Students in an outdoor class show improved social relations both at the time of participation and over a longer period of time

The aim of this case study was to explore conditions in udeskole (outdoor schooling) influencing the social relations among pupils in the third to ninth grades. Participants for this study were students in the “Nature Class” who were taught outside one day a week over a three-year period while they were in the third through fifth grade.

Five students and two teachers were interviewed seven years after the udeskole experience. This time distance allowed the researchers to investigate the influence of the outdoor teaching on the subsequent school years. The semi-structured face-to-face interviews -- conducted by one of the researchers -- were approximately 60 minutes in length and were recorded. Interview questions focused on the social relationships between pupils and between pupils and teachers and explored differences in experience between the indoor and outdoor settings. The questions also addressed differences between the 'Nature Class' period and the following years where schooling for the students consisted of only indoor teaching.

Play was one of the areas where differences were noted. Students' play during “Nature Class” tended to be more inclusive and continued at a higher age than students not participating in udeskole. As expressed by one of the teachers, classes not participating in udeskole were playing less and were instead just “hanging around.” Both teachers also indicated that “Nature Class” pupils played more often with different students than those they would normally choose at school. One of the students supported both of these play-related ideas by saying that she felt more free to play without social restrictions during “Nature Class” than she did during indoor classes. Social interactions during “Nature Class” also seemed to be more caring. Here, both context (the outdoor setting) and teacher involvement (which continued during breaks) seemed to make a difference.

Findings from this study indicate that udeskole -- when conducted at a level equivalent to the 'Nature Class' -- seems to improve the social relations among pupils both at the time of participation and over a longer period of time. Also identified through this study were six interdependent conditions supporting this improvement: play, interaction, participation, pupil-centered tasks, cooperation and engagement. According to the researchers, the duration of outdoor teaching might be important for the improved social relations during the 'Nature Class' period which, in turn, positively influenced the students' abilities to cooperate and their strong engagement in the subsequent school years.