Background
Children's and young people's relationship with nature is changing. At the same time, primary and lower secondary education faces a range of societal challenges in which understanding nature, sustainability, and human-environment relationships is becoming increasingly important. Research suggests that encounters with nature can contribute to academic learning, well-being, and Bildung, particularly when these experiences are connected to subject-specific teaching and learning.
Although many schools work with school-based outdoor learning and teaching beyond the classroom, there is still a need for knowledge about how Nature Bildung can be meaningfully integrated into school subjects and everyday educational practice.
Purpose
The project Nature Bildung Across School Subjects aims to develop and investigate how Nature Bildung can be strengthened through teaching in primary and lower secondary schools. The project focuses on how nature can become an integrated part of educational practice across subjects and grade levels.
Through collaboration with teachers, school leaders, and teacher educators from three Danish teacher education programmes, the project develops, tests, and refines concrete teaching units and pedagogical approaches that can support students' relationship with nature.
Methods
The project is conducted as a co-creative research and development project in collaboration with seven public schools.
The work includes interviews, workshops, and collaborative development processes involving teachers, teacher educators, and other experts in school-based outdoor learning and Nature Bildung. The developed teaching units are tested and evaluated through observations and interviews.
The project forms part of a PhD project affiliated with the Centre for Understanding Human Relationships with the Environment (CUHRE) at the University of Southern Denmark and the Programme for Outdoor Pedagogy at VIA University College.
Timeline
The project runs from July 2026 to June 2029.
Funding
The project is funded by the Danish Outdoor Council (Friluftsrådet) with 1.886.039 DKK and the Aage V. Jensen Nature Foundation with 1.243.267 DKK.
Partners
University of Southern Denmark
VIA University College
Center for Children and Nature