Concerns for Safety and the Effectiveness of the Outdoor Learning Environment - Dissertation Example

The provision of outdoor learning activities has become a critical issue for all school settings around the world. Indeed, outdoor learning activities have been proved to be a key tool for increasing the learning abilities of children of different ages. In practice though, the provision of outdoor learning faces many barriers. The continuously increased concerns for the health and safety of children and teenagers seem to be the key reason for this phenomenon. Many researchers have tried to identify and explain the involvement of safety as a factor influencing outdoor learning.

The explanations given in regard to this problem seem to be differentiated. Each researcher tends to use different criteria for explaining the increased role of safety in influencing outdoor learning. The current study aims to highlight the key criteria used for explaining the relationship between safety and outdoor learning. In this context, an extension has been made in regard to the role of safety in delaying the development of outdoor learning. From this point of view, this study is quite valuable summarizing contradicting views in regard to the intervention of safety in the provision of outdoor learning.

At the same time, this study presents the current status of outdoor learning and its relationship with safety. This fact also increases the value of the study, taking into consideration the fact that most studies published in regard to this issue are over 5 years old. Most important, it seems that there is no study focusing specifically on this issue, i.e. the relationship between safety and outdoor learning. All existing studies refer to a variety of aspects of outdoor learning, including safety.

In other words, this study serves two critical needs: a) presentation of the different views on the role of safety in designing and providing outdoor learning, b) presentation of the current status of outdoor learning and its relationship with safety.