The relationship between environmental, outdoor and field education: A study in rural communities

Abstract

Based on sociocultural constructivist theory, the purpose of this study is to understand the experiences, cognitive learning, and personal developments of a group of postgraduate students in environmental science and engineering who completed a six-week-long summer field research and outdoor education program. With a qualitative design, interviews, focus groups, remarkable item sharing, and diaries from 20 participants. The results indicate that learning from and observing nature, the balance between humans, animals, and nature, and transferring environmental protection knowledge and practice were the three key themes. Also, two subthemes observation to practice and cognitive knowledge, and sustainability arose from the participants’ outdoor education program experiences. The outcomes of this study provide recommendations to university administrators, secondary school teachers, government departments, policymakers, and researchers aiming to establish and host field research and outdoor education programs to teenage and university students in order to build up a sense of environment and environmental protection.