The implementation of Outdoor Education in Luxembourgish primary schools : How do Luxembourgish primary school teachers implement Outdoor Education and which factors influence their implementation of Outdoor Education?

Abstract: The present study adopted a quantitative method to explore Luxembourgish primary school teachers' practices of Outdoor Education, as well as their knowledge and opinions on this pedagogical concept. Additionally, the influence of diverse environmental and personal factors on the teachers' implementation of Outdoor Education was investigated. In this regard, an online questionnaire with 19 questions related to Outdoor Education was administrated and published. 238 primary school teachers from Luxembourg took part in this online survey and answered questions about Outdoor Education practices, previous experiences in this field, nature relatedness, attitudes towards Outdoor Education, resources to teach outside, willingness as well as self-perceived competence to practice Outdoor Education and possible measures to foster Outdoor Education practices in Luxembourg. Findings revealed that, even though Luxembourgish primary school teachers seem to acknowledge the numerous benefits related to Outdoor Education, their Outdoor Education practices are relatively limited. In Luxembourg, Outdoor Education mostly takes place in schoolyards or nearby forests and is usually oriented towards natural sciences or physical education. Regarding the influence of personal and environmental factors, the teachers' previous experiences in the field of Outdoor Education, their attitude towards this pedagogical method and the available resources to teach outside seem to influence the frequency of Outdoor Education practices. Consequently, teachers with positive attitudes towards Outdoor Education, previous experiences in this field and material and infrastructures suitable for this purpose show tendencies to resort to teaching in an outdoor environment more frequently. The findings from the present study might be of advantage in order to prepare teachers more effectively to teach in outdoor environments and consequently foster the implementation of Outdoor Education in Luxembourg.