Rather than rely upon the more common military pedagogy of lecture-based learning or a military handbook that prescribes exactly what participant success looks like, the aim of the course examined in this study was to improve participant EI via a combination of experiential education methods including interactive classwork, challenge course experimentation, and a capstone 28-h adventure comprised of uncertainty and stressful team dynamics. To measure the effect the experiential education curriculum had on participant EI, the Workgroup Emotional Intelligence Profile (WEIP) was used in a pre/postsurvey method. Findings/Conclusion: The results indicated a significant increase in EI among AEBL participants as measured by the WEIP. Implications: Outdoor experiences like the one described in this article may be an effective way to train EI skills.

Considerable research has demonstrated the presence of masculine norms in outdoor adventure education. The resulting values and practices function to ostracize or devalue women leaders, a dynamic that often goes unnoticed by men in the field. Although women's and men's perspectives on their experiences have been studied, to date no research identified by the authors has compared the perspectives of a man and woman leader on the same outdoor excursion. The current research aims to address this gap. Two leaders on a university-sponsored excursion used a comparative autoethnography approach, each journaling about their experiences on a 13-day flat water backcountry canoe trip. The two leaders subsequently performed analysis collaboratively to consider themes arising from the comparison of the two journals. Despite awareness and desire to actively combat gender norms, both leaders performed their gender in ways that adhered to stereotypes. Multiple hegemonic masculine norms were evident in the man's performance, possibly affected by the group composition. Greater critical self-reflection or training is required, particularly for men in outdoor adventure education contexts, to avoid reproducing harmful masculine norms. These results come despite participants' awareness of such norms and professed efforts toward gender equity.

This paper is an adapted version of the Brian Nettleton Lecture given at the Outdoors Victoria Conference, 2022. It explores how the last two decades have seen an ever-accelerating Digital Revolution which has impacted on almost every aspect of human experience to the point that it is now omnipresent. Life is now mediated through the screen. As a result, children and young people have become hyper-vigilant, overly anxious, experience a sense of climate trauma, and have decreasing access to, and time spent in, the outdoors. In addition, children have just experienced two years of isolation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and evidence suggests that they are already experiencing significant mental health issues as a result. This paper considers the implications of this for Outdoors Victoria and Outdoor Education.

The article presents a SWOT analysis of a long-term outdoor environmental education program, on-going since 1996. In this program, the fifth-grade classes in a public elementary school in a rural region of northern Israel have been contributing to the conservation of the Lesser Kestrel, an endangered species. The program is based on outdoor activities, continuing throughout the year. Students learn about the Lesser Kestrels, usually outdoors, build nesting boxes, and guide an adult audience on a special day held as part of their outdoor activities. The aim of the study was to understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) that enable the ongoing existence of the Lesser Kestrel outdoor environmental education program at this school. Twenty-four professionals from different backgrounds, all having several years' familiarity with the program, participated in the study and provided their perspectives. The SWOT analysis was based on the deductive content analysis and used a triangulation, including a focus group, semi-structured interviews, and a questionnaire. The results relate to the Lesser Kestrels, students, teachers and school administration, parents, and the regional council. The strengths and opportunities seem to outweigh the threats and weaknesses of such a program, enabling the program's long-term success. In summary, it can be proffered that long-term outdoor environmental education programs which enable the achievement of environmental education goals over time can have significant positive impacts, both environmentally and with the communities involved, and are sustainable, given appropriate attention is given to relationships involving experts and funding bodies.

This essay presents a theoretical model for the heretofore hidden processes associated with mechanisms of change in adventurous outdoor learning. After summarizing the few researchers who have investigated the components and pathways that bring participant change, four strands of influence are discussed: exercise activity, nature immersion, overcoming perceived risks, and resolving group conflicts. These four strands are traced through a seven-step sequence, where important similarities and differences are highlighted. An emphasis is placed on the interwoven transfer of learning with attention paid to ecohealth outcomes. Implications for practitioners are shared and future research directions are recommended.

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 challenging recreational activities and experiential teaching methods. A mixed survey methodology examined the influence of an experiential wilderness-based training on K-12 school educator participants and used Kirkpatrick's (1959, 1976) taxonomy framework to organize findings into three categories: satisfaction, learning, and behaviors. The results suggest participants were highly satisfied with the program, developed positive character traits, advanced in professional development, and integrated experiential teaching methods in their schools. The results support promoting wilderness-based professional development activities for school educators to improve student outcomes.

Using a drawing-based research approach, this qualitative study explored in-service infant teachers' reflections on their play experiences and ways of supporting and scaffolding infants' play at a childcare center in Korea. The participants engaged in a drawing task that illustrated their reflections and memories of their play. They then discussed their drawings by, answering semi-structured interview questions. An analysis of the images and comments depicted in the activity and shared in the interview revealed that participants recalled social and imaginative childhood play memories using natural objects and playing childhood games outdoors. Everyday activities were also regarded as play among the participants, and play activities changed depending on interests, personality, age, and societal situation, such as the Coronavirus pandemic. The findings revealed that infant teachers' interests and preferences influenced their decisions to structure and scaffold or discourage certain play activities in the classroom. Through play, both infants and infant teachers shared positive affect and playfulness. This study suggests a crucial need for early childhood professionals to self-reflect to understand their preferences and play experiences, contemplate how their preferences and experiences impact their teaching practice, and meaningfully integrate play activities in their classrooms.

Extensive research into wilderness therapy has not explored who benefits the most and who does not thrive in these programs. The present study examined demographic, clinical, and familial characteristics that distinguished adolescents who improve most in wilderness therapy programs from those who deteriorate. Using data collected by the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs Practice Research Network, the study sample consisted of 5639 adolescents attending wilderness therapy programs which collected and contributed data to the Practice Research Network between 2017 and 2022. Measures included the Youth Outcome Questionnaire-Self Report and the McMaster Family Assessment Device, as well as demographic, familial, and clinical data collected by program staff. Using binary and univariate logistic regression, the study found individual and familial factors that predicted membership in the top 10% of adolescent participants in terms of mental health improvement from pre-to-post wilderness therapy and those factors which predicted membership in the bottom 10% in terms of poorer mental health from pre-to-post program. Considering the intensity, length, and financial resources associated with wilderness therapy program participation, these findings have important implications for wilderness therapy program staff professional development, communication of expectations to adolescents' parents/caregivers, and program admission decisions.

Informal science activities occurring at various non-traditional learning sites present a pivotal model for involving youths in the science learning process. The dynamic landscape of emerging technologies has prompted the exploration of innovative methodologies to bolster and refine informal science education. However, the expanse of this field and its attendant complexities has led to a lack of empirical evidence on the subject matter necessitating further research. This paper presents the findings of a systematic literature review, spanning the years 2017 to 2022, focusing on empirical inquiries into the deployment and impact of digital tools and technologies on the cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions of student learning. The investigation pertains specifically to unconstrained, extracurricular learning environments, encompassing science centers and museums and outdoor locations. A methodical search of renowned electronic databases, including ACM Digital Library, ERIC, Google Scholar, Sage, and Web of Science, supplemented by rigorous cross-referencing, yielded a corpus of seventeen (n = 17) relevant studies. These were subjected to a thorough qualitative content analysis. A diverse array of scientific concepts was found to have been investigated using hardware-based, software-based, or mixed approaches. Notably, augmented reality (AR) emerges as a preeminent focal point within the purview of digital interfaces explored by researchers. The synthesis of findings underscores the affirmative influence of digital tools and technologies on pivotal facets such as engagement, motivation, attitude towards science, and comprehension of scientific principles. In culmination, this study delineates prospective research focus for future studies in informal science education.

The article proposes a relational pedagogy centred on "study," to contest the affective condition of the present and how it shapes narratives of young people being disengaged and with a lack of future. In doing so, it draws from affect theory and black radical studies to outline a more complex approach to affect in university experience. It mobilises the concept of "study," advanced by Stefano Harney and Fred Moten in their book "The Undercommons," to direct attention to less linear and transparent space-times where study, a practice of affecting and being affected by what others do to you and what you do with it, exceeds the frameworks of the university. Further to this, the article connects study and fugitivity to what Moten calls an "aesthetics of the break" practiced across black studies. In doing so, it links affect to complex spatial-temporal relationalities that emerge from sensuous experimentation and creative speculation, which engage both in university and its escape. These ideas are explored through a participatory study with university students in Manchester, UK called "Sensing the Black Outdoors." I present the findings derived from radical sensory-spatial experiments, which led to: (a) visual encounters centred in not looking away and staying with the material presence of blackness and (b) the development of collective experiments with sensory media for feeling and imagining alternative experiences of space and time in the city.

This article is premised on the idea that storytelling and storytelling pedagogies have material and ethico-political implications for children and those with whom they share the world - in the small moments of their everyday experiences and in how they are read, written, and positioned as inheritors of social worlds and cultural narratives. Accordingly, in the context of an outdoor literacy program for young children, conducted over two summers, we consider the pedagogies enacted in two storied play encounters and the stories told with/in them. We ask, "What stories composed the material-discursive worlds of the children's play?" and "What kinds of worlds were animated through the storied play?" The study is guided by posthuman socio-material assemblage perspectives that understand the human and more-than-human world as existing in non-hierarchical relation to one another. Our analysis engages with the concept of mycelia, making the case for the mycelial network, rather than the rhizome (a mainstay of post-qualitative educational research over the past two decades or more) as a methodological construct. Our findings, presented as two troubled stories of contaminated diversity, animate in/visible encounters in the storied worlds of settler futurity and what we come to call emergent reciprocity. Through an exploration of these entanglements, we ultimately make the arguments that the stories we tell in a particular place shape what ensues in that place "and" that the re/storying of such narratives (both larger cultural narratives and moment-to-moment play narratives) offer possibility for being and doing otherwise in that place.

There is a consensus that the content of education for sustainability should be integrated into the curriculum, engaging students in activities that promote awareness and practice of sustainability. To achieve this goal, it is essential to adopt a student-centered approach that involves creative, stimulating, and challenging activities. This research reports a case study in which 8th grade students had the opportunity to develop these types of activities. Field activities were conducted on a local river combined with a game-based task focused on the role of benthic macroinvertebrates in ecosystems. These activities enabled collaborative learning and the social construction of knowledge, which are pivotal for more sustainable education. It should be noted that students learned how to collect, observe, describe, organize, and classify species to make inferences about water quality. The main issue we intended to address was how to improve and integrate scientific activities into the students' curriculum to foster a more sustainable education. The specific research questions were put forward: a) Do the implemented activities instigate collaboration for a more sustainable education? b) Do the implemented activities increase scientific curiosity and develop critical thinking and attitudes? c) Do the implemented activities increase students' knowledge concerning aquatic resources, such as benthic invertebrates? The results confirmed the important role of student-centred activities, in this particular case fieldwork and game-based tasks, in the development of knowledge and scientific thinking skills, which could be scaffolded through feedback, rewards and flow states. This study provides a more holistic perception of local river ecosystems, their role in improving environmental attitudes, and promoting a more sustainable science education.

This brief article summarizes five trends and issues discussed during a moderated panel and round table discussion at the Association for Experiential Education (AEE) Symposium on Experiential Education Research (SEER) in November 2023. The aim of this session was to expand on prior documented trends and disseminate current experiential and outdoor education (EOE) trends, issues, and related research. These are only a few of the many EOE trends and issues but they represent both meta trends/issues and program-specific trends. This session was designed for scholars and practitioners who teach, provide program administration, and/or conduct research and evaluation efforts for EOE and related disciplines. Topics included cultural representation in the outdoors, trauma and mental health trends, safety II: a new view of risk management, nature and outdoor programming, and whether college outdoor orientation leaders should be paid. We hope that you, the reader, are inspired to consider what trends and issues are impacting your work and explore areas for future research.

Background: The ability of outdoor educators and their participants to be present with each other and the natural and cultural histories of places can impact the realisation of learning outcomes and safety. Purpose: In this paper, we combine the findings of two separate research studies regarding the potential for digital technology to both distract and enhance the presence that both facilitators and their learners may experience in outdoor education programs. Methodology/Approach: Research Study One used a naturalistic inquiry to collect data via surveys and online interviews with 185 outdoor educators from 14 different countries. Research Study Two used a collective case study involving undergraduate outdoor education programs in Norway. Data were collected from 12 educators and 12 learners using semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews. Findings/Conclusions: Decisions on inclusion or exclusion of digital technology in outdoor education should be intentional, systematic, and evidence-based. The use of mobile technologies can pose barriers to learners' and educators' presence, their social interactions, and their experience of place. Implications: Digital technology can enhance or detract the experience of presence in outdoor education programs depending on how that technology is used, and the way the technology is managed.

Background: The short-term impacts of outdoor orientation programs (OOPs) have been documented in the literature for close to 40 years. While there is a fair amount of research examining the immediate effects of OOPs, there are relatively few studies exploring long-term impacts. Purpose: This study examined the important longitudinal "lessons learned" from participating in an OOP. Methodology/Approach: This study utilized a retrospective qualitative approach and employed the Most Significant Change technique to understand meaningful lessons learned. Alumni from an OOP participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analyses included open coding, focused coding, and axial coding. Findings/Conclusions: Primary themes that emerged from the coding process included community and social connections, mental health and well-being and environmental appreciation and value of nature. Participants reported learning valuable lessons related to community building, coping, stress relief, resiliency and thriving, and connection with nature. Implications: Results provide evidence supporting positive long-term effects of OOPs. A particular highlight is how participants noted the OOP helped shape their "favourite self" years after their university experience. Researchers and practitioners can use these results to inform OOP curricula and to include in program marketing and lobbying efforts.

Background: Existing outdoor programs which market to veterans are likely to help veterans to get outdoors and to connect with one another. However, these programs appear to market to mostly White, male populations even though many veterans are female and racially diverse. Purpose: In order to consider barriers to outdoor program engagement for diverse and marginalized populations of veterans, the present study evaluated the website landing pages for outdoor programs serving veterans. This study explored the question: what racial and gender identities appear on the online marketing for veterans-serving outdoor programs? Methodology/Approach: In order to answer the research question, four coders independently coded visual data from imagery found on publicly-available websites and each organization's associated social media. Three hundred and six veteran-serving organizations providing outdoor programming were identified and coded. Findings/Conclusions: Image coding revealed that website landing pages for these programs presented a majority of White and male images, with a minority of images of women and racial minorities. Implications: The present study suggests that veteran-serving outdoor programs should consider how they present themselves in terms of their representation of diverse and marginalized identities in their marketing. Unless such program change their online materials, female veterans and veterans from racially diverse backgrounds and marginalized communities may continue to face significant barriers in accessing outdoor programming.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many facets of outdoor adventure and experiential education (OAEE) programs. Using past literature, four variables represent important student outcome variables associated with OAEE programs. Purpose: This study examined the effects of participation in an OAEE program on levels of anxiety, depression, hope, and resilience. Methods: This study used online data collection software with a 30-item inventory to measure the selected variables. Using a retrospective predesign, data were collected and analyzed using repeated measure t-tests. Findings: Results suggest that OAEE programs can effectively enhance an individual's ability to cope with anxiety and hopelessness while enhancing their levels of resilience.

Background: Current research in outdoor adventure education advocates for deeper attention to place and the role that place and the more-than-human world play in pedagogical processes. However, historical and socio-cultural analysis of the roots of OAE reveals an educational approach that encourages adversarial human-nature relations toward the pursuit of anthropocentric outcomes. The use of sublime environments towards these ends does not naturally align with the more recent attempts to foster environmental behaviors through OAE. Purpose: This research addresses the ambiguity between "place" and "pedagogy" to suggest a reimagined role of the sublime that fosters more empathetic human-nature relations. Methodology/Approach: This research utilizes philosophical phenomenology and postqualitative analysis to develop an argument for engaging with sublime environments in ways that cultivate empathetic human-nature relations. Findings/Conclusions: I argue for an awareness of the material aspect of sublime experiences that precedes construction and can inspire empathetic and reciprocal human-nature relations. Implications: Reimagining the sublime as a material phenomenon that is relational and promotes virtues of humility, respect, and care for the more-than-human world.

Background/Purpose: Organized events with environmental and outdoor education (EOE) components have the potential to change participant environmental behaviors. This study further investigates emergent outcomes, meanings, and effect on behavior that an organized, community-based, multigenerational river canoeing and kayaking event may have for its participants and considers these intersections of pro-environmental behavior, sense of place, and multigenerational community involvement. Methodology/Approach: Research participants experienced a multi-day canoeing and kayaking event and were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews (n = 13). Participants ranged from teen-age to older adults. This research uses a qualitative methodology and a data collection procedure which employs semi-structured interviews conducted on the water, in-situ, during the program. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Findings: Emergent themes and sub-themes including experiential learning's effect on knowledge acquisition, changes in attitude and environmental behavior, the value of rivers, and sense of place and socio-cultural outcomes related to such EOE programs. Implications: These results support experientially based EOE programs effectiveness for the continued development of pro-environmental behavior in the citizenry. This research aims to add to the current EOE literature on diverse and inclusive socially supported, community engagement EOE programs through a diverse sample (i.e., age, gender, race/ethnicity, etc.).

Background: Despite access to nature-based recreation, many college students do not take advantage of these experiences to improve their mental and physical health. Virtual reality experiences provide a potential pathway to motivate this population to recreate outdoors, but research is needed to determine whether virtual recreation can lead to real-world intent to recreate. Purpose: This study investigated whether virtual reality experiences influence student motivation for nature-based recreation, as measured with the intention and self-efficacy to spend time in nature scales. Methodology/Approach: As part of an introductory parks, recreation, and tourism class, students explored nature through virtual reality. The study incorporated a mixed methods design using pre- and post-experience surveys, interviews with participants, and document analysis of student assignment submissions over Instagram. Findings/Conclusions: Preliminary findings suggest that virtual reality can approximate real-world nature environments and provide a potential pathway for this population to access real-world outdoor recreation opportunities. Implications: In situations where real-world field experiences are not possible, educators and practitioners can use the findings of this study to assess whether a virtual recreation experience is appropriate for their audience. While these experiences do not substitute real-world nature, they may be part of a participant's pathway to recreate outdoors.

Over the past few years, we have worked together in a citizen science project called "Diamonds on the Soles of our Feet" (see also Goldin et al. 2021, Goldin et al., 2023). In this project we engaged with 420 young learners in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. We came to see participating schools as collaborative ecosystems where young citizens become entangled with water through experiential encounters that make science alive and relevant. Through our engagement with citizen science, we experienced the transformative power of affect and the relevance of emotions in education as a social and political project. In our pedagogy we depart from the idea that human beings are separate from the biosphere, thus recognising the interdependency of all life forms on earth. We believe that keeping science education in laboratories and libraries affirms what Bozalek and Zemblyas (2023) call "privileged irresponsibility". We propose that citizen science and its transformative potential can be one way to redress such irresponsibility. Through impactful encounters with human - nonhuman entanglement and the emotions which are evoked in this process, citizen science can create opportunities for response-ability (Bozalek & Zemblyas, 2023), through teaching and learning with the heart. Such entanglement also resonates with relationality as the currency of care theorists. In the context of our citizen science work, caring for unfamiliar others is a form of non-human-centred care with unfamiliar water bodies in which the binary of inside-outside learning becomes porous as the geographies of water penetrate the classroom walls. In "Diamonds on the Soles of our Feet," we noted how watery spaces and images move back and forth caring-with and through human bodies - waterbodies to school, school to waterbodies. The entanglement with the nonhuman resonates with Massumi's (2015) notion of becoming where there is an unrolling of an event that is a becoming of two together.

This research builds on the recently published paper (Garden, 2022c), which explored through interviews the use of iPads as cameras to enhance Forest School practice. Children's perspectives of the Forest School space captured what was important to them on camera (Garden, 2022c). Working with the same group of 32 Key Stage 2 children selected from two UK primary schools, the research explored the images captured on iPad cameras during the follow-on session. The unstructured interviews explored the children's feelings and meanings associated with the images captured in the Forest School space using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The photographs can be understood within the themes of 'play with technology', 'soft fascination' and 'place attachment', all of which are inherent in the Forest School ethos. Suggestions for future research include reflections on the ways the capturing of images of Forest School can encourage peer collaboration whilst considering the relative influence of space.

The recent criminal negligence case against an Ontario teacher in the death of a student identified pertinent outdoor education administration and policy issues. This comparative case study examined this case and two additional high profile Canadian outdoor education fatalities, identifying common factors and issues. Using Accimaps to illustrate the multiple contributing factors for each event, the case studies all exhibited contributory administrative factors of undefined risk tolerance, risk creep, lack of oversight, and issues regarding parental consent. Conclusions were drawn as preventative lessons that can inform school or board-level outdoor education policy and practice.

The decline of biodiversity and natural habitats, and the lack of progress in society's behaviour towards conservation, has prompted research into effective educational programs. Studies have shown that positive emotions towards nature, particularly in relation to the innate human predisposition towards the natural environment, can encourage environmentally friendly actions. As people's attitudes towards species are linked to familiarity and experiences, insects, and other invertebrates, despite their vital role in ecosystems, are often underappreciated and face inequalities in research and conservation. Negative attitudes towards insects are shaped by cultural and educational factors. Hence, education, particularly environmental education, can play a significant role in changing preconceptions and attitudes towards insects and fostering positive behaviour towards biodiversity conservation. This study presents a scoping review of environmental education programs focused on enhancing students' awareness of insects and their significance in the ecosystem (from 2000 to 2022). The aim was to analyse the effects of intervention programs and key characteristics that contributed to their efficiency. The review highlights the importance of program duration, outdoor experiences, and the use of inquiry-based and experiential learning methods in promoting positive attitudes and knowledge about insects. The findings have implications for the design and implementation of effective environmental education programs targeting insect awareness.

Kazakhstan's efforts to expand its physical culture have brought tremendous benefits. However, there are still unresolved issues in the teaching of physical education in our country's schools. Despite many ethnic and cultural traditions, combining learning opportunities in the classroom is ineffective. Domestic experience in sports is underutilized due to a lack of educational literature and scientific evidence that supports the use of traditional outdoor sports. The purpose of this study is to improve the motor abilities of young children by using carefully selected traditional outdoor sports. A study on the use of folk games in working with children in primary schools found that teachers' knowledge of the possibilities of folk games is inadequate. Finally, the findings suggest that incorporating traditional games into the physical education curriculum for students in lower grades can serve as a model for healthy lifestyles. Various types of games and exercises help to improve physiological systems, physical development and physical fitness in children and foster positive moral and volitional qualities.

Young learners benefit from learning and engaging in nature, but nature-based outdoor learning impacts on teachers are less understood. The present study examined elementary school teachers' learning experiences with science instruction in outdoor natural settings. An Outdoor Science Education (OSE) program partnered with schools in the southeastern U.S. to provide standards-aligned outdoor science lesson expeditions for fifth-grade students. Teachers reported their participation in expeditions improved their own content knowledge in science and contributed to their confidence teaching science and teaching in the outdoors. In addition, teachers reported their perceptions of students' performance in their science classes and on standardized science tests. The teachers described their perceptions about how the expeditions improved their students' engagement for learning and behavior in outdoor settings when compared to indoor science instruction. They discussed how these changes were most obvious for students who struggled with traditional classroom instruction. Using survey and interview data, we discuss the potential for teacher learning related to outdoor science instruction.

In this paper, we draw upon a narrative inquiry alongside two creators of an out-of-doors Nipugtugewei Kindergarten program within a Mi'gmaw community, in northeastern Canada. Our intention was to understand their schooling, educational, and communal experiences over time. Diverse field texts were composed and interpreted alongside participants. We turned towards narrative conceptions of knowledge to show how attending to teachers' personal practical knowledge and stories to live by on their professional knowledge landscape is sustaining who they are as teachers and people. It is also a way for teachers to live their responsibility to Indigenous communities and students.

Outdoor orientation programs (OOPs) use wilderness or adventure experiences as a transition of incoming first-year students to college and university settings. We explored resilience and flourishing outcomes from two OOP trips in Virginia and North Carolina using the Brief Resilience Scale, the Mental Health Continuum Short Form, and a thematic analysis of participant responses to open-ended survey items. Results illustrate a statistically significant, large effect size difference in flourishing between pre- and post-trip responses (d = 0.89), and the thematic analysis of open-ended post-trip questionnaire items illustrated the attainment of each of the program's OOP objectives. These results mirror previous findings evidencing the continued importance of this form of experiential learning to engender student success in higher education settings and further justify OOPs' inclusion within a high-impact practices framework.