Outdoor education programs have gained significant attention in recent years for their positive impact on students' academic performance, mental health, and overall well-being. This paper explores the various aspects of an outdoor education program with a particular focus on assessing student performance, understanding mental health benefits, and evaluating teacher well-being. Through a combination of fieldwork, interviews, and existing literature, the study aims to highlight the multidimensional effects of outdoor learning environments. The research demonstrates that such programs positively affect academic outcomes, foster improved mental health, and contribute to teacher satisfaction. Recommendations for implementing and evaluating outdoor education programs are provided to maximize these benefits.

Outdoor education, student performance, mental health

Ab Hamid, M. R., Sami, W., & Mohmad Sidek, M. H. (2017). Discriminant Validity Assessment: Use of Fornell & Larcker criterion versus HTMT Criterion. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 890(1), 012163. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/890/1/012163

Abu, A. (2016). Educational Data Mining & Students’ Performance Prediction. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, 7(5), 212–220. https://doi.org/10.14569/ijacsa.2016.070531

Allen-craig, S. & McLeod, B. (2004). An evaluation of an experiential learning and outdoor education school program on the life effectiveness skills of middle school boys. In A. Brooks & P. Martin (Eds.), International outdoor education research conference proceedings (pp. 1-14). La Trobe University.

Aslan, A., & Arabacı, D. (2023). The use of Thinglink Web 2.0 Tool in out-of-school learning environments in mathematics teaching: Pre-service teachers' experiences. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology, 5(3), 263-282. https://doi.org/10.33902/jpsp.202323919

Atkins, M. S., Hoagwood, K. E., Kutash, K., & Seidman, E. (2010). Toward the integration of education and mental health in schools. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 37, 40–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-010-0299-7

Babakus, E., & Mangold, W. G. (1992). Adapting the SERVQUAL scale to hospital services : An empirical investigation. Health Services Research, 26(6), 767-786.

Bogner, F. X. (2002). The influence of a residential outdoor education programme to pupil’s environmental perception. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 17, 19–34.

Branand, B., & Nakamura, J. (2017). The well ‐ being of teachers and professors. In L. Oades, M. Steger, A. Delle Fave, & J. Passmore (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell handbook of the psychology of positivity and strengths-based approaches at work (pp. 466–490). John Wiley and Sons.

Braun, T., & Dierkes, P. (2016). Connecting students to nature – how intensity of nature experience and student age influence the success of outdoor education programs. Environmental Education Research, 23(7), 937–949. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2016.1214866

Bullough, K. M. H. R. V, Lake, K., & Esther, M. (2014). Preschool teacher well-being : a review of the literature. Early Childhood Education Journal, 42, 153–162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-013-0595-4

Chauhan, R. (2019). Performance of innovative teaching strategies on students. International Journal on Integrated Education, 2(5), 247–251. https://doi.org/10.31149/ijie.v2i5.184

Chong, W. H., Liem, G. A. D., Huan, V. S., Kit, P. L., & Ang, R. P. (2018). Student perceptions of self-efficacy and teacher support for learning in fostering youth competencies: Roles of affective and cognitive engagement. Journal of Adolescence, 68, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.07.002

Cohen, J. (1992). Statistical power analysis. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1(3), 98–101. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.ep10768783

Cook, C. R., Miller, F. G., Fiat, A., Renshaw, T., Frye, M., Joseph, G., & Decano, P. (2017). Promoting secondary teachers’ well-being and intentions to implement evidence-based practices: randomized evaluation of the achiever resilience curriculum. Psychology in the Schools, 54(1), 13–28. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21980

Danielson, Samdal, A. G., O, O., J, H. J., & Wold, B. (2017). Students’ perceived life satisfaction school-related social support. The Journal of Educational Research, 102(4), 303–318. https://doi.org/10.3200/JOER.102.4.303-320

Dogan, U. (2017). Student engagement, academic self-efficacy, and academic motivation as predictors of academic performance. The Anthropologist, 20(3), 553–561. https://doi.org/10.1080/09720073.2015.11891759

Dreer, B. (2021). Teachers’ well-being and job satisfaction : the important role of positive emotions in the workplace of positive emotions in the workplace. Educational Studies, 50(1), 61–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2021.1940872

Edwards, S. H. (2003). Improving student performance by evaluating how well students test their own programs. ACM Journal on Educational Resources in Computing, 3(3), 1029995. https://doi.org/10.1145/1029994.1029995

Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151312

Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Sage.

Hijazi, S. T., & Naqvi, S. M. M. R. (2006). Factors affecting students’ performance: A case of private colleges. Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology, 3, 1-10.

Honicke, T., & Broadbent, J. (2016). The influence of academic self-efficacy on academic performance: A systematic review. Educational Research Review, 17, 63–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.11.002

Insorio, A. O. (2021). From the perspective of the students: Reporting counselor educators’ teaching practices. International Journal of Didactical Studies, 2(1), 101453. https://doi.org/10.33902/IJODS.2021266616

Jennings, P. A. (2015). Early childhood teachers’ well-being, mindfulness, and self-compassion in relation to classroom quality and attitudes towards challenging students. Mindfulness, 6, 732–743. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-014-0312-4

Lei, H., Cui, Y., & Chiu, M. M. (2018). The relationship between teacher support and students’ academic emotions: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 2288. https://doi.org/10.3389/FPSYG.2017.02288/BIBTEX

Liu, X. xian, Gong, S. Y., Zhang, H. po, Yu, Q. lei, & Zhou, Z. jin. (2021). Perceived teacher support and creative self-efficacy: The mediating roles of autonomous motivation and achievement emotions in Chinese junior high school students. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 39, 100752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2020.100752

Martin, D. P., & Rimm-Kaufman, S. E. (2015). Do student self-efficacy and teacher-student interaction quality contribute to emotional and social engagement in fifth grade math? Journal of School Psychology, 53(5), 359–373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2015.07.001

Mcleod, B., & Allen-craig, S. (2007). What outcomes are we trying to achieve in our outdoor education programs ? Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education, 11(2), 41–49. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03400856

Mindrescu, V., Simion, G., Turcu, I., Catuna, C., Paun, D. G., & Nechita, F. (2022). The multiplicative effect interaction between outdoor education activities based on the sensory system. Sustainability, 14(19), 11859. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141911859