Nature Deficit Disorder

Outdoor Learning

There is growing concern among parents and educators that sterile learning environments are detrimental to children’s ability to learn. In his 2005 book Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv coined the term “Nature Deficit Disorder,” which he claims is responsible for a wide range of behaviour problems, including ADHD. In response to his compelling argument that school children should be spending more time outside for the purpose of improving physical, emotional, social, and cognitive wellbeing, the No Child Left Inside Coalition (a pun on U.S. President Bush-era No Child Left Behind legislation), the Children and Nature Network, the Coalition for Education in the Outdoors, and other grassroots organizations have begun to spring up in the U.S. and elsewhere to promote outdoor education. Although the U.S. has yet to implement legislation promoting outdoor education (such as the proposed No Child Left Inside Act), in 2012 the U.S. Department of Education initiated “Green Ribbon Schools” awards in recognition of schools that are “taking outstanding steps to educate tomorrow’s environmental leaders, and demonstrating how sustainability and environmental awareness make sense for the health of our students and our country” (U.S. Department of Education, 2012).

Likewise in the U.K., concern over the diminishing outdoor learning opportunities for students has led to a call for ‘schools to make better use of the outdoor classroom as a context for teaching and learning’ (report for the Department of Education and Skills by Scott, Reid, & Jones, 2003). The National Foundation for Educational Research was subsequently commissioned to review the research on outdoor learning (see Rickinson et al., 2004). In 2006, the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom published its “Manifesto” launched by then Secretary of State in which it states that “We believe that every young person should experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of learning and development, whatever their age, ability, or circumstances” (p. 2). An evaluation of the effectiveness of outdoor learning experiences in the U.K. (Ofsted, 2008) found that “hands-on activities led to improved outcomes for pupils and students, including better achievement, standards, motivation, personal development and behaviour” as well as “examples of the positive effects of learning outside the classroom on young people who were hard to motivate.” A recent report by the National Trust (Moss, 2012) concluded that “children who learn outdoors know more, understand more, feel better, behave better, work more cooperatively and are physically healthier” (p. 9). Originating in Scandanavia in the 1950’s, Forest Schools have become increasingly popular in the U.K. (Maynard, 2007). Described by the Forest School England network as “an inspirational process that offers children, young people and adults regular opportunities to achieve, and develop confidence through hands-on learning in a woodlands environment,” case studies indicate that participation in Forest Schools positively impacts students’ self-esteem (O’Brien, 2006). A pilot study by Ridgers and Sayers (2010) further points to students at Forest Schools being more confident, have better social skills, and engaging in more physical activity following Forest School sessions.

School-based initiatives around the world that incorporate environmentally-focused learning, adventure, and play in an outdoor environment include environmental education, sustainability education, place-based education, school gardens, outdoor classrooms, experiential learning, and wilderness experiences. Numerous studies offer insight into the multiple benefits of learning and playing in the natural world on children’s physical, emotional, social, and cognitive health. In an executive summary based on decades of research across multiple disciplines, Kuo (2010) concludes that:

In greener settings…we find that people are more gener­ous and more desirous of connections with others; we find stronger neighborhood social ties and greater sense of community, more mutual trust and willingness to help others; and we find evidence of healthier social functioning in neighborhood common spaces—more (positive) social interaction in those spaces, greater shared use of spaces by adults and children. In less green environments, we find higher rates of aggression, violence, violent crime, and property crime— even after controlling for income and other differ­ences…Access to nature…impacts psychological, as well as social functioning. Greater access to green views and green environ­ments yields better cognitive functioning; more proactive, more effective patterns of life functioning; more self-discipline and more impulse control; greater mental health overall; and greater resilience in response to stressful life events. Less access to nature is linked to exacerbated attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, more sadness and higher rates of clinical depression. People with less access to nature are more prone to stress and anxiety, as reflected not only individuals’ self-report but also measures of pulse rate, blood pressure, and stress-related patterns of nervous system and endocrine system anxiety, as well as physician-diagnosed anxiety disorders… Greener environments enhance recovery from surgery, enable and support higher levels of physical activity, improve immune system functioning, help diabetics achieve healthier blood glucose levels, and improve functional health status and independent living skills among older adults. By contrast, environments with less green are associated with greater rates of childhood obesity; higher rates of 15 out of 24 categories of physician-diagnosed diseases, including cardiovascular diseases; and higher rates of mortality in younger and older adults. (p.4).

(the above text is from a section of the literature review of a graduate thesis titled “The Green School Effect” on Students with Specific Learning Differences by Jennipher Spector)

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