This paper draws upon research undertaken for the Outdoor Pedagogies project and explores the processes of teaching and learning at one outdoor residential education centre with children and staff from 'Oliver' Primary school. Data were collected through ethnographic research and include participant observation, interviews with teachers and centre staff and group interviews with pupils. Whilst the interviewed children reflected positively on the experience, we highlight the importance of the teachers' interaction with the children in providing for democratic, shared positive learning. We raise the issue of professional development for school teachers working with primary school children in outdoor, residential situations. Keywords: outdoor learning; outdoor education; residential experience; pupils' experiences; teaching; interaction IntroductionIn a recent special edition of Education 3-13, Rea and Waite (2009) brought together a number of papers from a variety of countries focusing upon socio-cultural perspectives on outdoor and experiential learning evidencing the significance of outdoor contexts for young children's learning. Whilst there is much commonality across outdoor learning as presented in the papers, Rea and Waite drew attention to the tendency for the English interpretation of outdoor teaching and learning to be, 'somewhat colonised by short term measurement agendas related to Government -defined standards ' (p. 2). Over the years, they argue, access to the outdoors for primary children in England has become reduced partly as a consequence of the rigid English curriculum, but also as a consequence of the British risk aversion society 1 . Outdoor experience in schooling in Scandinavian countries has long time been recognised as important and even central to the physical, emotional and intellectual development of children. It is well integrated into the educational system, which acknowledges the need for 'risky' play in children (Sandseter 2009). Furthermore, much literature concerned with well-being and primary children extols the virtue of the outdoors as a play and learning space (see Munoz 2009) with further recommendation that increasing the availability and accessibility to outdoor experiences for children may provide for the greater creativity and encourage life-long learning (Waite, Davies and Brown 2006). This paper argues that whilst the outdoors is purported to be significant and beneficial, yet an under-utilised context for learning for primary children in UK, it is important to examine and take account of diverse forms of teaching and control manifested in outdoor and residential situations. Methodological overviewThis paper is based on data collected during the pilot study for the Well-being and Outdoor Pedagogies Project. Participant observation and semi-structured interviews were used as part of the ethnographic study. A fieldwork diary was also kept and relevant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 3...

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Society today is inundated by a multitude of messages regarding the risks and dangers that affect youngsters, with media constantly talking about 'cotton wool' kids (see Furedi, 1997Furedi, , 2001Furedi, , 2006 and an 'obesity epidemic' (see Wright and Harwood, 2009). A social panic has been created by the media, which ignores the positive outcomes of risk-taking, sensationalises risks, and focuses on the dangers of the world. In popular discourse contradictions are in evidence, on the one hand adults are concerned about the safety of young children; on the other hand many argue that society wraps children in 'cotton wool' such that they are denied opportunities to play outdoors for fear of accidents. Research has shown that negotiating risks and relating them to individual capacities is essential for the development of young children and their ability to learn from their mistakes and become aware of their personal health and safety (Fenech, Sumsion, & Goodfellow, 2006). This paper is based on a pilot study that explores young children and their significant others' perceptions and experiences of risk and safety, looking particularly at the ways in which experiences of outdoor learning may affect the well-being of children. Using an ethnographic approach the research examines how parents and teachers define well-being, and how being in the outdoors is seen to affect pupils' well-being. This paper, a work in progress, asks if and how outdoor activities, through outdoor learning, contribute to the physical and emotional well-being of young children, briefly touching on theories of power and control.

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