What kind of outdoor educator do you want to become? Trying something different in outdoor studies in higher education

Abstract

This paper seeks to explore a way of responding to tensions present in formal education and outdoor education in UK higher education. Separation of the doing from the knowing could perhaps be limiting students’ ability to become reflective practitioners and respond creatively to an ever-changing modern world. A different way of organising the curriculum through the concept of ‘occupations’ was the innovation and basis for an action research approach, with data gathered through the authors’ observations, logs and diaries. Findings suggested that not only is the connection between education and experience important, the relationship with the landscape that it takes place in is central, in conjunction with the social context. Implications are that agency and autonomy within the learning experience leads to increased motivation and understanding that the process can be open and emergent and about change.