Children’s perceptions on the benefits of school nature field trips

ABSTRACT

Numerous publications demonstrate that outdoor and nature-based education benefit school children both physically, cognitively, emotionally and socially and may also promote pro-environmental behaviour. This study assesses the perceptions of 22 students aged 11 to 12 years old after a nature field trip. Such students attended a state-funded primary school and participated in an integrated school programme which aimed to promote environmental awareness and to help children value the natural and cultural heritage of their surroundings. After interviewing the school children in focus groups and analysing data through a coding process and comparison system within an interpretative paradigm, the results illustrate that contribution to field trips benefit children mostly emotionally and socially, while cognitive outcomes are less apparent. These results are particularly relevant in multicultural contexts similar to the one studied.

KEYWORDS:

• Primary school
• nature field trips
• outdoor education
• multicultural context
• focus group interviews

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the 22 students interviewed for their willingness to participate in this study, and the school teachers and staff for opening the school to the researcher and facilitating the space and the time to carry out the study. We are also very grateful to the anonymous reviewers and the editor of Education 3-13 journal.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Rosa M. Medir http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9548-4671

Additional information

Funding

This study has been possible thanks to the funding by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Gobierno de España through the project [EDU2012-39027-C03-03].