Healthy Children
Conditions
Keywords
Stress, School-Based Intervention, Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial, Primary School, Connection to Nature, Eco-anxiety, Science Learning, Outdoor Education
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.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALOutdoor science education
Following Québec's mandatory curriculum, primary school teachers will provide life science lessons 2h/week for a total of 5 weeks in an outdoor setting
BEHAVIORALIndoor classroom-based science education
Following Québec's mandatory curriculum, primary school teachers will provide life science lessons 2h/week for a total of 5 weeks inside the classroom
Sponsors
Université de Sherbrooke
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Intervention model description
The science education intervention consists of teaching Québec's mandatory science curriculum, focusing on life science topics and issues.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Healthy volunteers
Yes
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.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Score on the Scientific Observation Skills Rubric (0-15) 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 using a structured 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 five oral observations of living organisms in this setting. Independent raters, trained in the use of the rubric, will evaluate the quality of each scientific observation using a four-level scoring framework, with scores ranging from 0 (lowest) to 3 (highest quality of scientific observation). The total score will range from 0 to 15, with higher scores indicating stronger scientific observation skills. Inter-rater agreement will be monitored to ensure reliability. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 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. |
Countries
Canada
Contacts
Primary ContactGabriela Quintela Do Carmo
Backup ContactJean-Philippe Ayotte-Beaudet
Outcome results
None listed