Cultivating teacher joy: Insights from outdoor learning experiences

IF 3.9 1区教育学 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Teaching and Teacher Education Pub Date : 2025-10-11 DOI:10.1016/j.tate.2025.105260

Steph N. Dean, Stephany Griffin, Chelsea Prater Looper

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Abstract

While much research on teacher well-being has focused on reducing stress and preventing burnout, less attention has been given to the emotional experiences that help support educators in their work. This study explores the role of teacher joy within the context of outdoor learning, offering a holistic perspective on professional well-being. Using reflexive thematic analysis, we analyzed 31 data sources from five previous studies involving 21 PreK–12 teachers across the United States. Findings highlight four key ways teachers experience joy through outdoor learning: (1) through watching students learn and grow; (2) facilitating connections in/with nature; (3) prioritizing flexibility and leaning into distractions; and (4) fostering collaborative explorations. These relational and context-specific experiences reveal how joy plays a powerful, sustaining role in teachers’ professional lives. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of joyful pedagogy and highlights the potential of outdoor learning to enhance teacher well-being and support professional sustainability.

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培养教师快乐：来自户外学习经验的感悟

虽然许多关于教师幸福感的研究都集中在减轻压力和防止倦怠上，但对帮助教育工作者工作的情感体验的关注却很少。本研究探讨了教师快乐在户外学习环境中的作用，提供了一个整体的职业幸福感视角。使用反身性主题分析，我们分析了来自5个先前研究的31个数据来源，涉及美国21名PreK-12教师。研究结果强调了教师通过户外学习体验快乐的四种主要方式：(1)通过观察学生的学习和成长；(2)促进与大自然的联系；(3)优先考虑灵活性和倾向于分心；(4)促进合作探索。这些关系和特定情境的经历揭示了快乐如何在教师的职业生涯中发挥着强大而持久的作用。这项研究有助于更深入地理解快乐教学法，并强调户外学习在提高教师幸福感和支持专业可持续性方面的潜力。

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来源期刊

Teaching and Teacher Education EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH-

CiteScore

6.50

自引率

12.80%

发文量

294

审稿时长

86 days

期刊介绍： Teaching and Teacher Education is an international journal concerned primarily with teachers, teaching, and/or teacher education situated in an international perspective and context. The journal focuses on early childhood through high school (secondary education), teacher preparation, along with higher education concerning teacher professional development and/or teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education is a multidisciplinary journal committed to no single approach, discipline, methodology, or paradigm. The journal welcomes varied approaches (qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods) to empirical research; also publishing high quality systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Manuscripts should enhance, build upon, and/or extend the boundaries of theory, research, and/or practice in teaching and teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education does not publish unsolicited Book Reviews.