IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i8p3338-d1630928.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Outdoor Education for Sustainable Development: A Systematic Literature Review

Author

Listed:
  • Rong Hu

    (College of Teacher Education, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China)

  • Shuhang Mou

    (College of Teacher Education, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China)

Abstract

Education is the foundation of sustainable development, and the world is in the practice period of sustainable development education (ESD). Even though ESD is widely accepted in principle, there has not been much “structural change” in practice. Given the significant advantages that outdoor education provides in cultivating future sustainable leaders, it appears that outdoor sustainable development education (OESD) has a lot of space to expand. This study employs bibliometric and coding analysis to examine the features of 40 works that are indexed in Web of Science and Scopus between 2005 and 2024. It also conducts a systematic evaluation of the research emphasis and development trend of OESD. The study revealed that research has gone through a process of initial exploration, significant growth, and then decline and reflection. The study identifies the main countries and institutions active in the field of OESD and their co-operation with each other. Finally, the development path analysis reveals four key research topics and three research changes in OESD.

Suggested Citation

  • Rong Hu & Shuhang Mou, 2025. "Outdoor Education for Sustainable Development: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-25, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:8:p:3338-:d:1630928
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/8/3338/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/8/3338/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lili-Ann Wolff & Tuula H. Skarstein, 2020. "Species Learning and Biodiversity in Early Childhood Teacher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-19, May.
    2. Martín Bascopé & Paolo Perasso & Kristina Reiss, 2019. "Systematic Review of Education for Sustainable Development at an Early Stage: Cornerstones and Pedagogical Approaches for Teacher Professional Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-16, January.
    3. Charlotte R. Clark & Tavey M. Capps, 2020. "Synergy of the (Campus) Commons: Integrating Campus-Based Team Projects in an Introductory Sustainability Course," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-21, February.
    4. Bach Quang Ho & Yuki Inoue, 2020. "Driving Network Externalities in Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-16, October.
    5. Adesuwa Vanessa Agbedahin, 2019. "Sustainable development, Education for Sustainable Development, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Emergence, efficacy, eminence, and future," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(4), pages 669-680, July.
    6. Aida Mammadova, 2021. "Integrating Japanese Local Government and Communities into the Educational Curriculum on Regional Sustainability Inside the UNESCO’s Biosphere Reserves and Geoparks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-13, February.
    7. Bobo Zong & Yifan Sun & Linfeng Li, 2024. "Advances, Hotspots, and Trends in Outdoor Education Research: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-21, November.
    8. Nicola Walshe & Hilary Bungay & Anna Dadswell, 2023. "Sustainable Outdoor Education: Organisations Connecting Children and Young People with Nature through the Arts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-17, February.
    9. Patricia L. Winter & Steven Selin & Lee Cerveny & Kelly Bricker, 2019. "Outdoor Recreation, Nature-Based Tourism, and Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.
    10. Tae Kyung Yoon & Seongjun Kim & Takako Takano & Sun-Jin Yun & Yowhan Son, 2016. "Contributing to Sustainability Education of East Asian University Students through a Field Trip Experience: A Social-Ecological Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-19, October.
    11. Miftachul Huda & Dedi Mulyadi & April Lia Hananto & Nasrul Hisyam Nor Muhamad & Kamarul Shukri Mat Teh & Abdul Ghafar Don, 2018. "Empowering corporate social responsibility (CSR): insights from service learning," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(4), pages 875-894, October.
    12. Leire Agirreazkuenaga, 2020. "Education for Agenda 2030: What Direction do We Want to Take Going Forward?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-13, March.
    13. Deirdre Hogan & Joanne O’Flaherty, 2021. "Addressing Education for Sustainable Development in the Teaching of Science: The Case of a Biological Sciences Teacher Education Program," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-22, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gemma Tejedor & Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo & Jordi Segalàs, 2022. "Education for Sustainable Development in Higher Education-Introduction to a Special Issue," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-6, August.
    2. Jorge Rojo-Ramos & Fernando Manzano-Redondo & Sabina Barrios-Fernandez & Miguel Angel García-Gordillo & José Carmelo Adsuar, 2021. "Early Childhood Education Teachers’ Perception of Outdoor Learning Activities in the Spanish Region of Extremadura," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-12, August.
    3. Rita Parmawati & Fadli Mulyadi & Rosyani Rosyani & Suaedi Suaedi & Yunikewaty Yunikewaty, 2023. "The Role of Environmental Education and Green Supply Chain Practices in Achieving Sustainable Development: Evidence from Indonesia," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 13(1), pages 421-430, January.
    4. Shiu-Wan Hung & Chiao-Ming Li & Joe-Ming Lee, 2019. "Firm growth, business risk, and corporate social responsibility in Taiwan's food industry," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 65(8), pages 366-374.
    5. Asuamah Yeboah, Samuel, 2024. "Winning Strategies for Launching a Successful Business in Developing Markets," MPRA Paper 122661, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 18 Oct 2024.
    6. Shixiao Wu, 2024. "From Global Goals to Classroom Realities: The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Promoting Teacher Wellbeing in Higher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-19, August.
    7. Rūtenis Jančius & Algirdas Gavenauskas & Antanas Ūsas, 2021. "The Influence of Values and the Social Environment on the Environmental Attitudes of Students: The Case of Lithuania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-22, October.
    8. Sek-yum Ngai, Steven & Cheung, Chau-Kiu & Mo, Jianhong & Wang, Lin & Ng, Yuen-hang & Wang, Pinqiao, 2023. "Career interventions and social well-being among non-engaged youth: Examining the mediating effects of career competency," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    9. Ahmad Zainuri & Miftachul Huda, 2023. "Empowering Cooperative Teamwork for Community Service Sustainability: Insights from Service Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-19, March.
    10. Savas Pamuk & Rıdvan Elmas & Yakup Saban, 2022. "A Modeling Study on Science Teachers’ Sustainable Development Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-14, August.
    11. Birgitta Nordén & Helen Avery, 2021. "Global Learning for Sustainable Development: A Historical Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-31, March.
    12. William Villegas-Ch & Xavier Palacios-Pacheco & Sergio Luján-Mora, 2019. "Application of a Smart City Model to a Traditional University Campus with a Big Data Architecture: A Sustainable Smart Campus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-28, May.
    13. Elisa Gavari-Starkie & Patricia-Teresa Espinosa-Gutiérrez & Cristina Lucini-Baquero, 2022. "Sustainability through STEM and STEAM Education Creating Links with the Land for the Improvement of the Rural World," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-23, October.
    14. Zijian Zhang & Yinghao Lin & Xiaoyuan Wang & Xin Zhang, 2024. "Pathways to Resilient and Sustainable Online Education in the New Normal: Interpreting University Teachers’ Willingness to Use Online Teaching Platforms Consistently," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-20, November.
    15. Karen Araño Tagulao & Allan B. I. Bernardo & Loi Hoi Kei & Cristina Sousa Coutinho Calheiros, 2022. "Mangrove Conservation in Macao SAR, China: The Role of Environmental Education among School Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-13, March.
    16. Wang, Yiyang & Rigolon, Alessandro & Park, Keunhyun, 2024. "Transit to parks initiatives in the U.S. and Canada: Practitioners’ perspectives," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 84-95.
    17. Bach Q. Ho & Kunio Shirahada, 2022. "Older People’s Knowledge Creation Motivations for Sustainable Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    18. Athanasios Papavasileiou & George Konteos & Stavros Kalogiannidis & Dimitrios Kalfas & Christina-Ioanna Papadopoulou, 2025. "Investigating the Impact of Sustainability-Themed Extracurricular Activities on Student Engagement with the 17 SDGs by 2026: A Case Study of Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-24, March.
    19. Veronika Winter & Johanna Kranz & Andrea Möller, 2022. "Climate Change Education Challenges from Two Different Perspectives of Change Agents: Perceptions of School Students and Pre-Service Teachers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-29, May.
    20. Honghui Zhu & Xin Zheng, 2024. "Evolutionary Characteristics, Regional Differences and Spatial Convergence of China’s Sustainable Agricultural Development Level," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-29, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:8:p:3338-:d:1630928. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.