Exploring outdoor science in teacher education from a comparative Scandinavian perspective

Abstract

This paper focuses on the development of prospective teachers’ competence to conduct outdoor science education in a Scandinavian context. This context is characterized by easy accessibility to open-air natural environment and folk traditions of being and doing different activities outdoors. Working in the field of science teacher education in Sweden and Norway, we have experienced that outdoor science is traditionally linked to environmental and biology field courses or teaching units that contain fieldwork. The Ministries of education in both countries are supporting outdoor science in schools through a variety of programs, that are internet- and open source-based (www.skolverket.se, www.naturfag.no; www.ndla.no). Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) lens is applied to the study. The conclusions of the study underline the importance of working actively with issues related to pedagogical complexity of outdoor teaching, which is demanding a purposeful development of teacher competence and teaching material.