Learning in the Finnish outdoor classroom: Pupils’ views

ABSTRACT

Finnish nature schools are environmental education organisations offering outdoor programmes for classes in natural environments. They are intended to contribute to the aims of the national curriculum in various subjects. This qualitative study examines how students describe their learning in a nature school context and how they describe differences between learning in nature and learning in the classroom. After a nature school day, 30 10–11-year-old pupils participated in focus groups interviews. The data were analysed through inductive content analysis. Nature school learning was described as cognitive, affective, social and as providing practical skills learning, although some pupils claimed that they had not learned anything. The differences between the learning environments were described as differences in learning activities, concreteness, external conditions, learning topics, perceived ability to concentrate and differences in motivation. We stress the importance of reflection on learning in order to raise pupils’ awareness of their outdoor learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Outdoor learning
• learning in nature
• environmental education
• nature school
• interview study

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all the pupils who participated in the study. We would also like to thank Emma Sjölind and Lilly Vähäkangas for collecting the data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pia Sjöblom

Pia Sjöblom has a PhD in environmental education and works as a university lecturer in biology and geography education at the Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies at Åbo Akademi University in Finland.

Maria Svens

Maria Svens is a PhD student at the Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies at Åbo Akademi University in Finland. She is also a nature school teacher at Kvarkens naturskola. Her research interests are outdoor teaching and learning in natural settings.