Postgraduate Researchers

PhD Research Student - Centre for Psychology, Education & Emotional Intelligence

Project Title: Outdoor education in Irish primary schools 

Project Abstract: 

Despite a recent increase in funding being provided for outdoor learning in Irish primary schools, research and practice are still somewhat limited in the Republic of Ireland. To address the gap in current knowledge, this research reviewed the current practice of outdoor education in Irish primary schools. The primary aims of the study were to identify the extent to which outdoor education is employed to meet learning outcomes in Irish primary schools and explore how practice, school environment and other influential factors guide primary school teachers in their use and development of the pedagogy of outdoor education. Specifically, the attitudes and opinions of primary school teachers as to the efficacy, the challenges and the best means of providing outdoor education in Irish primary schools, to meet curriculum outcomes, will be examined. Considering current environmental introduction and the need to adjust teaching pedagogies as a consequence of this, the necessity for research of this kind cannot be underestimated. Developing teaching and learning pedagogies and experiential learning theories to understand human connections between biodiversity and climate change are essential. A review of literature demonstrates the positive impact of being outdoors. A mixed-method sequential explanatory research design is being employed in this study, which gives a voice to primary school teachers, teacher trainers and curriculum policy advisor, to discuss the importance of outdoor education in Irish primary schools and the implementation of necessary supports for primary school teachers. The findings through an online survey which was conducted with 379 Irish primary school teachers demonstrate that training, funding and whole school support are required to ensure outdoor education becomes sustainable and is fully incorporated into primary education curricula and teaching practice. Furthermore, semi-structured interviews with twelve primary school teachers, ten teacher trainer and a curriculum policy advisor provided insight into the depth of current support and challenges teachers face in implementing the curriculum in the outdoors.  

Supervisors: Dr Aiden Carthy, Dr Margaret O'Donoghue 

Orcid profile:  Michaela Omojola (0000-0002-8681-6435) - ORCID