The nature and scope of outdoor education in New Zealand schools

Friluftsliv: a contribution to equity and democracy in Swedish Physical Education? An analysis of codes in Swedish Physical Education curricula

“…The Swedish National Agency of Education emphasise friluftsliv as a significant element within Swedish PE (SNAE 2000) and similar conditions occur in New Zealand, England, parts of Australia and parts of USA regarding outdoor education (Brooks 2002, Bunting 1989, Cooper 2000, Zink and Boyes 2006. However, it seems as if the actual teaching of outdoor practices is limited, interchangeable and that its implementation is surrounded by difficult circumstances (Brown 2006).…”

“…Outdoor education is a part of Physical Education (PE) in many countries (Brooks 2002, Bunting 1989, Cooper 2000, Zink and Boyes 2006. Besides emphasised values of social development (Beames andAtencio 2008, Quay et al 2003) and environmental awareness (Thomas 2005, O'Connel et al 2005, it has been suggested that teaching in outdoor education has a potential to contribute to equity (Paechter 2006).…”

Learning from leisure: Developing nature connectedness in outdoor education

“…Over a decade ago, Boyes (2000) suggested that there was a "lack of semantic agreement" (p. 76) in regards to outdoor education terminology, and diverse understandings of outdoor education still prevail (Hill, 2010b While diversity and local variation in outdoor education in Aotearoa-New Zealand is recognised, it has been suggested nevertheless that "commonly held notions of what comprises outdoor education" persist (Irwin, 2008, p. 36). As many authors have highlighted, a sustained focus on personal and social development outcomes has historically favoured the provision of particular pedagogical experiences over other possibilities (Brown, 2008;Brown & Fraser, 2010;Cosgriff, 2008;Lynch, 2006;Zink & Boyes, 2006). Zink (2003) clearly articulated this when she drew links between the widespread usage of outdoor pursuits and adventure activities in school programmes, personal development outcomes, society's fascination with adventure, and risk and challenge discourses.…”

“…Longstanding assumptions in outdoor education programming in Aotearoa-New Zealand about the importance of remote or exotic environs (Hill, 2010b), rather than local and 'ordinary', could also be called into question. Furthermore at a very pragmatic level, a deliberate focus on the proximal and local may help alleviate some of the constraints associated with time and financial resources that outdoor education teachers have previously identified as impacting on teaching programmes (for example Hill, 2010a;Zink & Boyes, 2006).…”

Práticas corporais de aventura em aulas de educação física na escola

“…Acrescenta que essa relação da aventura com os seres humanos faz parte da nossa evolução histórica nas práticas corporais e, por isso, tal temática poderia e deveria ser enfatizada dentro das aulas de Educação Física na escola. Em relação à produção científica internacional, verifica-se que a terminologia utilizada com mais frequência é a outdoor education, ou seja, as experiências de educação ao ar livre, como em Zink e Boyes, 15 Martin, 16 Karppinen, 17 White, 18 Andkjaer, 19 Entretanto, não menos importante deve ser um debate educacional na tentativa de atrelar as práticas corporais de aventura -seja diretamente na natureza ou mesmo em meio urbano -ao contexto das aulas escolares. Especialmente no que se relaciona à área da Educação Física, cujo universo tem se ampliado para além das vivências puramente esportivas e tecnicistas, em direção a novos segmentos de prática, torna-se necessário investir esforços no sentido de se compreender essas (novas) tendências educacionais que se relacionam à aventura e suas práticas corporais.…”