Social/emotional function/development

Research has proven the positive impacts of residential outdoor environmental education (ROEE) programs on children and teen participants, however, ROEE programs can similarly impact emerging adult instructors. The programs offer a unique educationally and culturally immersive experience for instructors. Specifically, the experience of influence the identity of short-term ROEE instructors, those who work less than three months or for one season.

The primary goal of education for sustainability (EfS) is to create a more sustainable future by encouraging environmentally-conscious actions in students and developing more-informed citizens who are actively engaged in critical thinking. Though EfS is designed for students, EfS can be a whole-school approach in which all members of the community (e.g., teachers, parents, community members, and students) can engage with sustainability principles. Understanding a school's organizational culture can illuminate EfS best practices.

There are many benefits associated with outdoor field trips for students, including: increased ecological knowledge, connection to nature, cognitive skills, and student interest and motivation. Field trips are conducive for discovering information and exploring concepts outside of the classroom. However, educators may resist field trips for a variety of reasons, such as lack of funding, liability concerns, curriculum inflexibility due to focus on standardized testing, fear of poor student behavior, logistical challenges, and lack of time or training.

Personal and social development (PSD) is the growth of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in learners and is largely discussed as a key benefit of environmental education. PSD can include traits such as increased confidence, trust, teamwork, motivation, social awareness, and pro-environmental behaviors in students. Many studies have used qualitative data to support the long-held claim that outdoor adventure education (OAE) helps participants develop PSD. However, there is growing demand to prove OAE's success in developing PSD quantitatively.

Climate change is a wicked problem that evokes a range of emotional responses, from support (believing we need to and can change the future) to apathy (believing there is no hope to change the future) to denial (firmly believing that climate change is not happening). Prior research has suggested that creating space for students to react emotionally while simultaneously encouraging teachers to responsibly coach those reactions should be a part of climate change education to better handle and solve environmental issues.

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is a framework that was developed by the United Nations for environmental educators around the world. The overall goal of ESD is to train students to think with interdisciplinarity and balance human dimensions like economy, society, and culture with Earth's natural dimensions when making development-related decisions. Quality education (QE) endeavors to develop individuals by providing valuable life skills and empowering students to reach their maximum potential.

Environmental education plays a crucial role in closing the gap between humans and the more-than-human world. Despite best efforts to close the gap, most environmental education techniques stem from traditional pedagogies that do not explore the holistic experience, which focuses on teaching and learning through nurturing the soul. The lack of this holistic approach disregards the whole person (intellectual, spiritual, physical, social, emotional), and can deepen the divide between humans and the environment.

Environmental education is rooted in providing a space for children to play and explore outside while learning and becoming more connected to themselves and the natural world. Though the benefits of nature-based education (NBE) are well researched and understood, the role of gender in environmental education and the proliferation of gendered norms through it are less so.

Stories are a powerful way to share information with children. Recent research has shown that storytelling may promote connection with nature, empathy, and environmental values. The authors of this study believe that stories about sustainability have the ability to promote pro-environmental behavior in children, yet these themes are not widely available in children's literature. This study explored whether a folk story could be used to teach children about the environment, as well as how the story made the children feel.

Successful environmental education (EE) increases knowledge of climate change (CC), however little attention has been paid to the emotional impact of this knowledge. In this article, the author coins the phrase learning to live-with climate change, which is an understanding of the interconnectedness of all things, including how individuals are enmeshed with both climate change causes and impacts. This process of learning to live-with is holistic and goes beyond simply gaining knowledge about climate change or promoting behavior change.