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

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.