The Changing World Of Outdoor Learning In Europe

The Changing World of Outdoor Learning in Europe sets out to provide a comprehensive analysis of the economical and political changes that have occurred in European outdoor culture in the preceding two decades, from a diverse range of perspectives including institutional, theoretical, national and educational views. The book looks at how outdoor education has been transformed into an increasingly global field where established and influenced practices have been introduced into modernising and democratising nations. With contributions from the members of the board of the European Institute of Outdoor Adventure Eduation and Experiential Learning and representatives of the networks that stand behind it, this unique book provides thorough factual analyses and examinations of outdoor learning that have never been presented before. The book contains contributions from across Europe, with authors from the UK, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Slovenia, Poland, Norway and the Czech Republic. Chapters within the volume by non - European authors provide another perspective on the European story in a wider context. As a whole, the book will stimulate the ongoing debate about the nature, function and organisation of outdoor education around the globe. The Changing World of Outdoor Learning in Europe will be of great interest to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of outdoor education, leadership and recreation; and outdoor, sport, environmental and leisure studies. It should also be essential reading for those involved in outdoor organisations in Europe and worldwide.

Sport and physical activity are embedded in our education systems and in wider society. This book takes the broadest possible look at this topic, across every key discipline and on different continents, opening up important new directions for the future development of sport and physical activity education. The book examines education in sport coaching, sport management, PE teacher training, physical activity and health promotion, and the emerging discipline of outdoor studies, considering how trends such as globalisation, digitalisation, and privatisation are having a profound impact on education programs. It identifies some of the most important societal issues that must be addressed by sport and physical activity educators, including healthy lifestyles, inequality, intercultural aspects, human rights, and emerging technologies, and looks at how sport and physical activity education in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, and Australasia is evolving to meet these challenges. Designed to invite self-reflection, to provoke debate and to open up new cross-disciplinary and international perspectives within sports organisations and higher education institutions, this book is fascinating reading for advanced students, researchers, teachers, and policy makers with an interest in sport and physical activity.

A Pedagogy of Place offers an alternative vision for outdoor education practice. This timely book calls into question some of the underlying assumptions and ‘truths’ about outdoor education, putting forward alternatives to current practice that are responsive to local conditions and cultural traditions. In this renewal of outdoor education philosophy and practice, the emphasis is upon responding to, and empathising with, the outdoors as particular places, rich in local meaning and significance. Current outdoor education theory and practice is influenced by cultural ideas about risk and adventure, and by psychological theories of personal and social development. However, in recent decades the professional discourse of outdoor education has made a noticeable shift to include education for the ‘environment’ and ‘nature’. This has resulted in a mismatch between theory and practice: traditional notions of proving oneself ‘against’ the challenges of the outdoors are antithetical to the development of an empathetic relationship with outdoor places, which growing concern with today’s environment demands. This book is the first of its kind to articulate a renewal of philosophy and practice for outdoor education that is in keeping with the educational needs of today’s young people as they grapple with considerable social and ecological changes in a rapidly changing world. The authors draw extensively on international, national and local literature and provide compelling case studies drawn from the Australian and New Zealand contexts.

Calls to improve undergraduate STEM education have resulted in initiatives that seek to bolster student learning outcomes by promoting changes in teaching practices. Written by participants in a series of ground-breaking social network analysis (SNA) workshops, Researching and Enacting Change in Postsecondary Education argues that the academic department is a highly productive focus for the spread of new, network-based teaching ideas. By clarifying methodological issues related to SNA data collection and articulating relevant theoretical approaches to the topic, this book leverages current knowledge about social network theory and SNA techniques for understanding instructional improvement in higher education.

Experiential Learning Design comprehensively demonstrates the key theories and applications for the design of experiential approaches to learning and training. Learning is gradually moving away from management and delivery of content, and toward experiences that encourage learners to engage and take greater responsibility for their own progress. This book’s empirically sound, multi-disciplinary approach balances technical-rational and artistic-intuitive design elements to accommodate the complex, fluctuating capacities of human learning. In-depth chapters cover design principles, social and environmental factors in learning, the importance of senses and emotions, and links between body and brain. This bold, unique perspective shift will enrich the work of learning scientists, instructional designers, educational technologists, and beyond.

Over the last two decades Outdoor Studies has emerged as an innovative and vibrant field of study. This is the first book to offer a comprehensive appraisal of established and cutting-edge research methods as applied to Outdoor Studies. Covering qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods, the book examines key methodologies, themes and technologies such as digital research, mobile methodologies, ethnography, interviews, research design, research ethics and ways of disseminating research. Featuring contributions from leading researchers from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, this is an essential text for any Outdoor Studies course or for researchers looking for innovative and creative research techniques.

Teachers and Teacher Unions in a Globalised World asks a series of pressing questions of teacher educators, teachers and teacher unions worldwide in this era of global capitalism. As governments around the world support austerity politics in the face of financial meltdowns, social inequalities, terrorist threats, climate catastrophe, wars and mass migrations, the book questions whether practitioners in teaching and teacher education are succumbing to pressures to dismantle their nation-state systems of education. The authors present a clearly argued case in Ireland for teachers and teacher educators organising to realise their moral and social responsibilities of free and fair schooling for all when it is most needed, as well as insisting on policy debates about a free publicly funded school system. At a time when teachers are feeling overwhelmed with workload and frustrated by the visible turning of events away from the historical record, the book emphasises the importance of practitioner research in informing decisions about a strategic and democratic way forward for education around the globe. Teachers and Teacher Unions in a Globalised World will be of great interest to academics and researchers in the field of education, as well as teacher educators, practitioners and policymakers.

Whilst learning is central to most understandings of what it is to be human, we now live in a knowledge society where being educated defines life chances more than ever before. Learning Beyond the School brings together accounts of learning from around the world in organisations, spaces and places that are schooled, but not school. Exploring examples of learning organisation, pedagogisation, informal learning and social education, the book shows not only how understandings of education are framed in terms of local versions of schooling, but what being educated could and should mean in very different social and political contexts. With contributions from scholars based in Australia, Europe, the USA, Latin America and Asia, the book brings together accounts of learning outside of school. Chapters contain rich and detailed case studies of innovative projects, new kinds of learning institutions, youth, peer-driven and community-based activities and public pedagogies, as well as engaging with the dimensions of an argument about the place and nature of learning outside of the school. It challenges dominant versions of school around the world, whilst also critically discussing the value and place of non-institutionalised learning. Learning Beyond the School should be of interest to academics, researchers, postgraduate scholars engaged in the study of comparative education, youth work, education systems, digital culture, sociology of education and youth development. It should also be essential reading for practitioners and policymakers who are interested in youth and education system reform.