Abstract
During the epidemic of COVID-19 Slovenian schools practiced distance learning. Through everyday practice, we encountered some forms of outdoor education in distance learning despite the few directions and encouragement of any kind during the COVID-19 epidemic. In this master’s thesis, we had an opportunity to gain insight into the practice of outdoor education during distance learning.
In the theoretical part, it is defined what outdoor education is, its characteristics, and how it can be implemented. We presented the distance learning approach, and how it worked in Slovenian and other countries’ education during the COVID-19 epidemic. Summarizing the analysis of distance learning in Slovenian education and its influence on pupils and experts’ suggestions about outdoor education, we evaluated the effect it had during the COVID-19 epidemic and later. The empirical part consists of our research, based on our questionnaire. We researched whether teachers implemented outdoor education in the first and second triad of elementary school, how often, and how. We also researched whether there is a difference in the frequency of outdoor education between the first and second triad of elementary school, the location of the school, the experiences of teachers and their professional development, and the teachers’ hobbies concerning nature and environment. We collected examples of good practice and the obstacles teachers faced while teaching outdoor education during distance learning.
The results of our research showed that teachers of the first and second triad implemented outdoor education in distance learning more than expected and mostly in an indirect way. There were no statistically important differences between the first and second triads in frequency of usage or location of where the school is situated. There were also no statistically important differences between teachers’ years of practice or professional titles. The questionnaire provided us with many innovative implementations of outdoor education during distance learning and the obstacles the teachers faced. The purpose of our master’s degree is to encourage the implementation of outdoor education during distance learning and regular practice.
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