Landscape Education at University: A Quasi-Experimental Study on the Effectiveness of an Outdoor Lab for Trainee Teachers

The European Landscape Convention of 2000 identifies landscape education as a fundamental action for the protection and enhancement of landscapes. Pedagogical literature emphasizes that landscape education should aim to foster a positive attitude towards the landscape and should be pursued through education “in” the landscape, conducted via field-based experiential strategies. This study examines the impact of a landscape education approach on the attitudes of primary school teachers in training towards the landscape. A quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test was conducted, involving an experimental group (N = 102) in an outdoor digital storytelling lab and a control group (N = 114) in an indoor edition. Pre-test results showed no significant differences between the two groups in attitudes toward rural/natural landscapes, urban landscapes, and active engagement with the landscape. Post-test results revealed significant increases in scores only for the experimental group. These findings suggest that active, field-based landscape education can promote an appreciation of landscapes among future teachers. Future research should investigate whether teachers can promote similar attitudes in their students using analogous teaching strategies.