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Description

This study explored the barriers and facilitators to outdoor learning and outdoor activities in a small K-12 case school in rural Maine. The case school was a positive outlier (PO), providing significant outdoor learning and activity opportunities to all students during the school day. Outdoor learning and outdoor pursuits in school settings can increase student physical activity, provide opportunities for students to reap the mental and emotional benefits from time in nature, and help them make important connections to local culture (Tremblay et al., 2015; Roberts et al., 2020). The positive outlier methodological approach sought to uncover reasons for the case school’s PO status and find practical strategies that could be useful to other rural schools seeking to increase outdoor learning. The PO case school was identified following surveys of administrators and physical education teachers of all K-12 inclusive schools in Maine. The PO school took part in the next phase of the study, including multiple interviews with educators and administrators, a site visit, and administration of two components of the Rural Active Living Assessment (Yousefian et al., 2010). A case narrative for the PO was created from the collected data. We found that incorporating outdoor learning time during the regular school day and curriculum was an important facilitator. Additionally, providing outdoor learning related professional development opportunities and curricular connections for teachers, strategizing long-term program sustainability, and connecting outdoor curricula to the local culture were critical in supporting this work.

Publication Date

10-28-2024

Outdoor Learning in Rural Maine Schools: Lessons from a Positive Outlier Case Study

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