Motiv för undervisning i naturen i svensk skola

The overall aim of this article is to contribute to a critical discussion about aims and goals of outdoor education in schools. The study examines motives for outdoor education in the national curricula in Sweden from the end of 19th century until today. The study relies on a discourse analysis methodology. Aspects of continuity and change connected to the identified motives are also included in the analyses. The results show that a scientific perspective on encounters with nature has dominated during the last hundred years. In recent years, more instrumental motives are expressed in the curricula, while students’ personal experiences and feelings are less focused.