Environmental

Review of The story of White Hall Centre: Outdoor education across the decades by Pete McDonald

Review of Ontology and closeness in human-nature relationships: Beyond dualisms, materialism and posthumanism by Neil H. Kessler

Teacher and student perceptions of an outdoor classroom Abstract A six-week study was conducted with two kindergarten teachers and 37 kindergarten students aged five and six to determine their perceptions of teaching and learning in a traditional indoor classroom compared to a newly constructed outdoor classroom. This mix-methods study took place in a charter school located in the southeast region of the United States. Observational data was collected in both the outdoor and indoor learning environments during the literacy block called "LMNOP time" as well as during recess or "free time." The teachers and children were also surveyed and interviewed. Of the 37 children who participated in the study, five of the children had special needs. Quantitative observations and qualitative interview records were analyzed to compare the impact of the learning environments on children with and without disabilities. The data revealed that both the teachers and the students reported an increased perception of wellbeing, pleasure, and interest when teaching and learning in the outdoor classroom. In addition, research assistants noted that the children with disabilities were less distracted and more on-task when working in the outdoor classroom.

Influence of adventure education instructor education on the perspectives and practices of preservice adventure educators Abstract The research described in this paper built on the embryonic work on the occupational socialization of adventure educators (AEs). Its purpose was to determine the influence of one adventure education instructor education (AEIE) program on the perspectives and practices of preservice AEs (PAEs). Fifteen PAEs and their instructor were participants. Data were collected with six qualitative techniques and analyzed by employing analytic induction and constant comparison. Results revealed that PAEs entered the AEIE program with one of three broad orientations to their subject matter: a leisure orientation, an outdoor pursuits orientation, and an unsophisticated adventure orientation. In addition, they revealed how these orientations were shaped by the differing acculturation the PAEs experienced. The study's findings also suggested that well-taught AEIE had helped those PAEs near to completing the program acquire a relatively sophisticated adventure orientation regardless of the orientations with which they commenced their training. Keys to the success of the AEIE program were the blend of personal and pedagogical skill displayed by the instructor and the nature and sequencing of the coursework in which the PAEs engaged.

Ecological education via "islands of discourse": teacher education at the intersection of culture and environment Abstract In this paper I share my understandings of an elective outdoor environmental education course, a significant component of which was a field school. I helped develop this course at the Canadian university where I work as an academic, with the field school conducted on the island of Kaua'i in Hawaii. The paper describes the university field school and aspects of the underpinning ideas which cohere the course, particularly the model of an ecology of home. The model highlights how technical, socio-cultural and ecological influences all shape interpretations relevant to environmental education. The course involved educational experiences across three botanical gardens in Kaua'i: each of these places contributed uniquely to the development of prospective teachers through the pedagogical idea of "islands of discourse."

Acknowledging the agency of a more-than-human world: material relations on a Snowy River journey Abstract In this article we describe our attempt to challenge our anthropocentric gaze during an outdoor environmental education (OEE) research project involving a 10-day journey with high school students on the Snowy River in south-eastern Australia. Although much contemporary OEE research explores place responsive methodologies that provide possibilities for expanding beyond human centered practices, such movements can be difficult to make. We attempt, through this project, to shift our gaze away from a human-centered viewpoint to understand ways in which new perspectives of journeys, place(s) and learning might be available. To do this we adopt a posthuman/relational materialist approach to explore how the material world is creative of places, people and learning opportunities beyond human centered ways of seeing. We argue for a focus on the more-than-human aspects of places and engage posthuman concepts that allow us to challenge traditional ways of researching. In doing so we seek to uncover and acknowledge the agency of the more-than-human world, and how material places and their elements are valuable in the creation of emergent learning possibilities on an OEE journey. Rather than exact findings, this article is an exploratory journey of thinking OEE in different ways, to explore new opportunities for place and context responsive learning and environmental understanding.

Review of preventing fatal incidents in school and youth group camps and excursions: understanding the unthinkable by Andrew Brookes

Mindful adventures: a pilot study of the outward bound mindfulness program Abstract Mindfulness can be successfully combined with adventure education but the area is understudied. This longitudinal quasi-experimental study investigated whether an 8-day Outward Bound Mindfulness Program in nature would increase levels of positive affect, savouring, and mindfulness. Results indicate the experimental group experienced a statistically significant increase in mindfulness, positive affect and savouring compared to the control group post-intervention, and that the increase was maintained at 3-months post-intervention. These results illuminate the lasting impact of an intervention which combines mindfulness with adventure education, and highlight the potential which natural environments may play in educational and therapeutic processes. Study limitations and need for further research are shared.

Flourishing in the forest: looking at Forest School through a self-determination theory lens Abstract Forest School offers opportunities for children and young adults to come into regular contact with nature. Although, in relevant literature, Forest School is seen as highly conducive to participants' motivation to learn, there is no theoretical framework that examines how this motivation can be optimized in relation to Forest School pedagogy. Self-Determination Theory offers a broad perspective for motivational processes and will be used as a guide in this article to advance such a framework. Self-Determination Theory proposes that well-being, which has been identified as an aim of Forest School, is promoted through the support of three basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. In this conceptual article, we make links between Forest School pedagogical practices and Self-Determination Theory, mainly focusing on the support of children's basic psychological needs. Furthermore, we make suggestions for ways in which to enhance practice through explicit links with need-supportive teaching practices, as these are identified in the Self-Determination Theory literature.

A qualitative exploration of the barriers and bridges to accessing community-based K-12 outdoor environmental education programming Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore factors impeding or enabling 4th grade access to a community-based outdoor environmental education (OEE) organization located in the pacific northwest United States called the Children's Forest, an initiative of the United States Forest Service. Qualitative findings indicated that teachers and administrators face significant dilemmas when having to make OEE curricular decisions in the context of broader educational mandates. Key findings suggest that OEE program staff can utilize policy-driven mandates to facilitate OEE participation and that savvy individual teachers can potentially help schools overcome policy-related, institutional, and interpersonal barriers to OEE participation. Further research is needed to corroborate and identify additional bridges and barriers that might impact diverse K-12 educator access to community-based OEE. Nonetheless, key learnings emerged from this study echoing past research and providing additional implications for future OEE practice and research.

Alexandros Sfakianakis
Anapafseos 5 . Agios Nikolaos
Crete.Greece.72100
2841026182

6948891480

alsfakia@gmail.com