What Is Outdoor Education?
What is outdoor education and what makes a successful outdoor educator?
Around Australia, outdoor education exists within the broader education perspective (Bucknell, 2006). It is not compulsory for students in some schools to embark on an outdoor experience and when a group of secondary students do step of the bus, issues in the forefront of their mind would most likely consist of “how will I cope with going to the toilet in the bush?” or “I’m glad I am sharing a tent with my best friend” (Dickson, Gray & Hayllar, 2005). In its most broadest sense outdoor education is education in, about and for the out of doors (Donaldson & Donaldson, 1958 p.65.). To be more specific according to Moscardo (2008), outdoor education can be seen as educational activities focused on understanding relationships between humans and their environments, improving physical health and recreational skills, teamwork and personal growth and development. Throughout this paper I will continue to dissect what outdoor education means and what makes a successful outdoor educator.
According to Bucknell, (2006) students who participate in outdoor education demonstrate traits that exist in the core subjects like English and Mathematics. These traits are improvement in social and individual skills, leadership, self-confidence, teamwork, cooperation, motivation, and developing environmental understanding and awareness. Similarly a recent study by Lugg & Martin (2000, p.6) showed the most prominent learning outcomes espoused in outdoor education include group cooperation, self-esteem, and responsibility. Students are reinforcing these skills in an unfamiliar environment, that not of in a classroom. Students are in the natural wilderness doing activities like camping, climbing, bushwalking, caving, cooking, orienteering, abseiling, navigation and rafting (Sullivan, 2012). All theses activities are under the guidance of outdoor educators.
For many outdoor educators, Kurt Hahn is
Around Australia, outdoor education exists within the broader education perspective (Bucknell, 2006). It is not compulsory for students in some schools to embark on an outdoor experience and when a group of secondary students do step of the bus, issues in the forefront of their mind would most likely consist of “how will I cope with going to the toilet in the bush?” or “I’m glad I am sharing a tent with my best friend” (Dickson, Gray & Hayllar, 2005). In its most broadest sense outdoor education is education in, about and for the out of doors (Donaldson & Donaldson, 1958 p.65.). To be more specific according to Moscardo (2008), outdoor education can be seen as educational activities focused on understanding relationships between humans and their environments, improving physical health and recreational skills, teamwork and personal growth and development. Throughout this paper I will continue to dissect what outdoor education means and what makes a successful outdoor educator.
According to Bucknell, (2006) students who participate in outdoor education demonstrate traits that exist in the core subjects like English and Mathematics. These traits are improvement in social and individual skills, leadership, self-confidence, teamwork, cooperation, motivation, and developing environmental understanding and awareness. Similarly a recent study by Lugg & Martin (2000, p.6) showed the most prominent learning outcomes espoused in outdoor education include group cooperation, self-esteem, and responsibility. Students are reinforcing these skills in an unfamiliar environment, that not of in a classroom. Students are in the natural wilderness doing activities like camping, climbing, bushwalking, caving, cooking, orienteering, abseiling, navigation and rafting (Sullivan, 2012). All theses activities are under the guidance of outdoor educators.
For many outdoor educators, Kurt Hahn is
Bibliography: Barnes, P. (2004). So, what goes into an outdoor education degree - and are we getting it right? Horizons, 25(Spring), 21-24. Beare, M., & Lynch, P. (2005). Learning decision making for the outdoors: A naturalistic perspective Bucknell, C. and Mannion, A. (2006). An outdoor education body of knowledge. Donaldson, G. E., & Donaldson, L. E. (1958). Outdoor education: A definition. Moscardo, G. (2008). Outdoor Education. In The Encyclopedia of Tourism and Recreation in Marine Environments Priest, S. & Gass, M. (1997). Effective Leadership in Adventure Programming. Sullivan, L (2012). What is outdoor education. Week 1. Lecture notes distributed in the course HPE3205- Outdoor Education 1, at the University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle on August 1, 2012 Quay, J., Dickson, S. &Nettleton, B. (2000). Community caring and outdoor education