Social/emotional function/development

Education for sustainable development, or ESD, encourages individuals to become more sustainably minded in their behaviors and values. Teaching methods that utilize open-ended pedagogies, such as ESD, are known as “transformative.” Transformative teaching methods allow individuals to personalize their understanding of a topic. In discussing sustainability, however, institutions of higher education tend to focus on knowledge and skills, or “transmissive” methods, fostering a disconnect between what they are learning and possible applications to their lifestyle.

Research shows that outdoor play is associated with positive emotional, social, physical, and cognitive development. Children who spend time playing outdoors, particularly in nature, are more physically active, less inclined toward hyperactivity and inattention, and mentally healthier. Given the benefits of nature play and its importance for childhood development, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that preschool age children get at least 60-90 minutes of outdoor play per day.

Studies show that spending time outdoors promotes holistic health and facilitates healthy cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development among children. Spending time outdoors can also foster empathy for wildlife, inspire love for the natural world, and promote nature connectedness. Given these benefits, the outdoor education (OE) movement—which aims to foster environmental stewardship and enhance learning and development—has taken root in countries around the world. Forest School (FS) is a branch of OE that focuses primarily on early childhood education.

Environmental education (EE) continues to grapple with how best to develop youth leaders in sustainability. Previous research indicates that assumptions around a direct relationship between attitudes and behavior change is too simplistic. Instead, more recent literature finds that learning is complex and social. This study explored whether and how a program for high school students promoted transformational learning and action competence through a participatory evaluation process.

Positive empathy is experiencing vicarious happiness or positive emotion when another person has a positive emotion. Though a relatively new branch of research, positive empathy has been linked to prosocial behaviors and, as such, could be an important pathway to sustainable development. When prosocial behaviors—such as recycling, using alternative transportation, or choosing to purchase locally and organically grown foods—happen on a community or societal scale, they contribute to sustainable development efforts.

Developed at a young age, mental resilience is the ability to “bounce back” from difficult situations, cope and adapt in times of stress and uncertainty, and work through unanticipated challenges. Research indicates that childhood anxiety is rising while perceived resilience of people overall is declining. Previous studies have found evidence of heightened happiness and life satisfaction as well as reduced stress and anxiety with increased time in nature. Nature preschools integrate environmental practices into their educational programming.

Throughout history, philosophers, scientists, and many others have noted the positive impacts of nature on human experience. Extensive research in EE has been devoted to proving the benefits of exposure to nature, including increases in prosocial behaviors, such as trust, generosity, and empathy. Various theories exist about whether beauty is objective (based on properties of an object) or subjective (based on human perception and interpretation).

Empathy is the capacity to understand another person's perspective and feel what that person feels. This is a learned trait that can be nurtured (but also hindered) through life experiences. Positive empathy has been linked to prosocial behaviors, such as volunteering time or helping someone in need, and may be an important driver of pro-environmental actions. Research suggests that animal-oriented learning institutions—including zoos, aquariums, sanctuaries, and nature centers—may be uniquely positioned to spark and nurture people's empathy for animals.

A long-term goal of environmental education programs is often to encourage participants to live more sustainably. Research shows that people often cite their extracurricular or free-time experiences as more influential than their time within the classroom. Experiences in these free spaces may be more impactful because of their ability to evoke stronger attachment and emotion. These experiences may also play a deeper role in forming memories, which can affect present-day actions.

Outdoor education is a complex concept that holds different meanings for different people. For some it connotes wilderness adventuring; for others it is synonymous with environmental education. Regardless of definitional differences, practitioners agree that the environment shapes values and influences cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development. More specifically, many believe that outdoor education is a powerful way to instill pro-environmental values, foster nature connectedness, and inspire sustainable behaviors.