Is it time for teacher education to include a nature-based commitment?

Teacher education increasingly recognises that meaningful outdoor learning depends on teachers’ own relationships with nature, yet many enter the profession with limited confidence or formative outdoor experience. Research shows that children’s nature engagement and conservation sensibilities are shaped by the dispositions of the adults who teach them, signalling the need for programmes that nurture teachers’ ecological familiarity, interpretive skill and place-based confidence. However, structural barriers inhibit sustained practice, producing inequitable provision across schools. Teachers experience tensions between curriculum-driven expectations and the slower, contemplative qualities of outdoor learning, such as dwell time, sensory exploration and unstructured observation. Inclusive outdoor practice further relies on knowledgeable staff capable of supporting diverse learners. The role of place, context and culturally shaped nature orientations remains fundamental and requires scrutiny for outdoor learning to move into sustained practice. Collectively, these insights highlight the need for a systemic, nature-based commitment within teacher education that develops teacher confidence, addresses contextual constraints and expands pedagogical possibilities outdoors.