Teachers and Outdoor Education (LeDu): An analysis of motivators and challenges
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Content of this page
Profile
- Project leadership
- Daniela Müller (PHZH)
- Project team
- Ingmar Schumacher, Andrea Fiedler
- Organisational unit
- F-PS-ZSE (Schulentwicklung)
- Project phase
- Completed (1.5.2022 – 31.5.2024)
- Project type
- Research & development project
- Funding
- PH Zurich, IPAG Business School, Paris
- Participating institutions
- Outdoor Science SARL; IPAG Business School Paris
Description
Existing educational literature points to the added value that outdoor education has for both pupils and teachers. Initial survey results in Switzerland indicate an urban-rural discrepancy as well as other differences in a teacher’s willingness to hold lessons outdoors. Which teachers frequently teach outdoors, and which rarely or never do? On the basis of this guiding question, the researchers at the Centre for School Improvement at Zurich University of Teacher Education collaborate with colleagues at the IPAG Business School Paris and Outdoor Science SARL to investigate the conditions that promote or hinder outdoor education from the perspective of teachers in Switzerland and Luxembourg. Teachers in Cycles 1 and 2 (from kindergarten to 6th grade) in both countries are invited to participate in an online survey conducted in German and French between fall 2022 and spring 2023.
Target group
The survey is designed for teachers (from kindergarten to 6th grade) who already teach outdoors as well as those who rarely or never do.
Partner projects
The LeDu research project builds on findings from the evaluation of the WWF action weeks “Ab in die Natur – draussen unterrichten” (into the great outdoors – teaching in nature) that was conducted by the Centre for School Improvement at Zurich University of Teacher Education. WWF Switzerland is supporting the LeDu research project. Similar projects in Luxembourg are “FuDo – Fuerschen dobaussen” and “Léiren dobaussen” at the Luxembourg Ministry of Education SCRIPT. SCRIPT is also supporting the LeDu project.
Project management
The research project is conducted by the following persons: Prof. Dr Ingmar Schumacher, professor of environmental economics at IPAG Business School Paris; Dr Daniela Müller-Kuhn, research associate at the Centre for School Improvement of the Zurich University of Teacher Education and project leader of the completed evaluation of the WWF action weeks “Ab in die Natur – draussen unterrichten” (into the great outdoors – teaching in nature); and Dr Andrea Fiedler, managing director of Outdoor Science SARL and project leader of the “FuDo – Fuerschen dobaussen” project of SCRIPT in Luxembourg.
Project outcomes
There are many reasons for teachers to teach outside from time to time. These include, in particular, the promotion of interdisciplinary and life skills as well as learning in a real environment. In practice, however, there are also many reasons why teachers hesitate to teach outdoors: A lack of accompanying persons, uncertainty regarding the implementation of content, curriculum pressure, justification to parents, effort, and coordination with remedial lessons are just a few of the reasons given by teachers in the survey on “Teachers and outdoor lessons. An analysis of motivators and challenges” (LeDu). LeDu has shown that various factors are related to whether or how often teachers teach outdoors. These include the perceived support from the school management, team and parents, as well as the further training courses attended. The distance to the outdoor location, on the other hand, is not related to the frequency of outdoor lessons.
Publications
Müller-Kuhn, Daniela (2024) Draussen Unterrichten erfordert Mut
Bildung Schweiz 169 (5): 22.
Müller-Kuhn, Daniela, Andrea Fiedler und Ingmar Schumacher (2024) Ebener Weg oder steiniger Pfad? Die Rolle der Schulleitung bei der Förderung von Draussenlernen
#schuleverantworten 4 (2): 62–70.