Journeys to Far-Away Places

Wrestling with the Sustainability of Outdoor Education in Higher Education

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21634652
AutoresMorten Asfeldt (0000-0002-7616-3960, University of Alberta, Camrose, Alberta, Canada, autor de correspondencia), Simon Beames (0000-0003-1513-9745, Norwegian School of Sports Science), Jannicke Høyem (0000-0002-1939-6370, Norwegian School of Sports Science), Chris North (0000-0002-8786-7103, Faculty of Health at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand), Takako Takano (0000-0002-9375-1174, Waseda University)
Año2025
Volumen48
Número3
Páginas506-523
Fecha de publicación2025-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Experiential Education (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1053-8259 • E-ISSN: 2169-009X
EditorialSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/10538259241288470
OpenAlexW4403304355
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas55

Background: Over 35 years ago, the Brundtland Report entitled Our Common Future shed light on the impacts of human behavior on the environment and raised global awareness about sustainability. Since then, sustainability has become a prominent issue influencing most spheres of life including outdoor education (OE). Purpose: This inquiry seeks to identify the necessary conditions for justifying OE travel to far-away places. Methodology: We investigated this question using practitioner inquiry and thematic analysis. Findings: The authors believe some far-away journeys can be justified and recommend that these journeys are guided by featuring learning objectives that are best learned in specific far-away places; maintaining strong connections to the students’ everyday lives; including high levels of student involvement in sustainability-related decisions; and through providing novel and unexpected experiences that are unlikely to occur locally. Finally, we believe there is a case to be made for longer rather than shorter journeys. Implications: We caution against developing a binary which pits local OE against journeys to far-away places. Rather, both local and far-away journeys have an important role to play in OE programs that aim to build a world that is more socially and environmentally just

Adventure Education · Environmental education · Experiential education · Experiential learning · Outdoor education · Pedagogy · Sociology · Sustainability · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Indigenous and Place-Based Education · Outdoor and Experiential Education · Psychology · Ecology