Education Outside the Classroom from a Norwegian, Danish and German Perspective—A Scoping Review

The topic of Education Outside the Classroom (EOtC) is gaining more attention in international academic discourse. In Germany as well, following the example of Scandinavian countries, the concept is gaining increasing traction in school practice (primary schools) and research. This scoping review therefore aims to provide an overview of the current state of empirical research (peer-reviewed journal articles) in Germany and the Scandinavian countries, Norway and Denmark, between 2015 and the end of 2024. The time frame from 2015 to the end of 2024 was set to outline the ‘current’ status of EOtC within the research landscape. The literature search was concluded at the end of December 2024. To address the overarching research objective—namely, to identify which empirical studies on EOtC have been published in Germany, Denmark and Norway over the past ten years—the following research questions were formulated: 1. How is Education Outside the Classroom (EOtC) conceptualised within German and Scandinavian research discourses? 2. What thematic areas are addressed in empirical studies on EOtC in Denmark, Norway and Germany? 3. What differences, challenges and patterns in EOtC practice are identified in empirical research across these national contexts? Following an extensive scoping review, a total of 24 articles were selected for the final analysis. To ensure transparency and reproducibility in this review, the study follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Extension for Scoping Reviews. Analysis of the articles reveals that the research focuses on the topics of well-being, teaching methods, performance and stress. Furthermore, a clear orientation of the German understanding of EOtC towards Norwegian and Danish EOtC practice can be discerned.