Outdoor Adventure Education as a Vehicle for Social and Emotional Learning in Physical Education: A Curriculum-Based Review and Conceptual Contribution
Vol.19,No.2(2025)
Outdoor Adventure Education (OAE) has become an increasingly relevant pedagogical approach to support Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in physical education. This article presents a curriculum-based conceptual review developed within the Erasmus+ project OutAdvEd, which connects six European institutions in a joint effort to promote holistic learner development through OAE. Based on a rapid review of 19 empirical and review studies published since 2010, the article examines the benefits, pedagogical strategies, and curricular implications of integrating OAE into physical education. The analysis is guided by two theoretical frameworks: the OECD model of social and emotional competencies and a four-dimensional curriculum structure focusing on goals, content, methods and classroom management. The findings indicate that OAE can effectively foster SEL-related competencies such as emotional regulation, collaboration, leadership and resilience, provided that implementation is supported by clear objectives, experiential methods and inclusive facilitation. The article concludes with a proposed model for integrating OAE into physical education and teacher education, along with practical recommendations for curriculum development and educational policy.
teacher education; experiential pedagogy; social competence; emotional competence; educational innovation; curriculum development; inclusive pedagogy
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Copyright © 2025 Alena Skotáková, Petr Vlček, Sylva Hřebíčková, Anita Saaranen-Kauppinen, Jussi Muittari, Aspasia Dania, Charalambos Anagnostopoulos, Eirini Kossyva, Pablo Caballero-Blanco, Kallirroi Ntalachani, Maria Jose Lasaga Rodrigez, Agueda Latorre Romero, Gonzalo Ramirez Macias, Biljana Popeska, Lucas Janemalm, Wouter Cools, Manolis Adamakis , Alina Lemling