Barriers to utilizing school outdoor spaces: exploring experiences of high school teachers
- WCU Author/Contributor (non-WCU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Erin Jacob Waddell (Creator)
- Institution
- Western Carolina University (WCU )
- Web Site: http://library.wcu.edu/
- Advisor
- Andrew Bobilya
Abstract: School outdoor learning spaces provide many mental and physical benefits for students, such as better physical health, improved concentration, and decreased stress. These spaces may also provide authentic, real-world opportunities to interact with what is being taught in class. Yet, even knowing the many benefits, teachers may not have the opportunity to conduct lessons in these outdoor spaces due to personal or systemic barriers. Elementary and middle school teachers’ perceptions of barriers to utilizing these spaces have been well explored. However, there appears to be a lack of research looking at high school teachers’ perceptions of the barriers they face. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify barriers high school teachers encounter in the utilization of their school outdoor learning spaces and provide strategies to minimize or overcome them. While there were similarities between barriers K-12 teachers encountered, results showed that there were differences between barriers that could affect how high school teachers overcome them. Better knowledge on these barriers along with teacher strategies can play a major role in increasing school outdoor learning spaces.
Barriers to utilizing school outdoor spaces: exploring experiences of high school teachers
PDF (Portable Document Format)
1068 KB
Created on 4/1/2023
Views: 254
Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 2023
- Keywords
- barriers, environmental education, high school teachers, outdoor spaces
- Subjects
- Experiential learning
- Environmental education
- High school teachers
- Outdoor learning laboratories
- Education, Secondary