Exploring the Role of Outdoor Education in Socio-Emotional Learning and Emodiversity

This study investigates the significant role of outdoor education (OE) in promoting social-emotional learning, focusing on emodiversity in school settings. Social-emotional skills, including emotional regulation, empathy and collaborative skills are increasingly critical to students’ development and future success. Research has shown that exposure to outdoor settings promotes stress reduction and emotional stability, key components of mental health and academic success. These environments encourage students to explore a broader spectrum of emotions, a concept called emodiversity, linked to improved psychological resilience and adaptability. Emodiversity allows students to experience and understand various emotions, promoting a more profound sense of self-awareness and interpersonal understanding. In addition to personal benefits, OE supports cultivating social connections through group activities emphasizing teamwork and mutual support. Activities such as problem-solving exercises, cooperative games, and reflective discussions foster empathy and active listening and create a sense of belonging and collective purpose among participants. This paper provides a systematic review of the literature on how outdoor learning experiences promote emodiversity, leading to broader implications for educational culture.