Can an outdoor learning environment improve children’s academic attainment? A quasi-experimental mixed methods study in Bangladesh

Matluba Khan, Sarah McGeown, Simon Bell

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

The present study adopted a quasi-experimental mixed method approach to investigate the influence of an improved school ground on children’s academic performance. In total, 123 children from two (intervention and control) primary schools in Bangladesh participated. In the intervention school, a barren school ground was redesigned with several behaviour settings (e.g., gardens and amphitheatre) for teaching and learning. Treatment group children (n=29) received math and science classes outdoors, while a comparison group (n=32) received usual indoor classes. A control school with no changes to the outdoor environment was included (n=62). The redesigned school ground was associated with higher levels of academic attainment. Furthermore, all intervention schoolchildren perceived more opportunities to explore in the redesigned school ground. Qualitative insights suggest the diverse settings provided more opportunities to explore, experiment and work collaboratively. These results highlight the potential for school ground design to contribute to improvement of children’s academic attainment in developing countries
Original languageEnglish
Article number001391651986086
Pages (from-to)1079-1104
JournalEnvironment & Behavior
Volume52
Issue number10
Early online date11 Jul 2019
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 11 Jul 2019

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • outdoor learning
  • primary school ground
  • quasi-experiment
  • behavior settings
  • academic attainment

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