Outdoor Science Education and Child Well-being in Primary Schools: Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial on Learning, Connection to Nature, Eco-anxiety, and Stress

Not Applicable

Recruiting

• Conditions: Healthy Children

• Registration Number: NCT07147634
• Lead Sponsor: Université de Sherbrooke

Brief Summary

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to learn if an outdoor science education intervention can improve primary school students' learning and well-being when compared to an indoor classroom-based science education intervention. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Will students who engage in outdoor science learning produce higher-quality observations of living organisms than students who receive instruction exclusively in an indoor, classroom-based context, when both groups are invited to make observations in an unfamiliar natural environment?

* Does an outdoor education intervention embedded within the science curriculum contribute to children's connection to nature, eco-anxiety and stress?

Participants will:

* Receive a science education intervention 2h/week for a total of 5 weeks, either indoors or outdoors

* Answer questionnaires before and after the intervention

* Participate in a field day-trip after the intervention where they will be asked to observe living organisms.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2025-08-15
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-08-22
• Study First Posted: 2025-08-29
• Status Verified: 2025-09
• Study Start: 2025-09-02
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-09-24
• Last Update Posted: 2025-09-30
• Primary Completion: 2026-11
• Study Completion: 2026-11-01

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 1000

Inclusion Criteria

• Primary schools need to have a deprivation index equal to or superior to 1 (with 10 being the maximum) and be located in Montreal, Longueuil or Laval (QC).
• Teachers have to show some interest in outdoor education but are not obliged to have already done some before in order to be included.
• Only 5th and 6th grade teachers are included.
• Primary schools with two teachers interested in participating in the project.

Exclusion Criteria

• Alternative schools or those welcoming recently arrived non-Francophone students are not included.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Score on the Scientific Observation Skills Rubric (0-25) in a Novel Environmental Context	After the 5-week intervention has ended, students will spend one day in a new environmental context (at the end of October) in order to make observations	Students' scientific observation skills will be assessed with a standardized observation rubric designed for elementary science education. After the 5-week intervention, each student will spend one day in a new environmental context (field activity at the end of October). Students will be asked to make a total of 5 oral observations of living organisms in this setting. Independent raters, trained in the use of the rubric, will evaluate the level of complexity of each scientific observation, by assigning a score ranging from 0 (lowest) to 5 (highest quality of scientific observation). The total score will range between 0 to 25 (highest). Higher scores indicate stronger scientific observation skills. Inter-rater agreement will be monitored to ensure reliability.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Connection to nature - Score on the Inclusion of Nature in Self Scale (0-7)	At baseline and immediately after the 5-week intervention has ended	Students' connection to nature will be assessed using the Inclusion of Nature in Self Scale (Schultz, 2001, as used in Braun \& Dierkes, 2016), a validated 1-item self-report questionnaire appropriate for culturally and ethnically diverse samples of children. The item is rated on a 7-point scale (1 = nature and self do not overlap at all to 7 = nature and self completely overlap). The total score ranges from 0 to 7, with higher scores indicating a stronger subjective connection to nature. The Inclusion of Nature in Self Scale will be administered at baseline and again immediately after the 5-week intervention.
Score on the Perceived Stress Scale for Children (PSS-C; range 0-39)	At baseline and immediately after the 5-week intervention has ended	Students' perceived stress will be assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale for Children (PSS-C), which is a standardized 13-item self-report questionnaire previously tested on a sample of Canadian children (White, 2014). Each item is rated on a 4-point Likert scale (0 = never to 3 = a lot). Scores are summed to produce a total ranging from 0 to 39, with higher scores indicating greater perceived stress. The questionnaire will be administered in class at baseline and immediately after the 5-week intervention.
Score on the 11-item Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS-13; range 0-33)	At baseline and immediately after the 5-week intervention has ended	Students' eco-anxiety will be assessed using the Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS-13; Hogg et al., 2021), a validated 11-item self-report questionnaire. Each item is rated on a 4-point Likert scale (0 = never to 3 = almost every day). Scores are summed to produce a total ranging from 0 to 33, with higher scores indicating greater subjective feelings of eco-anxiety. The HEAS-13 will be administered in class at baseline and immediately after the 5-week intervention.
Score on the Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale - School Version (range 0-36)	Baseline and immediately after the 5-week intervention	Students' satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs identified by Self-Determination Theory (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) will be assessed with a 9-item version of the Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale, adapted for children. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = almost never to 4 = almost always). Total scores range from 0 to 36, with higher scores indicating greater satisfaction of basic psychological needs.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Greater Montreal area (Laval, Longueuil, Montreal); 🇨🇦 Montreal, Quebec, Canada