Great outdoors : outdoor education goes mainstream

Authors

C Eglington, Aranmore Catholic College
P Broderick, Murdoch University. School of Psychology

Abstract

Outdoor education addresses sustainability and provides a good learning environment for boys as well as girls, so it is no surprise that it has been quietly moving into a mainstream area of study in schools. It engages with issues related to a socially and ecologically sustainable future while imparting essential life and work skills for students from diverse cultural groups - and it is particularly effective in engaging with adolescent boys. Often confused with physical education, which focuses on the care and development of the human body, stressing athletics and including hygiene, outdoor education takes an adventure-based, holistic approach to education, requiring the meta-skills of decision making, problem solving, personal development and leadership. In doing this, outdoor education educates people about social and ecological sustainability. The article outlines the outdoor education program at Aranmore Catholic College in Perth. [Author abstract, ed]

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