Exploring the role and potential of curriculum based environmental education for supporting the wellbeing of young people

许多英国学生受益于以课程为基础的环境教育(EE)(A-Level和GCSE生物和地理实地考察)，这是由现场研究理事会(FSC)等组织提供的。然而，这一规定过于侧重于狭隘的简化主义课程，而忽视了健康和福祉的一个关键组成部分(Alsop&Dillon，2018)。大量文献支持这样的概念，即年轻人通过在自然环境中度过时间并与自然建立联系，可以获得身体和心理上的好处(Mayer等人，2009年)。因此，与自然联系的概念一直是教育理论的一个显著特征，环境教育通常被认为是促进与自然联系的主要策略之一(Fletcher，2017)。然而，基于课程的教育与幸福感之间的关系细节仍不清楚。关于以课程为基础的环境教育对年轻人幸福感的影响，几乎没有人深入了解，也很少揭示基于教学的自然环境体验中的日常情感体验。我与位于斯拉普顿莱的田野研究委员会(FSC)中心进行了一项新颖的博士研究，采用了深入的定性方法，其中包括焦点小组和征求参与者日记，以收集年轻人对基于课程的环境教育在支持他们的健康方面所起作用的观点。在探索年轻人如何在基于课程的EE中体验、理解和表达幸福感的过程中，我提出了一项原创性的研究，探索了以课程为重点的户外学习环境中的幸福感。在进行这项研究时，我能够向FSC提出如何最好地支持年轻人的幸福感的建议。然而，这些建议提出了几个问题，即在正规教育方案反映狭隘评估目标驱动的更广泛的教育政策政治图景的背景下，将福祉置于以课程为基础的教育环境中的复杂现实。我的研究对EE利益相关者具有启示意义，并为支持青年的课程设计提供了洞察力。我获得这一奖学金的目的是进一步传播我的研究，以提高它的影响力，并通过包括从业者对EE幸福感的观点来发展我的研究，增强我们对EE幸福感的了解，并为学术和非学术环境开发高影响力的成果。该奖学金的目的是：-通过向广大受众传播我的研究成果，为教育和福祉领域做出贡献；通过出版的期刊和会议向学术界做出贡献，并通过一系列有针对性的在线资源向从业者和政策制定者提供；-通过主办一系列来自多个学科的圆桌会议，创建关于EE幸福感的跨学科研究议程。在埃克塞特大学地理系完成博士学位后，我的目标是在教育研究生院获得这一奖学金，从多学科的EE研究方法中受益。我认为这种方法对于发展我的学术联系和职业发展至关重要；-通过探索从业者的观点，进一步了解如何在EE中促进福祉。虽然人们一直关注年轻人的教育经验，但很少有人关注实践者如何在以课程为基础的教育中促进幸福结果。我将与从业者进行合作研究，从他们促进福祉的角度出发，探索障碍和推动因素。这项研究可以用来确定当前从业者和卫生提供者的关键技能培训和资源需求，以有效地支持EE中的年轻人的福祉。

Many students in the UK benefit from curriculum-based environmental education (EE) (A-level and GCSE biology and geography fieldwork) which is provided by organisations such as the Field Studies Council (FSC). However, this provision is too focused on a narrow, reductionist curriculum and neglects a key component of health and wellbeing (Alsop & Dillon, 2018).A large body of literature exists supporting the notion that young people derive both physical and psychological benefits from spending time in natural environments and developing a connection to nature (Mayer et al., 2009). As such, the concept of connection to nature has been a prominent feature in educational theory, and environmental education is commonly attributed as one of the main strategies for facilitating a connection to nature (Fletcher, 2017). However, details of the relationship between curriculum-based EE and wellbeing remain unclear. There has been little insight into the impact of curriculum-based EE on the wellbeing of young people and reveals little of the everyday emotions experienced within pedagogically based experiences of the natural environment.My novel doctoral research with the Field Studies Council (FSC) centre based at Slapton Ley, utilised an in-depth qualitative approach, that included focus groups and solicited participant diaries to gather young people's perspective of the role that curriculum-based EE plays in supporting their wellbeing. In exploring how wellbeing is experienced, understood, and articulated in curriculum-based EE by young people, I present an original piece of research that explores wellbeing in a curriculum focused outdoor learning setting.In doing this research, I was able to make recommendations to the FSC on how best to support young people's wellbeing. However, these recommendations raise several questions about the complex reality of situating wellbeing in curriculum-based EE, in a context where formal education programmes reflect a wider political landscape of educational policy driven by narrow assessment goals. My research has implications for EE stakeholders, and provides insight into the design of courses that support youth. My aim for this fellowship is to further disseminate my research to enhance the impact it has and to develop my research by including practitioner perspectives of wellbeing in EE, enhancing our knowledge of wellbeing in EE and developing high-impact outputs for academic and non-academic settings.The fellowship aims are to:- Contribute to the fields of education and wellbeing by disseminating my research to a broad audience; to academics through published journals and conferences, and to practitioners and policy-makers through a series of targeted online resources; - Create an interdisciplinary research agenda regarding wellbeing in EE by hosting a series of roundtables drawn from multiple disciplines. Having completed my PhD in the University of Exeter's Geography department, my aim is to undertake this fellowship at the Graduate School of Education, to benefit from a multidisciplinary approach to EE research. I see this approach as being critical for developing my academic connections and professional development;- Further understand how wellbeing can be facilitated in EE, by exploring practitioners' perspectives. Whilst there has been attention to young people's experiences of EE, little attention is given to how practitioners perspectives on facilitating wellbeing outcomes in curriculum-based EE. I will undertake collaborative research with practitioners to draw from their perspectives of facilitating wellbeing to explore barriers and enablers. This research could be used to identify key skills training and resource needs for current practitioners and health providers to effectively support the wellbeing of young people in EE.