The aim of this study was to identify the characteristics that led outdoor activity providers agree are necessary for the development of a new industry-wide incident reporting and learning system (UPLOADS). The study involved: 1) a literature review to identify a set of characteristics that are considered to be hallmarks of successful reporting…

Supervised practice is a common feature of many snow sports excursions to downhill ski resorts by school or youth groups, often in combination with lessons from a ski school. What is the role of supervision in preventing mishaps, injury, or fatalities? This article presents results of a search of published snow sports safety research for evidence…

The dynamic nature of led outdoor activities means that, despite activity providers' best efforts, activity leaders can be exposed to unanticipated situations for which no procedures exist. Improvisation, the spontaneous, real-time conception and execution of a novel response, has been identified as a potential means of maintaining safety in…

Within the field of outdoor education, some theorists argue that although leaps and gains have been made in terms of educating for the intrapersonal or "self"-development, they have come at the expense of the development of equally important relations with the local land and community (Hales, 2006; Loynes, 2002). Given this foregrounding…

Relationships are a critical component to the experience of an outdoor adventure education (OAE) program, therefore, more fruitful ways of investigating groups is needed. Social network analysis (SNA) is an effective tool to study the relationship structure of small groups. This paper provides an explanation of SNA and shows how it was used by the…

This article explores our experiences as faculty implementing a five year sustainability strategic plan within the Outdoor and Environmental Education (OEE) curriculum centre during a time of organisational restructuring. This paper builds on the work of Jansen and Boardman (2011) who describe the process of developing the strategic plan and some…

Being a woman in the outdoor learning profession can bring distinctive challenges and roadblocks. Even more difficult is sustaining a life-long career, flourishing into a woman's 50s or 60s. Based on this premise, career longevity seems elusive for some women who aspire to work in the outdoors. This paper analyses the autobiographies of three…

This paper explores on-snow supervision in school-based snowsport excursions by investigating snowsport participation and safety data and relevant legislation and policies that form the framework for practice. Snowsports may present a more complex environment for managing of participants than many other outdoor environments and provide a valuable…

This paper explores "relationships with others" in outdoor environmental education through a search for a pedagogy of attunement, which we propose is a relational-responsive pedagogy. We have primarily drawn from Martin Buber's philosophy of dialogue and its pedagogical significance. Buber offers insights into articulating the…

It is difficult to provide disengaged youth, who are at risk of not fulfilling their potential, with the social support necessary to remain active contributors to society. They are more likely to fail and drop from education greatly reducing the prospect of becoming constructive, productive community members. Consequently strategies to promote…

We have used the experiences of teachers and their pupils to explore the impact of participation in a shared outdoor learning experience upon specific aspects of both the teacher/pupil and pupil/pupil relationship. Prior to their taking part in an out of classroom lesson the teachers involved in our project were relatively inexperienced in…

Outdoor Education (OE) and Experiential Education (EE) programs are becoming increasingly popular in Victorian schools. This article is derived from findings that emerged through the interpretation of case study data gathered for my doctoral thesis of a three-phased, non-residential, EE program. This interpretation process highlighted five themes,…

Social, economic, and environmental issues facing 21st century societies compel a transformative shift towards sustainability in all spheres of life, including education. The challenges this holds for outdoor education programs and practices is significant. If outdoor education theory and practice is to make a greater contribution to…

In this article, I draw on a qualitative longitudinal study to explore the influence of a tertiary Outdoor and Environmental Education (OEE) course on the formation of environmental ethics among students. In this task, I bring together Lave & Wenger (1991) and Wenger's (1998) concept of "communities of practice" and Michel Foucault's later work on…

As Australia heads into a new era of implementing a National Curriculum, the place of Outdoor Education in Australian schools is under question. In the initial drafts of the National Curriculum, Outdoor Education has been marginalised. The authors propose that Outdoor Education should maintain a strong role, especially as processes of experiential…