Research indicates that students frequently learn better when environmental education (EE) lessons take place outdoors, allowing students to engage directly with their surroundings. However, not all teachers have the opportunity to easily take their classes outside; if a school does not have its own green space, then the groups must travel to the nearest garden or park. Field trips can present logistical challenges, including long travel times, intensive planning, and disruptions to students' focus. The authors of this article hypothesized that schools located closer to an accessible green space would experience fewer of these challenges, and therefore have more frequent class trips to that space. By understanding how to best facilitate outdoor, hands-on learning opportunities, cities and schools can improve learning outcomes and increase students' environmental literacy.
This study was motivated by a conflict between residents and developers in Amsterdam. City developers promoted urban densification projects for the sake of sustainability, to limit urban sprawl and lower the energy required for transportation. Residents argued that these projects left too little green space throughout the city, lowering quality of life and restricting children's access to nature. The authors recognized that more evidence was needed to support residents' arguments, and to justify the protection of green spaces in cities everywhere. Therefore, this study investigates how a school's proximity to green space influences the likelihood that teachers will take students on outdoor field trips to teach about the environment.
The researchers interviewed teachers of environmentally-related topics, such as biology, chemistry, and geography. They met with one teacher from each of the secondary schools in Amsterdam and conducted a total of 42 interviews. During these interviews, the researchers asked about the frequency of field trips and the destinations of those trips, and subsequently measured interviewees' attitudes toward EE through a short questionnaire. The researchers then used GIS (Geographic Information Systems) analysis to map the distance between each school, the closest accessible green space, and the field trip destinations. They used statistical analyses to examine the relationships between distance to green space and trip frequency. The researchers then investigated whether the attitude data from the questionnaire could help explain the results and explored teachers' comments from the interviews for further insights.
The analysis supported the authors' hypothesis that schools located closer to green spaces tended to have more frequent field trips. Furthermore, all field trips, regardless of destination, were more frequent as well. To help explain this, the authors conducted more in-depth statistical analysis, and concluded that positive field trip experiences increase the likelihood that teachers would take students on more field trips in the future. In other words, when schools were located close to a green space, teachers were more likely to venture out on their first field trip, to have a positive experience on that trip, and to plan more trips to a variety of destinations. Additionally, the interview results suggest that new teachers are more likely to take field trips if their predecessors, or other teachers around them, already take frequent trips.
Amsterdam's urban planning and educational system may differ from other cities; more research would be needed to determine how well these results compare with other locations and contexts. Since the researchers only interviewed one teacher per school, greater variation may exist between classrooms than this study captured. Additionally, the study only examined secondary schools, whereas teachers in other grade levels may have different perceptions of EE and field trip habits.
Because proximity to green space significantly impacted teachers' likelihood of taking field trips, the authors recommend that city planners maintain green space near schools. Similarly, where possible, schools should incorporate green space on their grounds. The authors also suggest that schools encourage teachers to take their classes on field trips to nearby green spaces. Finally, teachers who already go on field trips should support and encourage their colleagues. Notably, the quality of the green space does not appear to be as important as its accessibility, suggesting that any green space is better than none.
The Bottom Line
One way for teachers to improve their students' environmental engagement and knowledge is to conduct lessons outdoors and in local green spaces. Yet logistical challenges often deter teachers from taking field trips. This study investigated whether teachers were more likely to take their classes on field trips if their school was located close to an accessible green space. The results suggest that a strong relationship exists between trip frequency and proximity to green space. Furthermore, researchers discovered that positive experiences with these trips reinforced teachers' likelihood to take trips to other destinations in the future. Therefore, the researchers recommend that city planners preserve green space near schools and that schools encourage their teachers to take class trips to local green spaces.