Outdoor education gives fewer demands for action regulation and an increased variability of affordances

In children's lives there are a lot of instigators for actions in every milieu and situation. When children grow older, the cortical activity starts to regulate the action instigation from the limbic system. The school system makes demands of action regulation for children. In outdoor education the many instigators for actions are not under the same demands for regulation as inside the classroom. In this study we have interviewed nine children about their experience with outdoor education. The interviews shows a wide variability of affordances grasped from outdoor education, as well as a tendency toward gender differences in what kind of action possibilities they grasp. These activities give the children useful experiences that are directly and indirectly relevant for their curriculum.