The research aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the interpretations of the out-of-school learning environment of environmental education. 

The main research questions arise from a general understanding of the use and interpretation of the learning environment in environmental education.

1. How do teachers  interpret the components of the learning environment outside school during the implementation of environmental education?

2. Are there any pattern-like links between teachers' and pupils' interpretations of the out-of-school learning environment in relation to the environmental education and between interpretations and implementation in general?

Our analysis is therefore necessarily preceded by a rethinking of the definition of the learning environment. We focus on the relationship between people and their environment, where understanding individual interpretations of the learning environment can be the key to successful environmental education.

If we think of space as a complex system of effects that provides the framework for the concrete realization of learning, then the continuous temporal variation of the system of effects also means that the conditions of learning are constantly changing (Banyard & Underwood, 2008). Some dimensions of the system of effects conceptualised as space are more closely related to the learning process, while others are indifferent to a particular aspect of the learning process (De Corte et al, 2003). We can define the learning factors that can be described and characterised in a learning space as the elements of the system of effections of the learning space, and thus our related studies also requires a complex approach in which we accept ab ovo that the learning process can only be examined in conjunction with the factors that influences it, along their interrelationships (Tókos et al, 2020). The complex web of relationships between factors that affects the learning space and defines a unit of interaction where abstraction and reflection are associated with learning are continuous or quasi-continuous. This interaction unit is the learning environment. Our understanding of learning environments argues that a given learning environment is always shaped by learning objectives and learning outcomes described in terms of the development of individual and community spaces (Dúll, 2010). In the learning environment, the factors that shape learning form a dynamically changing network and the elements of the network affect the activity system of the individual involved in the learning process in different ways. However, individual activity systems are necessarily interconnected. In most cases individual learning goals are formulated along the lines of the learning goals of the community (Engeström, 1987). So the individual learning outcomes can be interpreted along the lines of community learning outcomes, and community learning outcomes can only be interpreted along the lines of individual learning outcomes (Rusticus et al, 2023).

The learning outcomes of environmental education are linked to space, individual and community spaces, which, for some learning outcomes can be fundamental in determining the ideal learning environment for the learning activity (Agarvall et al, 2003; Varga, 2004). These learning outcomes can not only determine the ideal learning environment, but can also continuously shape it. As a result of the learning process, environmental knowledge is expanded, which allows for new and changing interpretations of the whole system of effects (the space around us). And the ideal learning environment supports the success of the learning process, therefore the precise definition of learning outcomes helps to create the ideal learning environment, as the elements that contribute to the achievement of the learning goals are highlighted in the learning space's effects (Corbett, 2002; Cseh, 2015).

The research used a mixed methodology which incorporates both quantitative and qualitative elements. In the design of the study, the quantitative unit is complemented by the qualitative one through the observation and case study of concrete learning situations and examples of implementation. The research tools used in this study therefore reflect the specificities of the inductive and deductive approaches. The use of an online questionnaire for teachers (n=480) and pupils, to be implemented in the first phase of the data collection, seems to be an ideal solution for the implementation of the environmental education and for exploring the learning environment outside the school at a more general level. In the second step of the data collection, further data extracted from the focus group interviews (n=30) based on the questionnaire survey data and results. In the interviews, we obtained data specifically on the detailed understanding of the out-of-school learning environment involved in environmental education. The possible correlations between the data collected in this way and the data on environmental education from the questionnaire survey, and their explanation, can be interpreted as expected results of the research. In the third step of the data collection, we done observation in between teachers (n=14), The purpose of the case studies of specific activities is to analyse the relationship between the understanding of the learning environment outside school and the concrete implementation of environmental education at a deeper level. Furthermore, the main objective is to confirm the validity of the relationships described along the interview data and the findings based on them through practical examples.

The expected results of the research can be broken down into three broad units, similar to each phase of the data collection. Each phase of the data collection may produce different results that can be interpreted individually. However, the complex interconnectedness of environmental education in the out-of-school learning environment and a deeper understanding of it can only be achieved by interpreting the results of these three phases together. The data from the first phase provide a general picture of the situation of out-of-school environmental education in public education in Hungary, showing the methodological, technical and territorial specificities of its implementation and the factors that help and hinder its systematic implementation. The main result of the second phase of data collection is an exploratory analysis of the situation, which reveals the similarities and differences between the interpretations of the out-of-school learning environment by environmental educators, with particular reference to the characteristics and features of the environmental education activities implemented along the lines of the different interpretations. From the analysis of the cases observed in the third phase, the conscious design of the out-of-school learning environment and its impact on students can be described. Another noteworthy result is that the observed cases have resulted in a product of 'good practices' that can be useful for teachers planning environmental education activities in out-of-school learning environments.

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