Conference Agenda

Schools have been identified as key settings for health promotion, but school-based physical activity initiatives have rarely had a sustained impact. Interventions have been criticized for focusing on individual behavior rather than considering the context in which people live their lives. With a focus on contextual potential for integrating physical activity, outdoor education has been identified as a promising approach. However, outdoor education requires pedagogical expertise and does not primarily emphasize physical activity. Research remains limited on approaches that use outdoor settings as learning contexts without expecting the environment to be used as a means of teaching. To address these challenges, the Walking School initiative was developed and implemented. Grounded in settings-based Health Promotion, the initiative integrated education outdoors while walking to promote sustainable movement as part of everyday school culture. This article examines teaching practice when teaching takes place outdoors while walking.

A mixed-methods participatory design involved six intervention classes, eight control classes (12–16 years old), and nine teachers, representing six subjects. The intervention comprised weekly curriculum-based outdoor walking lessons co-developed by researchers, teachers, and students. Data included surveys, interviews, and observations.

Preliminary findings suggest that teacher-led structure determines whether outdoor lessons resemble a lesson or merely a walk. Content is of limited complexity, and activities include discussions, worksheets, and podcasts. The outdoor environment is not integrated into teaching content, and the absence of classroom boundaries and close teacher–student proximity is perceived to encourage distractions. These findings inform efforts on how to integrate health-enhancing physical activity in schools.