 Around
the world, what is outdoor education?
Outdoor education is an
international, experiential education phenomenon which engages people in
adventurous activities for enhancement of the well-being of individuals,
communities, and the environment. However, outdoor education means slightly, and sometimes profoundly,
different things in different cultures and countries. For example, in
Japan, outdoor education is very closely related to
environmental education. On the other had, in Australia/New Zealand,
UK, and North America, environmental education is often viewed as quite
distinct from outdoor education.
Such differences get particularly interesting when translating "outdoor education" terminology
into different languages. |
What's New?
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Outdoor
education discussion group
(James Neill, 2006, Outdoor Education Research & Evaluation Center)
A new google group dedicated to people discussing outdoor education from
all around the world. Other lists tend to be focused on what's
going on in one country. This list aims to foster international
sharing and collaboration and replaces the old InterCom list.
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Map of outdoor education
around the world
(James Neill, 2006, Outdoor Education Research & Evaluation Center)
Using Frappr (which is based on Google Maps), an interactive map has
been created. People and organisations can add a pin and info
about themselves. As the map grows, it will become a dataset for
mapping outdoor education and a rich resource for fostering connections.
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Outdoor education in Singapore
(James Neill, 2004, Outdoor Education Research & Evaluation Center)
Singapore is a small island-country with a
post-industrial lifestyle. Recognizing the need to provide outdoor
experiences, the Singaporean government has supported the development of
Outward Bound and government adventure activity centers for school
students.
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The challenges facing providers of Outdoor Management Development in Hong Kong
(Andrew Brown, 2003, Unpublished Masters thesis, Sheffield Hallam University, UK) [.pdf; 2.56 MB]
Semi-structured interview data was collected from OMD providers
and buyers of OMD in Hong Kong. The findings suggest a shortfall between
the best practices described in Western OMD literature and the common practices
of Hong Kong’s OMD providers. Delivering OMD using traditional Chinese cultural
norms is acceptable to trainers and participants, yet does not comply with
Experiential Learning Theory and OMD Theory; neither does it develop the
participatory management style that is required to run large, complex
organizations, which are commonly OMD clients. Limited formal training is
currently available in Hong Kong to educate providers in key areas of OMD,
particularly design, transfer and reviewing.
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Iraq Boy Scouts come under "former" CIA agent supervision
(Muhammad Abu Nasr, 4 August, 2004, Free Arab Press)
The political role of the newly created Iraq Boy Scouts
is questioned. The IRB has been given US$250,000 and a former police
training camp to get underway. In addition, the IRB is being headed up
by a "former" CIA agent.
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