Ways Ahead For Outdoor Education In Australia

Abstract

Let's get simple. If you can't do outdoor education with a backpack and a bit of food, then you can't do outdoor education. The essence of outdoor education is that we can learn much about life by living in simple ways in natural surroundings (Stapleton, 1991). At the recent national outdoor education conference, Stuart Hill (2001) implored us to identify and express our 'profound simplicities'. For me, some of the profound simplicities which describe outdoor education are: (i) we learn most powerfully by experiencing things for ourselves; (ii) outdoor education can provide enjoyable, educational and therapeutic experiences and this is supported by theory and research; (iii) post-industrial society has dramatically reduced the presence of experiential, nature-based learning experiences in daily life; (iv) outdoor education has developed rapidly over the past 50 years in terms of prevalence, style, purpose, variety, complexity and professionalism; (v) outdoor education has a vast potential to help human society meet the significant challenges of the future. The most profound simplicity, for me, is the last one--that outdoor education has a largely unrealised potential to help guide and transform our society through the challenges ahead. The challenge, as I see it, is to envision a future and to develop and implement strategies to help outdoor education achieve its social potential. At the recent national outdoor education conference delegates proposed a statement of ethical purpose (1) which emphasised a broad, underlying aim: Through interaction with the natural world, outdoor education aims to develop an understanding of our relationships with the environment, others, and ourselves. The ultimate goal of outdoor education is to contribute towards a sustainable community. This statement deserves wider consideration. Why not ask staff within your organisation to identify their profound simplicities and to comment on whether this statement captures the purpose of outdoor education? As a clearer understanding of the underlying simplicities and purposes of outdoor education develops, envisaging the future will become more possible. To help, try 'thinking in the future tense' James, 1998). What possibilities do you dream of for the future of outdoor education? In an ideal world, what programs would you create? My own hopes are for: (i) wider recognition of the role that outdoor education can play in achieving specific educational and therapeutic outcomes and for lifelong development; (ii) greater adaptability and innovation in program design which better meets the needs of our rapidly changing society; (iii) more widespread implementation of quality assurance practices to improve educational practices and outcomes; (iv) a peak body which actively promotes outdoor education, builds links with broader society, and fosters the collective development of outdoor education; (v) more equitable access to outdoor education experiences; (vi) a greater contribution by outdoor education to other fields of human endeavour; How might we achieve these visions? I think the key is that we need to nurture critical centres ('hothouses') of development. Several existing places spring to mind, including some large organisations, school programs, tertiary institutions, and several small, exciting new programs. But I am concerned that overall the growth and development of cutting-edge, innovative outdoor education programs has slowed in Australia. We are not keeping pace with the demands of society and many organisations are facing cutbacks and reduced enrolments. We seem to be sitting in a quiet corner in Australia, with a limited collective voice and no clear agenda for the future. Simon Priest, after his extensive travelling to outdoor education programs around the world, warned us several years ago that the newest and most exciting developments were occurring in countries where outdoor education was relatively new. …