Outdoors: Playing, Learning and Teaching
A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 2100
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Experiencing the outdoors is as boundless as the world itself. How experiencing the outdoors affects and impacts every human being presents a multitude of research questions to pursue. Research regarding the outdoor world has seen increased attention, in the form of learning experiences both formal (e.g., fieldwork) and informal (e.g., summer camp), therapy (e.g., forest bathing), and recreational outdoor pursuits (e.g., hiking). Research about these experiences may use qualitative and quantitative methods to measure and describe participants’ experiences, learning, and teaching effectiveness. We welcome you to submit a manuscript for publication in the Special Issue, “Outdoors: Playing, Learning and Teaching”. The impact of technology on experiencing the outdoors is an area ripe for exploration, including both purposeful use and non-use of technology while outdoors. Across the spectrum of ages, from preschool experiences to primary, secondary, and post-secondary education, undergraduate and graduate major emphasis of study, to adult and lifelong education, the outdoors presents a backdrop to explore playing, learning, and teaching.
Topics include, but are not limited to:
- Formal outdoor education, e.g., courses;
- Bringing the outdoors to the classroom, e.g., outdoor gardens;
- Outdoor education;
- Informal outdoor education, e.g., summer camp;
- Elderhostel in the outdoors, outward bound;
- Voluntary, recreational outdoor education, e.g., self-learning with phone “apps”;
- Travel groups, education, and leisure;
- Using technology in outdoor areas, e.g., mobile devices;
- Intentionally choosing not to use technology in outdoor areas.
Dr. Trina J. Kilty
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- outdoor learning
- experiential outdoor learning
- outdoor recreation
- outdoor experience
- teaching outdoors
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