The Australian Journal of Outdoor Education: A Review of the First Five Years

Abstract

Abstract The role of a journal is to facilitate the development of knowledge in a field of inquiry. This article reviews the history, authorship and content of the first five years of the Australian Journal of Outdoor Education (AJOE). Although it experienced some early growing pains, the AJOE has become recognised as a leading journal in the international field of Outdoor Education (OE). With regard to authorship, two thirds were male whilst 16 authors were identified as having made significant contributions to the AJOE by publishing at least two articles. Almost half of the journal content emanated from academic institutions, most notably La Trobe University and the University of Wollongong, with significant contributions also made by teachers, instructors, programme directors and consultants. The main focus of AJOE articles to date has been on articulating and applying theory about outdoor education, with significant focuses also on research and practice. It is recommended that the continued development of the journal should see more contributions from academics at other Australian institutions which have teaching programmes in outdoor education and from leading organisations. In terms of future topics, it is suggested that potentially valuable contributions could be in the areas of research, adventure therapy, indigenous, equity and cross-cultural issues, challenging critiques of OE, articles by post-graduate students and responses to published articles in the form of rejoinders or letters to the editor. The important thing is not to stop questioning Albert Einstein Introduction A good journal serves its field and readership well. It is a template upon which we collectively scribe our tacit knowledge. Since 1996, the various AJOE issues have accumulated on our book shelves. Some may be well read, others may have collected dust as a sign of their disuse. Yet there remains a certain thrill in wandering back through an earlier issue, discovering an insight or resource which hadn't been fully appreciated at first glance. And there is the anticipatory tension upon the arrival of a new issue, perhaps somewhere within its pages is an article you really want to read or maybe even something that you have written yourself. Background The undertaking by the Australian Outdoor Education Council (AOEC) in 1996 to support an academic print journal was a significant step in the advancement of the field. On the international scene, the leading journal in the field was the peer-refereed Journal of Experiential Education (JEE), supported by the United States (US) based Association for Experiential Education. The JEE had the backing of a comparatively large association membership and resources. Its focus was broader than OE, giving it appeal to a wide readership but perhaps frustrating Outdoor Educators who saw the need for a more focussed journal. The real strength of the JEE was that over the years, since first being published in 1978, it managed to maintain broad appeal by treading a careful line between being down-to-earth enough to appeal to practitioners, yet academically rigorous enough to attract quality thinking and writing. The second major journal in the field of OE was the United Kingdom (UK) based Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Leadership (JAEOL) which had undergone a major name change and transformation in 1983 under the leadership of Chris Loynes, after its inception in 1981 as the journal of Adventure Education. Over the years, the JAEOL has had various incarnations. In 1997 Chris Loynes started and produced "Horizons"--a magazine for the profession. The JAEOL continued as the refereed section and sometimes appeared as a separate issue until 1999 when it was handed over to the Institute for Outdoor Learning (IOL) who now publish it and its derivatives. IOL have carried on producing Horizons quarterly edited by Chris Reed and it is not refereed. …