Education Outside the Classroom in Germany: study protocol for an interdisciplinary nationwide investigation
Schools play a central role in the lives of children and teachers and offer considerable potential to address current societal challenges such as declining physical activity, increasing social isolation, and a growing disconnection from nature. While Education Outside the Classroom (EOtC) has already been integrated into school curricula in several countries, its implementation in Germany is still in its early stages. Existing research has primarily focused on the effects of EOtC on pupils, with comparatively little attention paid to teachers, environmental characteristics, or behavioral processes. The published study protocol presents an interdisciplinary research project that aims to investigate the effects of EOtC on both teachers and pupils, while also considering the role of biodiversity in outdoor learning environments.
The exploratory quasi-experimental study will be conducted in 33 schools across Germany between September 2025 and November 2026. Approximately 50 EOtC teachers, 50 non-EOtC teachers, 50 EOtC classes, and 18 non-EOtC classes will participate, allowing both intra- and interindividual comparisons. The study combines expertise from health sciences, ecology, school pedagogy, and sociology and examines a broad range of outcomes in teachers, pupils, and the outdoor learning environments. Data collection includes questionnaires, electroencephalography (EEG), salivary cortisol samples, accelerometry, video-based analyses of classroom interactions, and biodiversity assessments of the outdoor learning sites.
The project investigates the effects of EOtC on teachers' stress levels, emotional well-being, and physical activity, as well as on pupils' cognitive performance, school-related well-being, basic psychological needs, and classroom behavior. Furthermore, it examines how biodiversity in outdoor learning environments influences nature connectedness, appreciation of nature, and species knowledge among both teachers and pupils.
By combining innovative methodological approaches with a realistic implementation in everyday school settings, this interdisciplinary study addresses important research gaps in the German context. In particular, the consistent inclusion of teachers, the ecological perspective, and the integration of biodiversity assessments and video-based interaction analyses distinguish this project from previous EOtC research. The study is expected to provide valuable insights for the further development of Education Outside the Classroom in Germany and contribute to the growing international evidence base.
Brandmeier, A., Börner, M., Mühlberg, T., Schulz, L., Kleinhenz, L., Endriß, T., Ellinger, S. & Schmid-Ellinger, J. (2026). Education outside the classroom in Germany: An interdisciplinary multi-methods Study Protocol. PLoS One 21(6): e0337524. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0337524