The Role of Outdoor Activities in Civic Education Class: A Case Study in Higher Education

Abstract

Outdoor activities are a favorable choice for learning in a non-conventional environment, rewarding students and teachers alike. This study focuses on pre-service teachers’ experiences regarding the outdoor activities organized for a Civic Education class under the theme: Expressing feelings in relationship with self, others, and nature. Structure-process-outcome theory (Johnson & Johnson, 2018) guided the study regarding how educators organize teaching activities to guide the learning process to positive outcomes regarding teaching skills. Further, this study aimed to create a favorable learning context so that the participants would decide to transfer the outdoor activities to their profession. The chosen methodology was qualitative research with a holistic single-case study research design and a photovoice component. The participants were 23 undergraduate students in the third year of the preschool and primary school education program. Data collection methods were observations, students’ reflective journals, and photos taken by participants and accompanied by essays created by following the SHOWED framework of Wallerstein and Bernstein (1988). After the thematic coding of data, the results revealed the participants’ unique experiences during outdoor activities, and a sense of unity and collaboration during activities and fellowship, not only increasing the desire to invest in relationships and learning but also dreaming of replicating good practices and excellence in their learning and teaching. For further studies, the recommendation is to use outdoor activities for other undergraduate courses and research the outcomes.