Critical Overview
This is the best federal review of outdoor education type research to
date in any country and exhibits several notable strengths including:
- International emphasis of literature review
- Diverse conceptualization of outdoor learning - 3 categories - field
studies, outdoor adventure and school grounds/community projects
- Systematic focus on contemporary research literature - 150 published
studies 1993-2003
- Situating the literature review within a school/government education
policy and practice framework
- Appreciation of and emphasis on the diverse findings which, whilst in
general appear to be positive, actually vary widely between different
types of programs and for different individuals
- Efforts to draw practical, synthesizing conclusions and
recommendations which are related to current policy and social
opportunities
- Useful and well organized appendices containing details of search
strategies, types of information coded for each study, and reference list
The review seemed to be weakened by:
- Omission of the other major outdoor adventure research literature
review from a UK perspective (Barret & Greenaway's "Why Adventure")
- Omission of articles from Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor
Learning
- Tendency to over-rely on some specific studies to the exclusion
of other studies
- The quality of detail and analysis at the study-specific level was not
as strong as the higher level writing of the summary/conclusion/overview
sections
- Lack of critical appraisal of research evidence e.g., research
artifacts such as publishing bias
or file-drawer effect (tendency for positive studies to be published),
Hawthorne effects, post-group euphoria effects, studies with low power,
etc.
- Tendency to rely on significant test results (which are subject to
statistical power problems) rather than comparison/benchmarking of effect
sizes
- Lack of critical commentary on quality of instrumentation used to
examine processes and effects of outdoor learning experiences
- Lack of comment/integration of the recent UK national Lotteries pilot
programs and subsequent wide-scale funding of summer camp style programs
for UK youth
Summary of Main Features
- The best outdoor learning research review produced to
date by a federal education agency.
- Argues that due to increased concerns about risk and
liability and increasing full school curricula, outdoor learning is
increasingly difficult to organize, with fewer opportunities available
to students and that policy makers need to respond pro-actively
- Provides a brief, informative historical overview of the
wide ranging development of outdoor learning in UK education since the
early 1900s
- Provides an informative overview of contemporary UK
government policies and programs in the UK and describes several
different types of outdoor learning programs and initiatives
- Reviews 150 international English-language outdoor learning research studies, papers and
books published between 1993 and 2003; did not include theses or
unpublished material
- Focuses on studies of outdoor learning in
school-settings, across three levels of education:
- primary education,
- secondary education and
- tertiary education
- Does not include research on outdoor learning in informal, training and
therapeutic sectors
- Categorizes outdoor learning research studies with being
one of three types:
- field work,
- outdoor adventure,
- school grounds/community programs.
- Categorizes outcomes as:
- cognitive
- affective
- interpersonal/social
- physical/behavioral
- Updates and extends (but does not replace)
Barret and Greenaway's (1996)
"Why Adventure?" (published by The Foundation for Outdoor
Adventure) in terms of reviewing and efficiently organizing and
commenting on the international outdoor education research literature
from a British perspective. However, significantly, an oversight
of the Rickinson review was its omission of referencing and discussing
Barret and Greenaway's important review, particularly with regard to
integrating and building on the UK-specific recommendations.
- Generally concludes that there is considerable empirical research evidence
supporting that there are positive impacts of outdoor learning for school students and
the school system
- Identifies five factors associated with stronger outcomes:
- Longer, more sustained outdoor experience programs
- Well designed preparatory and follow-up work
- Use of a wide range of carefully-structured learning activities and
assessments linked to the school
- Recognize and emphasize the role of facilitation in the learning process
- Develop close links between programs aims and program practices
- Discussion focuses on outcomes for the UK school system
- Identifies gaps in outdoor education research and makes useful recommendations for theory/research, policy and practice.
- Excellent appendices containing information about the review's search
strategy, framework for reviewing publications, and reference list
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