“It is easier to learn when you are out”: an ethnographic study of teaching science subjects through outdoor learning at compulsory school

Abstract Previous research has shown that feeling engaged in schoolwork is crucial for pupils to achieve, but engagement and motivation decline with age in many countries. To address these issues, we consider it is important that how we conceive learning include opportunities for learning outside the classroom. This study aimed to explore pupils’ experiences of being taught science subjects using outdoor learning, including the learning they achieved. The research was conducted using an ethnographic research design, a useful method for research in this type of environment where a greater understanding of teaching and learning processes is sought, enabling researchers to explore events more deeply. The study took place during one school year and was conducted for pupils in grade 6 in a school on Sweden’s west coast. This study provides unique insights into how these teacher efforts to offer outdoor learning opportunities have improved pupils’ willingness to participate. Likewise, how the pupils have developed knowledge of and used scientific concepts and skills in different contexts became visible when the pupils were allowed to try, explore, be creative, and observe in real life contexts in various places. In addition, the pupils have been given opportunities to ask, discuss and reflect on questions about various phenomena and processes in nature and humans. From the pupils’ point of view, this has contributed to their easier understanding of the content of the science subjects. These results significantly improve science literacy for science subjects in a school context (Holbrook & Rannikmae, 2009).