ERIC Number: EJ1481487
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1472-9679
EISSN: EISSN-1754-0402
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Writing as a Method of Inquiry about Students' Experiences in a New Zealand Primary School Outdoor Education Programme
Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, v25 n3 p679-691 2025
In Health and Physical Education (HPE) of the "New Zealand Curriculum," Outdoor Education (OE) is one of the seven key areas of learning. It has been taught in various forms because it includes a whole range of outdoor adventure activities and leisure pursuits. To better understand/interpret its nature and value in a New Zealand semi-rural primary school, we worked with eight students' essays on their outdoor experiences to co-construct this paper. Students' essays and school documents served as our data. Our inquiry linked students' experiences to the underpinning philosophy of the school and created composite stories of their OE experiences. Students' writing revealed their emotions, feelings, and the impact of their outdoor experiences during a three-day residential camp. Although this is a small, circumscribed study, the findings illustrate some primary school students' OE experience and offer pedagogical insight to support the educative purpose of OE. The tangible OE experiences can provide an entry point into students' affective learning and literacy with learning in other subjects.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Writing (Composition), Elementary School Students, Outdoor Education, Essays, Student Experience, Emotional Response, Resident Camp Programs, Program Effectiveness, Physical Education, Health Education, Student Attitudes
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New Zealand
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Education and Social Work, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; 2Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

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