Promoting social inclusion in a primary school through Outdoor Learning

The purpose of this article is to present the development of an inclusive educational method carried out by a primary school taking part in the Erasmus plus project GOaL (acronym of Go Out and Learn). GOaL’s innovation lay in bringing together the knowledge and experience of teachers and researchers from different institutions, but which had commonalities in terms of the school curriculum, and the need to ensure experiential outdoor practices. GOaL was carried out by a consortium composed of four institutes of higher education and four primary schools of different countries, and its main objectives were to develop a common understanding of pedagogy for, and practice of, curricular-based Outdoor Learning. Although the project ended with the many difficulties caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, nevertheless Outdoor Learning is now widely recognized as healthier than indoor schooling, both on a biological and psychological level. Furthermore, the potential of Outdoor Learning in social inclusion has been particularly documented by the GOaL’s Italian research group. So, this paper reports empirical results about the impact of a curricular Outdoor Learning method on inclusion. Data gathering was mainly based on teachers' observations about fragile pupils, and reflections regarding the efficacy of delivered outdoor activities. The potential of outdoor setting for inclusion is finally examined through the Disability Studies approach, which questions traditional schooling for its obstacles in welcoming diversity among every learner. The evidence-based findings indicate that an Outdoor Learning method can lead a school community towards transformative process, so to design an inclusive scholastic environment that is instead able to meet all pupils’ needs.