| Title: |
What Shapes Students' Interest during Field Trips to Nature? An Investigation of Individual Interest and Basic Need Satisfaction as Predictors of the Psychological State of Interest |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Tim Kirchhoff (ORCID 0000-0001-6398-3399); Sarah Lüking (ORCID 0009-0000-0474-5585); Pascal Schaldach (ORCID 0009-0001-6629-6495); Matthias Wilde (ORCID 0000-0002-1630-3263) |
| Source: |
Environmental Education Research. 2025 31(6):1240-1259. |
| Availability: |
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals |
| Peer Reviewed: |
Y |
| Page Count: |
20 |
| Publication Date: |
2025 |
| Document Type: |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
| Education Level: |
Secondary Education; Elementary Education; Grade 5; Intermediate Grades; Middle Schools; Grade 6; Grade 7; Junior High Schools; Grade 9; High Schools |
| Descriptors: |
Field Trips; Student Interests; Need Gratification; Environmental Education; Personal Autonomy; Competence; Secondary School Students; Grade 5; Grade 6; Grade 7; Grade 9; Foreign Countries; Biology |
| Geographic Terms: |
Germany |
| DOI: |
10.1080/13504622.2024.2445807 |
| ISSN: |
1350-4622; 1469-5871 |
| Abstract: |
The psychological state of interest depends, among other factors, on the individual's prior interest as well as on the situationally perceived need satisfaction for relatedness, competence, and autonomy. Regarding out-of-school learning in biology education, the extent to which this is equally true remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to investigate prior individual interest and relatedness, competence, and autonomy as possible predictors of students' (N = 265) psychological state of interest during field trips to a forest and a pond at an environmental education center. Based on our data, the models explained 55% (forest group) and 54% (pond group) of the variance of the experienced psychological state of interest. Notably, individual interest and perceived autonomy predicted the psychological state of interest to the same extent in both groups. Perceived relatedness had no impact in either group, while perceived competence was found to be a predictor only in the forest group. This finding highlights the importance of perceived autonomy for promoting interest during out-of-school learning. |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| Entry Date: |
2025 |
| Accession Number: |
EJ1473713 |
| Database: |
ERIC |