Outdoor Science Education and Child Well-being in Primary Schools: Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial on Learning, Connection to Nature, Eco-anxiety, and Stress

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to learn if an outdoor science education intervention can improve primary school students' learning and well-being when compared to an indoor classroom-based science education intervention. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Will students who engage in outdoor science learning produce higher-quality observations of living organisms than students who receive instruction exclusively in an indoor, classroom-based context, when both groups are invited to make observations in an unfamiliar natural environment? * Does an outdoor education intervention embedded within the science curriculum contribute to children's connection to nature, eco-anxiety and stress? Participants will: * Receive a science education intervention 2h/week for a total of 5 weeks, either indoors or outdoors * Answer questionnaires before and after the intervention * Participate in a field day-trip after the intervention where they will be asked to observe living organisms.

NCT Number	NCT07147634
Lead Sponsor	Université de Sherbrooke
Conditions	Healthy Children
Enrollment	1,000 participants
Start Date	2025-09-02
Primary Completion	2026-11 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-11 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2025-12-31