Showing papers by "Tonia Gray published in 2018"

The invisibility cloak: Women's contributions to outdoor and environmental education

Abstract: Women leaders in outdoor environmental education (OEE) have begun to discuss the invisibility cloak that seems to envelope us. Women comprise approximately half the OEE professionals; however, women still face gender bias resulting in challenges of recognition and access to the upper echelons of the profession. Data show that implicit prejudice and limitations, arising from systematic hegemony and the gender binary, create an atmosphere that generally silences or ignores women's contributions and voices in media and history. As a collective group, our profession needs to actively challenge and positively change the forms of knowledge and recognition that render women invisible. Authors suggest that feminism and alternative discourses that have historically been marginalized or less visible can be used to replace and challenge current dominant narratives.

Place-based outdoor learning: more than a drag and drop approach

Abstract: The Forest School movement offers children valuable outdoor experiences; however, pedagogically it is under-theorised and under-researched in diverse contexts. As a result, it has at times become a “drag and drop” program, which does not necessarily acknowledge local place, environment or culture. Alternatively, place-based outdoor learning is examined as a place-responsive approach, where a year-long outdoor program was implemented and evaluated in an Australian primary school. Place-based outdoor learning is a broader integrated approach that is interconnected with place, curriculum and learners. This paper re-envisions a perspective on outdoor teaching to individualise meaningful learning in nature, within specific contexts.

Combining acceptance and commitment therapy with adventure therapy to promote psychological wellbeing for children at-risk

Abstract: With high rates of psychological distress reported amongst children internationally, the development and evaluation of new program initiatives is critical in order to meet the challenge of this burgeoning issue Both acceptance and commitment therapy and adventure therapy are emerging as popular strategies to elevate psychological wellbeing This small-scale program evaluation focuses on nine upper primary school-aged children enrolled in a specialist school in Australia for children with challenging behavior and/or emotional needs Participants completed a newly developed 8-week intervention entitled 'ACT in the Outdoors' which combined key principles of both acceptance and commitment therapy and adventure therapy The program was evaluated via a combination of pre and post participant psychological measures, and post interviews with participants and teachers The results of this small-scale preliminary evaluation suggest that a portion of the participating children reported improvements in psychological wellbeing and skill development Improvements appear to be mitigated by attendance and level of psychological wellbeing upon program entry Based on this premise, the results suggest that more research is warranted to further understand the potential benefit of this innovative interdisciplinary approach

Thirty Years on, and Has the Gendered Landscape Changed in Outdoor Learning?

Abstract: The author stumbled on the field of wilderness studies and outdoor education 35 years ago, purely by default and serendipity. Buoyed by a passion for outdoor pursuits coupled with a yearning for alternative teaching methods, this chapter traces the asymmetrical gendered landscape encountered during her career. Outdoor learning offered a fertile educational platform for transformational personal growth for her adolescent students in terms of augmenting positive behaviour change. This potent vehicle eclipsed any of her traditional teaching modalities. Sadly, however, a hegemonic, male domination existed. Feminist perspectives provide a through line whilst also exploring the values that underpin her practice. The author concludes by calling for a long overdue conversation with the profession to commit to sustainable structural and cultural reform to advance gender equality.

Affordances guiding Forest School practice: the application of the ecological dynamics approach

Abstract: Forest School focuses on child development underlining nature-connection and play pedagogy. Practitioners facilitate child-led learning through a deep observation approach. However, challenges and assumptions exist in such approaches. Additionally, a critical examination of the practice reveals that it may be lacking a solid theoretical underpinning that can respond to diverse contexts and participants while escaping a one-size-fits-all approach encouraged by commercialisation. Ecological Dynamics offers a theoretical framework that has the potential to guide Forest School practice and clarify its effectiveness. Specifically, notions of affordances combined with analysis at the level of person-environment relationships could guide future design and implementation of activities. Benefits could include realising and attuning to affordances which have sociocultural and individual connotations, thereby respecting local cultures and their community resources. The role of the Forest School practitioner becomes one of facilitating diverse populations in their perception of affordances in nature for individualised benefits, including well-being.

Seeing What Children See: Enhancing Understanding of Outdoor Learning Experiences Through Body-Worn Cameras

Abstract: This study investigates innovative ways that outdoor educators can actively promote young participants’ authentic voice in educational research and, in turn, increase our understanding of their worldview through accurately recording what children are seeing, hearing, doing, and touching when they are beyond our researcher’s gaze. The study was conducted with an Australian primary school class who completed a 1-year place-based outdoor learning program. It employed a novel research design wherein video footage was obtained from body-worn cameras mounted on the chests of the children. The footage depicts first-person visual and audio data from children’s viewpoints and deepens our understanding of children’s learning experiences. Additional data included observations, curriculum work samples, academic results, interviews, and student-generated photographs. Results highlight that footage provides unique insights regarding triangulating findings on student learning experiences. Body-worn cameras may be used to enhance young people’s participation in research when integrated into a broader child-friendly approach.Subscribe to JOREL

Nourishing Terrains: Women’s Contributions to Outdoor Learning Environments

Abstract: This introductory chapter outlines the initial impetus for the Palgrave International Handbook of Women and Outdoor Learning, along with our quest to be proactive in pursuit of social change and equity. The authors recount a personal and historical perspective about the cultural and structural identity of women in outdoor learning, providing a snapshot of inroads made in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s towards gender equality. Recent advancements appear to have stalled or are becoming increasingly indiscernible or covert. The chapter’s through line is an exploration of the profession’s implicit prejudices and unconscious bias outlining the way women experience gender asymmetry in myriad ways. Re-storying our future from the margins to mainstream offers a critical shift of gender and feminism within (and beyond) the white male academy.

Curating a public self: exploring social media images of women in the outdoors.

Abstract: Two social media posts (Highland, 2015; Johnson, 2015) about the authenticity of women’s experiences in the outdoors fueled an intense dialogue among the authors of this paper. These posts sparked healthy debate, and we asked ourselves, “Why does our apparel, our aesthetic appeal, our physicality, or even our motivation become subject to critique and judgment?” The burgeoning use of social media, in particular the use of Instagram and Facebook to curate a public self, has provided the catalyst for our study. This paper explores the use of online presence by women in the outdoors and examines how social media is portraying those women. In particular, we examined the authenticity of Instagram and Facebook in representing identities. We also interrogated the potential of social media to contribute to the commodification and aestheticization of what it means to be a woman in the outdoors, using current social media literature as a point of departure and Goffman (1959) as a theoretical lens. Findings were mixed; some images perpetuated the aestheticization of women outdoors, whereas others provided inspiring, strength-based portrayals. Such findings implicate the unremitting need to deconstruct negative aspects of social media images of women in the outdoors and develop a new lens to (a) assess the positive aspects of social media images of women in the outdoors, (b) counteract the negative self-perceptions generated by mainstream media images, and (c) allow for positive self-representation.Subscribe to JOREL

Building Relationships on and with Mother Mountain: Women Incorporating Indigenous Knowledge into Outdoor Learning

Abstract: This chapter provides a practical example of how Indigenous Knowledge can be infused into outdoor learning practices made possible by developing a mutually respectful relationship with a sacred site Gulaga (Mother Mountain) and an Aboriginal teacher. Evolving over 15 years, our methods of facilitating outdoor experiences as two white women have been enriched by interweaving these practices. We propose the core teachings involved in Traditional Knowledge involve four pillars: relationships, responsibilities, roles, and respect. These overarching concepts provide a scaffold for re-storying outdoor learning with the intent of intersectionality, thereby creating a relational space with Mother Earth’s wisdom. The pedagogical implications of our collaborative approach are illustrated within a schematic framework to allow practitioners to rethink the synergies involved in the discrete disciplines.

Globalizing Higher Education Policy Practice: Internationalizing Education Through Learning Transformations in Knowledge Construction

Abstract: This chapter raises provocative ideas, moving briskly through them inviting engagement in further research and teaching in local/global education policy practice. A new generation of local/global education is warranted if higher education academics and students are to explore the deep fractures in the politics and the economics that are dividing nations, internally and externally. University students (and academics) now live in a world where authoritarianism is on the rise as public faith in democracy declines, environmental degradation and policy dilemmas increase, and racism furthers these crises. These crises are integral to the increasing disconnection between economic growth and real material improvements in their own work/life trajectories. The nature of these challenges is such that making an intergenerational shift in local/global education is now necessary.

Developing Global Perspectives: Responding to the State of International Education in Australian Universities

Abstract: The volume of university students travelling overseas has increased rapidly in recent decades. Student flows are asymmetrical: Students from wealthy nations disproportionately study in the Global North, and students from developing economies travel to more industrialized countries, especially English-speaking, to pursue degrees. This pattern, however, is shifting towards Asia, with a growing sense that students need greater cross-cultural skills and familiarity with the region. Ambitious university targets to increase outbound student mobility require international offices to create new types of short-term placements, especially to democratize international study opportunities. The sector needs to better share hard-earned knowledge about how to design and administer these increasingly diverse programmes. This chapter discusses this volume’s origin in “strategic priorities” set by the Australian Government’s Office of Learning and Teaching.

Incorporating Participatory Action Research and Social Media as a Research Tool Whilst Gen-Y Studies Abroad

Abstract: Gen-Y students undertaking study abroad are electronically literate “digital natives.” However, their modes of social communication may be inadequate to support indelible learning. Many international exchange programmes have not kept pace with digital opportunities to reinforce intercultural learning whilst students are abroad. This chapter reports on qualitative findings from an Australian project that developed reflection-based curriculum for improving study abroad outcomes. In particular, we discuss participatory action research that used blogs and photo elicitation to augment reflection, intercultural skills, and professionalization. We conclude that social media and visual literacy, with carefully guided facilitation, produce a virtual “third space” where students reflect on cultural differences and strengthen their metacognitive skills for lifelong learning.

Generating and deepening reflection whilst studying abroad: incorporating photo elicitation in transformative travel

Abstract: Most study abroad programmes conclude with debriefing activities emphasizing verbal and written reflection, with the visual image used merely as a supplementary aid. Photographs are used to promote programmes with little integration into tertiary pedagogical strategies. This chapter argues that photo elicitation can be an evocative tool within diverse experiential learning settings. Based on this premise, the visual image can trigger students’ introspection and personal growth when sojourning overseas. Photo elicitation has a twofold benefit. First, photos augment the scope of empirical research, and second, images intensify the reflective learning process. Results indicate that the visual image amplifies the transformative power of study abroad and concretizes deeper learning. Greater focus on visual literacy is recommended for future programmes as a qualitative data technique.

The Epitome of Transformation: Enhancing Outbound Mobility Experiences in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract: As Australia ventures deeper into the Asian Century, the need for outward-looking, global-minded graduates has never been greater. The outbound mobility experience (OME is recognized as one of the most effective tools to facilitate personal transformation and improve cross-cultural competencies. Funded by the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching, the project Enhancing Programmes to Integrate Tertiary Outbound Mobility Experiences (EPITOME), launched in 2015, conducted student-focused research into OMEs to provide a comprehensive and usable best-practice guide for tour operators and academic staff and to investigate key challenges to participation in OMEs, as well as lessons learned by experienced facilitators and OME designers. This chapter outlines EPITOME’s research programme and key findings.

Pathways Forward to a More Inclusive Future Whilst Honouring the Past

Abstract: In this book inspiring women from around the globe share their outdoor leadership journeys. This chapter seeks to provide support and encouragement for women in outdoor learning environments (OLEs) while at the same time, being realistic about the prejudice and glass ceilings women still face. More information about lesser-known women influencing OLEs, including Marina Ewald, is highlighted. We acknowledge that women from nondominate cultures are underrepresented in the book and reference Harriet Tubman. We encourage people to find more information about women and bring it to light using a variety of media forms. There is hope, as we join in support and solidarity to change the sexism, misogyny, and general prejudice against women in order to make way for women to continue their leadership journeys.

From One Songline to Another: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students’ Study Tour Journey of Indigenous Connection and Solidarity

Abstract: This chapter examines the experiences of eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander preservice teachers on a study tour with a focus on Indigenous Studies to a Canadian university. Educational activities included: cultural exchange with First Nations Elders, academics, and students; introduction to Canadian Indigenous Studies; and field trips to significant cultural sites. Through semistructured interviews and photo elicitation the participants in this case study reflected upon their experiences of personal and professional development. The analysis of the students’ retrospective accounts reveals emergent themes of connection, identity, language, healing, and action. The students’ interpretations indicate the transformative potential of overseas educational experiences to inform their future teaching practices and foster connections to Indigenous identities and cultures locally and abroad. The sense of shared historical experiences made the inter-cultural connection not just one of solidarity, but also a validation of students’ own experiences of marginalization. The findings speak to the importance of these types of inter-Indigenous exchange as well as a design of outward mobility experiences that recognize the potential for solidarity and healing. The students’ experiences of connection and identity generate the sorts of reflection that are part of a broader global movement amongst Indigenous groups towards cultural renewal.