The influence of outdoor school yard experiences on elementary students' environmental knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and comfort levels

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of outdoor school yard activities on elementary students' environmental knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and comfort levels in the outdoors. In addition, the interaction of students' gender with each of these variables was examined.;Data were collected on 105 students in 4th- and 5th-grade public school classes in Gainesville, Florida. Two intact classes were used, one treatment and one control group at each grade level. The treatment group students participated in 14 weeks of weekly outdoor school yard activities exploring environmental science knowledge and attitude topics in a systems context.;Pearson correlation coefficients and Cronbach coefficient alpha were used for analysis of the researcher-designed instruments, and ANCOVA was used to analyze the data. The results of the analyses (p < 05) revealed that 5th-grade students' who participated in the outdoor school yard activities showed significant differences in environmental knowledge when compared with the 5th-grade control group students who had no outdoor school yard experiences. Although the results of the study indicated that outdoor school yard experiences do not impact students' environmental attitudes, behaviors, or comfort levels in the outdoors, significant gender differences were found in 5th-grade females' environmental attitudes and behaviors when compared with 5th-grade males.;The results of this study indicate the potential for effective use of the school yard for helping students learn firsthand about environmental knowledge and issues. Because the school yard offers teachers and students a readily available and convenient outdoor learning setting, its use in environmental education merits further research.