History of Outdoor Education as a curriculum area in Victoria and mapping the field of Outdoor Education

1. OEEDU5001 Concepts in
Outdoor Education
Week two

2. What are the origins of OEE?
When did OEE begin in schools and in what
form?
When did it become part of the:
•Curriculum?
•VCE?

3. What are the origins of OEE?
How does OE’s history influence how it is
conducted today?
What is professionalism in OE?

4. Four main components of
curriculum
Content
Process
Context
= what is taught.
= how it is taught.
= the circumstances in
which it is taught.
Outcomes = what is learned.

5. Process
Processes of learning
= methods
– the how of teaching.
OE often thought of and written
about as experiential learning.
(especially in Nth America).

6. Most common model of
process in OE is the
experiential learning cycle
(David Kolb 1984)

8. Process
Contested? Simplistic? Linked to
learning styles? Time frames?
Processes can be applied to a
very wide range of outcomes.

9. Context
Outdoor education
can deliberately
change context – the
settings in which
teaching and learning
occur.
(It might be the only thing it does!)

10. Context
Deliberately
constructing alternate
worlds (what?)
Enabling critical
reflection (why critical?)
Looking back…

11. Outcomes?
…are what students come
away learning – understanding,
doing, feeling…
(Sometimes “outcome” is used to describe aims or
goals. Eg. On the VCE OES design)

12. In OE, outcomes have been
traditionally described as
being:
• about the self;
• about the community or others and;
• about the natural world or nature.
(technical outdoor skills)
(promote, enhance academic learning. USA, NZ EOTC.)

13. What outcomes do you hold
to be most important for you
at this point?

14. Content?
…is the material that you might
teach or introduce to
students… the subject matter

15. History of Outdoor Education
as a curriculum area in
Victoria

16. Curriculum development 101
Curriculum reflects social
concern.
As concerns change, schooling
is often charged with “fixing”
social problems.

17. Curriculum development 101
The problems or issues given
most space, are those that are
most important at any time.
Importance is determined by
those holding power.

18. Curriculum development 101
Power and concerns shift

19. Outdoor recreation is the
basis for outdoor education
in schools

20. 1930’s
Enthusiastic teachers take
students on extended
bushwalks (Otways, Wilsons
Prom.)

21. 1940’s
Expeditions in Tas.
(eg.,Geelong College)

22. Late 1940’s
Wesley & Caulfield Grammar
establish camps

23. 1952
Geelong Grammar
establish Timbertop.
Based on character building principles

24. 1950’s – 1960’s
Expanded school curricula
include extra-curricular
adventure activities.

25. 1959
Somers camp established
(DoE)

26. 1960’s
Outward Bound - 26 day
programs

27. 1970’s
Schools begin to integrate
OEd into core curriculum

28. 1971
Bogong School Camp
established

29. 1972
Fatality on Cradle Mtn.
(Footscray Tech.)

30. 1973
School Camps Branch
established to monitor school
outdoor activities

31. 1970’s
Education Department puts
$’s into training & support

32. 1975
Safety in Adventure
Activities published

33. 1970’s
Core outcomes remain
personal and group
development, based on
pushing comfort zones and
character building exercises.

34. 1978
Rubicon School Camp
established

35. 1980’s
Belt tightening by ministry

36. 1981
Victorian Outdoor Education
Association (VOEA)
established

37. 1982
School Camps Branch
disbanded. Individual regions
appoint OE curriculum
consultants.

38. 1983
OEd included in Personal
Devt. area of school
curriculum.

39. 1984
OEd accepted by VISE as a
Group 2 Yr 12 subject

40. 1988
Report of the Ministerial
Review of OEd.
Acknowledged OE as process of learning in
addition to…

41. 1989
The Personal Development
Framework published
(incl. OEd. as a unique curric. area)

42. Outdoor Education
gets green
•
•
•
Squeeze on subjects at yr 12.
Growing public concern over
environmental issues.
Search for distinctive contributions
for OE

43. 1992
VCE OEd fully established as
human development and
HNR.

44. 1996
Curriculum Standards
Framework Course Advice for
OEd (P-10)

45. 2000
VCE Outdoor & Environmental
Studies merged OE and
Enviro Studies

46. 2000
VET Outdoor Recreation
created from national training
package.
Separated outdoor education from outdoor
recreation.

47. 2000+
Revised CSF into VELS

48. Today
Outdoor Ed
Outdoor Rec
University degree
TAFE RTO certificate
Teacher educator
Leader instructor
Government
Commercial
HNR & other ed.
outcomes.
Activity skills and ???
Mainly schools
Mainly schools

49. 2009
National curriculum debates
on inclusion of OE three foci,
personal outdoor experience
(place), H.N.R. critique,
management of
risk/outdoor skills.

50. 2010
Labor state gov. pledges
Alternate year 9 experience with
OE as central pillar (70%
support) – Loses election!
(Resilience)

51. 2012
National curriculum scoping
paper sets out HPE curriculum
for next decade. OE???
Not there????

52. Mapping the field
(Where are we at?)

53. The traditional base of all
outdoor education today is
outdoor recreation.
•
•
•
•
•
UK import?
Australian bushman (sic)
Journey based
Human effort
Self sufficiency

54. Mapping the Field
Corporate
training
Adventure
therapy
Outdoor
recreation
Outdoor
education
Evolved to
seek
differing
educational
goals

55. Mapping the Field
Outdoor
recreation
Seeks primarily to increase
opportunities for recreation
and leisure through skill
mastery, socialisation,
relaxation or intellectual
stimulation

56. Mapping the Field
Corporate
training
Concerned with enabling
work groups to improve
functional communication
and vocationally related
productivity outcomes

57. Mapping the Field
Adventure
therapy
Seeks to “change
dysfunctional behaviour
patterns, using adventure
experiences forms of
habilitation and
rehabilitation” (Priest and
Gass 1997, p.24).

58. Mapping the Field
Outdoor
education
Critical outdoor education
is concerned with
humanity’s relationship
with nature. It “is aimed at
examining outdoor
recreation and
environmental issues in
light of the dominant social
order” (Martin 1999, p.464)

59. Mapping the Field
More like
More like
adventure
adventure
therapy
therapy
More like
More like
group
group
development
development
(community)
(community)
Corporate
Adventure
training
Connectionstherapy
Connections
(common ground)
(common ground)
Outdoor experiences
Outdoor experiences
Activity skills
Activity skills
Experiential ground)
Experiential learning
(common ground)
(common learning
Environmental issues
Environmental issues
Social & cultural justice
Social & cultural justice
Leadership & teaching
Leadership & teaching
Quality & research
Quality & research
Connections
Connections
Outdoor
recreation
More like traditional
More like traditional
outdoor recreation
outdoor recreation
More like
More like
personal
personal
development
development
Outdoor
education
More like critical
More like critical
outdoor education
outdoor education