Examining Axioms in Outdoor
Education
Axiomatic
issues in outdoor education should be examined in more depth, particular
during significant stages of a field’s evolution. Outdoor
education, in its ‘modern’ form, is well over 50 years old. It seems timely
at the beginning of the 21st century to reflect upon trends and issues
influencing outdoor education programming and to consider the underlying,
seemingly perennial nature of fundamental questions.
Science talks
about axioms, the central hunches or beliefs upon which the whole box and
dice rest. Outdoor education should also be in the habit of making
apparent, and cogitating upon, its axioms. What fundamental
assumptions do the theories and practices of outdoor education base
themselves?
Mapping out
the territory of philosophical assumptions that are the architecture of
outdoor education is a significant task, and few, if any, could claim to
have tackled the task comprehensively and head on. A few names come to
mind, as worthy of consideration – Jasper Hunt, Steve Bowles, and Scott
Wurdinger for
example. Such thinkers, however, would probably be the first to argue
that we need deeper examination of the fundamental assumptions in order to
consider possible futures and ways forward for outdoor education. I
appreciate the work of Jasper Hunt on ethical issues in the outdoor
education setting and Steve Bowles’ questioning of the positivistic
limitations of the predominantly North American theoretical and
philosophical views on outdoor programming and Scott Wurdinger for seeking
to illuminate the underlying philosophical themes and tensions.
Amongst the
potentially axiomatic issues that could be considered for closer
philosophical examination in outdoor education are the roles, challenge,
risk, safety, nature, psychological aspects, the leader, and facilitation
in outdoor education.
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