Nature in the Classroom: Is It Time to Teach Outdoors?
As soon as the measures to ease lockdown restrictions were announced, the idea of a school where classes would be held outdoors began to take shape. Several opinion pieces called for schools to open up to the community and hold classes outdoors. With the implementation of strict health protocols, this outdoor school became both a “healthy and beneficial solution” and a symbol of regained freedom.
Sylvain Wagnon, University of Montpellier
This movement toward connecting with nature is not new. It is a long-standing, international educational trend that is currently experiencing a genuine resurgence of interest. So has the time come to move from theory to practice, from experimentation to widespread adoption, and thereby establish a new relationship between human beings and their environment within education?
Nature and Well-being
The benefits of children connecting with nature are numerous and have been recognized by many studies. The past few months have shown us just how vital a connection with nature is. Is this simply a temporary initiative following the lifting of lockdown restrictions, or is it the beginning, as Moina Fauchier-Delavigne and Mathieu Chereau have written, of a green revolution in education?
Spending time in nature is essential not only to a child’s health but also to their well-being. Playing, observing, running, singing, listening, and smelling—all these activities in nature help children develop independence and self-confidence. They foster a deeper connection with themselves and their surroundings. Being in nature influences our behavior and emotions.
From an educational perspective, its psychological benefits are reflected not only in behavior but also in cognitive development, as the child’s needs and interests are taken into account.
While still in their infancy in France, there is a wealth of scientific research on this topic in English-speaking countries. Katherine Mycock’s work demonstrates, with regard to Great Britain, the importance of learning in nature for child development. In France, interest in this alternative form of education—as opposed to traditional schooling—has been growing for the past decade.
Practical knowledge
We can speak of nature-based education, the goal being to reconnect children with the environment. Exploring the natural world is a way to move beyond purely book-based learning and apply that knowledge to engage with the environment through one’s senses, body, and mind.
Outdoor education aims to foster hands-on exploration to raise young children’s awareness of nature. Children play, climb trees, and build things. These are experiences that already exist at summer camps or in Scouting, but here they take on an academic character. Knowledge not only leads to exploration and social interaction but also to the acquisition of a wide range of skills in math, vocabulary, and scientific, geographical, historical, or artistic understanding.
“Luxembourg: A Preschool Has Set Up Shop in a Forest” (Télé Matin, 2017).
Today, these outdoor activities are also seen as important for well-being, given that a sedentary lifestyle is leading to an increase in health problems such as hyperactivity, anxiety, obesity, and stress.
Several principles unite the schools that make this choice:
- the concept of the pleasure that nature brings to children
- a commitment to a well-rounded education that takes into account the various facets of a person’s character
- the idea of developing a relationship with one's surroundings.
Historical precedents
Ever since Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, educational reformers have emphasized the importance of nature in children’s harmonious development. Early20th-century proponents of progressive education, such as Freinet and Decroly, theorized about this “school of life,” in which students should step outside the classroom to observe, experiment, and understand.
In the early20th century, outdoor schools represented a European educational movement that sought to open up school architecture to the outdoors and to develop teaching methods connected to nature. The current exhibition on the Suresnes outdoor school highlights the architectural and educational innovations of this type of school.
Thomas Brenac/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA
Forest schools and outdoor education programs now form a structured global network. As early as the 1920s, schools in the United States were already making nature the very reason for their existence. Forest schools are experiencing steady growth in Europe, primarily in Germanic and Scandinavian countries. In Denmark, the concept of forest schools has become an integral part of the curriculum for preschool-aged children (under seven).
Over the past decade, a national program has been established in Great Britain, and the country now has more than 140 schools designated as forestry schools.
In France, nature-based schools are still developing slowly. The “nature-based education” movement seeks to formalize educational experiences that are grounded in nature. Since 2018, several schools have joined this movement.
Eco-friendly Schools
Beyond introducing students to sustainable development, environmental awareness, and respect for the environment—topics now integral to school curricula— eco-citizen schools engage students in concrete actions, such as removing asphalt and replanting vegetation in schoolyards. For its part, the Eco-Schools network represents several thousand schools that, since 2005, have been working to develop specific skills in the areas of sustainable development and education.
Introduction to the Eco-Schools Network.
The challenge lies in moving beyond mere talk of connecting with nature and actually implementing interdisciplinary outdoor education practices. Pilot programs are underway in the public school system. Schools in the Doubs region are developing “open-air” practices, and advocates on the ground are championing these approaches.
Bringing children closer to nature and the environment means approaching education in a profoundly different way. The health crisis, concerns about the future, and the need to act on the ecological transition all provide a favorable context and opportunities for “outdoor schooling.” Will the various stakeholders in education—schools, parents, and teachers—recognize this for the sake of children’s futures and undertake a genuine educational reform based on harmony between human beings and their environment?
Sylvain Wagnon, Professor of Education, School of Education, University of Montpellier
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Readthe original article.