Schools are increasingly partnering with outdoor education providers to address growing educational demands for hands-on STEM learning and social and emotional skill development. Using the Eisenhardt case study method, we developed an empirically based framework designed to guide school staff, outdoor education providers, and policymakers in building strong outdoor education partnerships. The framework addresses key factors, including the need for distinctive educational experiences, mutual goal satisfaction, a partnership steward, operational and logistical fit, and the trust of parents and caregivers. Implications for educational leadership and policy development are discussed, including how policy can strengthen these types of collaborations.
AllanJ. F.DoranA.JonesR.FarrellS. (2024). Building resilience and well-being for post-covid adolescents through outdoor adventure. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 25, 1–27. http://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2024.2312920
2.
ArslantaşÇ. N.BavlıB. (2017). School-based experiential outdoor education: A neglected necessity. Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 40(1), 58–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2022.2143385
BeckerC.LauterbachG.SpenglerS.DettweilerU.MessF. (2017). Effects of regular classes in outdoor education settings: A systematic review on students’ learning, social and health dimensions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(5), 485. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14050485
6.
BlankM. J.JacobsonR.MelavilleA. (2012). Achieving results through community school partnerships: How district and community leaders are building effective, sustainable relationships. Center for American Progress.
BryanJ.WilliamsJ. M.GriffinD. (2020). Fostering educational resilience and opportunities in urban schools through equity-focused school–family–community partnerships. Professional School Counseling, 23(1_part_2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759x19899179
9.
BurnsR. C.JanowiczL.SmaldoneD.PierskallaC.MoreiraJ. C. (2023). Impact of an adventure geology STEM camp on outdoor self-efficacy. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 19(4), e2315. http://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/13722
10.
California Department of Education. (n.d.). California outdoor schools: Connecting students to nature. California Department of Education. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/pl/oeecosa.asp
11.
CamassoM. J.JagannathanR. (2018). Improving academic outcomes in poor urban schools through nature-based learning. Cambridge Journal of Education, 48(2), 263–277. http://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2017.1324020
12.
CarmichaelC.McColeD. (2014). Understanding motivations of potential partners to develop a public outdoor recreation center in an urban area. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 7–8, 55–64. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2014.09.001
13.
ChafetzJ. S. (1978). A primer on the construction and testing of theories in sociology. F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc.
14.
CorcoranR. P.CheungA. C.KimE.XieC. (2018). Effective universal school-based social and emotional learning programs for improving academic achievement: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 50 years of research. Educational Research Review, 25, 56–72. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2017.12.001
15.
DeWittJ.ArcherL. (2017). Participation in informal science learning experiences: The rich get richer?. International Journal of Science Education, Part B, 7(4), 356–373.
16.
DonaldsonG. W.DonaldsonL. E. (1958). Outdoor education: A definition. Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, 29(5), 17–63. http://doi.org/10.1080/00221473.1958.10630353
17.
DonisonL.HalsallT. (2023). 'I'd rather learn outside because nature can teach you so many more things than being inside': Outdoor learning experiences of young children and educators. Journal of Childhood, Education & Society, 4(3), 373–390.
18.
DymentJ. E. (2005). Green school grounds as sites for outdoor learning: Barriers and opportunities. International Research in Geographical & Environmental Education, 14(1), 28–45.
19.
EisenhardtK. M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550. http://doi.org/10.2307/258557
20.
EisenhardtK. M. (2021). What is the Eisenhardt method, really?Strategic Organization, 19(1), 147–160. http://doi.org/10.1177/1476127020982866
21.
EisenhardtK. M.GraebnerM. E. (2007). Theory building from cases: Opportunities and challenges. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1), 25–32. http://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.24160888
22.
FangB.B.LuF. J.GillD. L.LiuS. H.ChyiT.ChenB. (2021). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of outdoor education programs on adolescents’ self-efficacy. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 128(5), 1932–1958. https://doi.org/10.1177/00315125211022709
23.
FinneyC. (2014). Black faces, white spaces: Reimagining the relationship of African Americans to the great outdoors. UNC Press Books.
24.
FordP. M.PayneP. G. (1986). The effects of two outdoor education programs on knowledge and attitudes of selected sixth graders. Bradford Papers Annual, 1, 11–18.
25.
GerminaroK.DunnE.PolkK. D.de VriesH. G.DaughertyD.JonesJ. (2022). Diversity in outdoor education: Discrepancies in SEL across a school overnight program. Journal of Experiential Education, 45(3), 256–275. http://doi.org/10.1177/10538259211040185
26.
GlaserB. G. (1965). The constant comparative method of qualitative analysis. Social Problems, 12(4), 436–445.
27.
GriffithsM. (2000). Collaboration and partnership in question: Knowledge, politics and practice. Journal of Education Policy, 15(4), 383–395. https://doi.org/10.1080/026809300413400
28.
GustafssonP. E.SzczepanskiA.NelsonN.GustafssonP. A. (2012). Effects of an outdoor education intervention on the mental health of schoolchildren. Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 12(1), 63–79. http://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2010.532994
29.
HamiltonL.GrossB. (2021). How has the pandemic affected students' social-emotional well-being? A review of the evidence to date. Center on Reinventing Public Education.
30.
HembyT. L.PowellR. B.SternM. J. (2024). Availability and distribution of environmental education field trip programs for adolescent students in the US: a national study of spatial accessibility. Environmental Education Research, 30(2), 214–234.
JamesJ. K.WilliamsT. (2017). School-based experiential outdoor education: A neglected necessity. Journal of Experiential Education, 40(1), 58–71. http://doi.org/10.1177/1053825916676190
33.
LangleyA.AbdallahC. (2015). Templates and turns in qualitative studies of strategy and management. In LangleyA.AbdallahC. (Eds.), Research methods for strategic management. Routledge.
34.
LeungL. (2015). Validity, reliability, and generalizability in qualitative research. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 4(3), 324–327. http://.doi.org/10.4103/2249-4863.161306
35.
LiebermanG. A.HoodyL. L. (1998). Closing the achievement gap: Using the environment as an integrating context for learning. Results of a nationwide study. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED428943
MannJ.GrayT.TruongS.BrymerE.PassyR.HoS.SahlbergP.WardK.BentsenP.CurryC. (2022). Getting out of the classroom and into nature: A systematic review of nature-specific outdoor learning on school children’s learning and development. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 877058. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.877058
38.
Martil-de CastroW. (1999). Grounding environmental education in the lives of urban students. Pathways: The Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education, 11(2), 15–17.
McQuaidR. W. (2010). Theory of organizational partnerships: Partnership advantages, disadvantages and success factors. In The new public governance? (pp. 143–164). Routledge.
41.
MeighanH. L.RubensteinE. D. (2018). Outdoor learning into schools: A synthesis of literature. Career and Technical Education Research, 43(2), 161–177. http://doi.org/10.5328/cter43.2.161
42.
MygindL.KjeldstedE.HartmeyerR.MygindE.BøllingM.BentsenP. (2019). Mental, physical and social health benefits of immersive nature-experience for children and adolescents: A systematic review and quality assessment of the evidence. Health & Place, 58, 102136. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.05.014
OberleE.ZeniM.MundayF.BrussoniM. (2021). Support factors and barriers for outdoor learning in elementary schools: A systemic perspective. American Journal of Health Education, 52(5), 251–265. https://doi.org/10.1080/19325037.2021.1955232
45.
O’FarrellP.LiuH.-L. (2020). Gateway to outdoors: Partnership and programming of outdoor education centers in urban areas. Education Sciences, 10(11), 340. http://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10110340
46.
OsborneS. (2002). Public-private partnerships: Theory and practice in international perspective (1st ed., Vol. 19). Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203207116
47.
Oregon State University Extension Service. (2022). Outdoor school biennial report: Meeting community needs 2020–2022. https://outdoorschool.oregonstate.edu
48.
Outdoor School Law (2015). S.B. 439, 78th Oregon Legislative Assembly.
49.
OzierL. (2018). Learning landscapes: The education spectrum from camps to classrooms. Journal of Youth Development, 13(1-2), 4–13. https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2018.612
50.
PaisleyK.FurmanN.SibthorpJ.GookinJ. (2008). Student learning in outdoor education: A case study from the National Outdoor Leadership School. Journal of Experiential Education, 30(3), 201–222. https://doi.org/10.1177/105382590703000302
51.
PallaisA. (2020, October). Children’s outdoor bill of rights bring leaders, residents together. Children & Nature Network.
52.
ParisD. (2012). Culturally sustaining pedagogy: A needed change in stance, terminology, and practice. Educational Researcher, 41(3), 93–97. http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X12441244
53.
PeacockJ.BowlingA.FinnK.McInnisK. (2021). Use of outdoor education to increase physical activity and science learning among low-income children from urban schools. American Journal of Health Education, 52(2), 92–100. http://doi.org/10.1080/19325037.2021.1877222
54.
PowerE.HughesS.CotterD.CannonM. (2020). Youth mental health in the time of COVID-19. Irish journal of psychological medicine, 37(4), 301–305. https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2020.84
55.
PriestS. (1986). Redefining outdoor education: A matter of many relationships. The Journal of Environmental Education, 17(3), 13–15. http://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.1986.9941413
56.
RickinsonM. (2004). A review of research on outdoor learning. National Foundation for Educational Research.
SchmittT. R. (2005). Teachers' perceptions of value and effects of outdoor education during an age of accountability (Doctoral dissertation, Loyola University Chicago).
60.
SternM. J.WrightM. E.PowellR. B. (2012). Motivating participation in national park service curriculum-based education programs. Visitor Studies, 15(1), 28–47.
WallsJ.RyuJ.FairchildL.JohnsonJ. (2021). Contexts of belonging: Toward a multilevel understanding of caring and engagement in schools. Educational Policy, 35(5), 748–780.
63.
WalshJ. (2004). Partnership theory and practice. In Partnerships for effective local development (pp. 7–28). CREADEL PUBLICATION Nr. 2.
64.
WestK.(2018, November 18). NatureBridge takes the classroom outdoors: Inspires teachers and students through discovery. Clearing Magazine. https://clearingmagazine.org/archives/13946
65.
YinR. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (Vol. 5). Sage.
