Introduction To My Article On Outdoor Education

Aims and Intentions of the Professional Practice Enquiry

In the last half of the summer term 2012 the then headteacher of the school I work at called an emergency staff meeting where he appealed to staff for help. An expedition was due to leave the school in July, to Morocco. The teacher who had organised the trip was unable to accompany the students and the school needed someone to volunteer. I volunteered, and within six weeks was on my way to Marrakesh with seven year 11 students and a limited idea of what I had let myself in for. Three weeks later I returned to the UK, with some understanding of what outdoor education could achieve. I witnessed students arrive in a country of which they had limited prior knowledge, work as a team in near 50-degree heat to negotiate transport to a hostel, and secure a favourable price for their accommodation while carrying two heavy bags on their backs. Over the weeks that followed the students took up several challenges such as climbing the summit of Mount Toubkal, adapting to living without running water or sanitation, playing with and teaching English to local children, and learning about a culture markedly different from their own. The students and I returned feeling that we had had a brilliant experience and felt on top of the world but we had not yet learned what the long-term impact of our time in Morocco would be for us as individuals. Over the following two school years I was able to stay in touch with the students and witness them flourish in various ways.

This expedition and the development of the students who were part of it provided the starting point for my enquiry and began my interest in Outdoor Education, which would eventually lead to me taking responsibility for Outdoor Education and Extra-curricular experiences within my school. From this point I had an idea of what I wanted to learn and what I wanted to achieve, but very little capacity to bring this about. I had no training or real experience in Outdoor Education.

The challenges of growing Outdoor Education in my school have not been lost on me: despite more and more teachers wishing to engage their students in educational experiences beyond the four walls of the classroom, many are unsure how to begin. How can they use the outdoors in a way that minimises paperwork and organisation time, while maximising direct, hands on learning experience? (Beames et al, 2011, page 2). In order to be able to answer this question, I decided to approach Outdoor Education by gaining more experience within the context of my school, researching and understanding the benefits and issues around Outdoor Education. I also needed to seek advice from experienced professionals within the field and teacher-leaders who had already successfully implemented Outdoor Education. But most importantly I needed to ensure that the students were placed centrally in my work and that I use evidence from the students and work with them to develop Outdoor Education that would serve their needs and interests.