SCOOL (School contexts of outdoor learning) scale development

Time in nature has well-documented benefits for children’s health, wellbeing, and cognitive and social development. Schools have the potential to offer equitable access to nature through outdoor learning, yet the roles of teachers in facilitating outdoor learning remains under-researched. This research used a sequential mixed-methods approach to develop and validate the School Contexts of Outdoor Learning (SCOOL) scale, based on an ecological model of outdoor learning. SCOOL aims to capture enablers and barriers to outdoor learning at three levels: the individual teacher, the school environment, and national educational context. Data were collected from 516 teachers recruited through the online platform Prolific. Inclusion criteria required participants to be UK residents currently working in primary or secondary education. The sample included teachers across all educational phases, from early years to tertiary (ages 3 to 18). A follow-up survey was distributed two weeks later to 265 participants who had identified as working in primary schools, aligning with the target population for the scale. Responses to the second survey were capped to 200 due to resource constraints. Data for the first survey were collected in late September 2023 and data for the follow-up survey in early October 2023. Ethical approval was granted by the School of Psychology Research Ethics Committee.<br>