Outdoor Science Education and Child Well-being in Primary Schools: Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial on Learning, Connection to Nature, Eco-anxiety, and Stress
Recruiting · NCT07147634 · Interventional (participants receive a specific treatment) · Lead sponsor: Université de Sherbrooke
View the official record on ClinicalTrials.gov →Interventions studied
What this trial is about
The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to learn if an outdoor science education intervention can improve primary school students' learning and well-being when compared to an indoor classroom-based science education intervention. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Will students who engage in outdoor science learning produce higher-quality observations of living organisms than students who receive instruction exclusively in an indoor, classroom-based context, when both groups are invited to make observations in an unfamiliar natural environment? * Does an outdoor education intervention embedded within the science curriculum contribute to children's connection to nature, eco-anxiety and stress? Participants will: * Receive a science education intervention 2h/week for a total of 5 weeks, either indoors or outdoors * Answer questionnaires before and after the intervention * Participate in a field day-trip after the intervention where they will be asked to observe living organisms.
Who can take part
Inclusion criteria
- Primary schools need to have a deprivation index equal to or superior to 1 (with 10 being the maximum) and be located in Montreal, Longueuil or Laval (QC).
- Teachers have to show some interest in outdoor education but are not obliged to have already done some before in order to be included.
- Only 5th and 6th grade teachers are included.
- Primary schools with two teachers interested in participating in the project.
Exclusion criteria
- Alternative schools or those welcoming recently arrived non-Francophone students are not included.
Where it is running
1 location listed.
- Greater Montreal area (Laval, Longueuil, Montreal) - Montreal, Quebec, Canada