Nature- and Outdoor-Based Teaching Methods and Their Relationship to Psychological Resilience Among Physical Education and Sport Sciences Students

Ahlam Dara Azez (College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Al - Hamdaniya University, Iraq)

Journal of Education and Sport Science
Vol. 7 No. 2 (2026): July

This study aimed to identify extent to which College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences at Al-Hamdaniya University relies on nature-based teaching methods and levels of psychological resilience possessed by its students. It also sought to determine nature and type of correlation between use of nature-based teaching methods and students' levels of psychological resilience. Descriptive survey and correlational methods were adopted to achieve research objectives and questions. Sample consisted of 150 male students from College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences. This sample was randomly divided into sub-samples for pilot study, preparation, and final study, with 8, 85, and 57 students respectively. To extract necessary data, the researcher developed two scales: first to measure application of nature-based teaching methods and level of psychological resilience among its students. These scales were administered after ensuring their validity and reliability, and results were statistically analyzed using various methods such as arithmetic mean and percentages . Percentile, standard deviation, simple correlation, S.P. Berman-Brown equation, and Guttman equation led to a set of conclusions, the most prominent of which is that current practices of nature-based teaching methods and external environment, and psychological resilience, lack systematic grounding and organized psychological programs, which kept field education in it traditional, and made students’ ability to cope with pressures hostage to their individual characteristics and current circumstances, instead of academic and educational construction. However, significant correlation between nature-based teaching methods and external environment confirms that external space constitutes a stimulant and active, and a natural incubator for developing psychological system of students, and works to refine their behavioral and physical characteristics, as well as building their mental immunity, and forming their lines of defense against various educational crises and challenges.