Skip to main content

Becoming Relational in Outdoor Education: Not Just Women’s Work

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover The Palgrave International Handbook of Women and Outdoor Learning

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Gender and Education ((GED))

Abstract

This chapter explores how relational work in communities of practice (CoP) can enhance learning and teaching in outdoor education. It challenges a view that interpersonal skills supporting collaborative endeavour are women’s work. I draw on the notions of relational agency, relational expertize, and communities of practice to expand understanding of affective and collaborative pedagogy in outdoor education. These lenses are used to revisit a study investigating sense of competence conducted at a university in Australia. I suggest that outdoor educators can generate more productive engagement and expand their repertoires of practice by valuing differing participant values or standpoints in education and community contexts. I contend that outdoor educators and outdoor education practice can benefit from re-envisaging relational work as everybody’s concern, not just women’s work.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 259.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Allin, L. (2000). Women into outdoor education: Negotiating a male-gendered space—Issues of physicality. In B. Humberstone (Ed.), Her outdoors, challenge and adventure in gendered open spaces. Brighton, UK: Leisure Studies Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell, M. (1997). Gendered experience: Social theory ad experiential practice. The Journal of Experimental Education, 20(3), 143–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, M. (2000). Developing confidence in women working in the outdoors: An exploration of the confidence and competence in women employed in adventure recreation. In B. Humberstone (Ed.), Her outdoors, challenge and adventure in gendered open space. Brighton, UK: Leisure Studies Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, A. (2005). Relational agency: Learning to be a resourceful practitioner. International Journal of Educational Research, 43(3), 168–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2006.06.010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, A. (2007). Working collaboratively to build resilience: A CHAT approach. Social Policy and Society, 6(2), 255–264. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746406003514

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, A. (2011). Building common knowledge at the boundaries between professional practices: Relational agency and relational expertise in systems of distributed expertise. International Journal of Educational Research, 50(1), 33–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2011.04.007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, A. (2012). The role of common knowledge in achieving collaboration across practices. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 1(1), 22–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2012.03.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, A., & D’arcy, C. (2004). Relational agency and disposition in sociocultural accounts of learning to teach. Educational Review, 56(2), 147–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/0031910410001693236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, A., & Kinti, I. (2010). Working relationally at organisational boundaries: Negotiating expertise and identity. In H. Daniels, A. Edwards, Y. Engeström, T. Gallagher, & S. R. Ludvigsen (Eds.), Activity theory in practice: Promoting learning across boundaries and agencies (pp. 126–139). London, UK and New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, A., & Mackenzie, L. (2007). Identity shifts and learning trajectories. In B. van Oers, W. Wardekker, E. Elbers, & R. van der Veer (Eds.), The transformation of learning: Advances in cultural-historical activity theory (pp. 163–181). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, M. (1994). A study of some of the influences affecting the learning of tertiary women involved in outdoor education. Unpublished master’s thesis, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gurholt, K. P. (2014). Joy of nature, friluftsliv education and self: Combining narrative and cultural-ecological approaches to environmental sustainability. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 14(3), 233–246. https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2014.948802

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Loeffler, T. A. (1997). Assisting women in developing a sense of competence in outdoor programs. The Journal of Experiential Education, 20(3), 119–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lugg, A. (2003). Women’s experience of outdoor education: Still trying to be ‘one of the boys’? In B. Humberstone, H. Brown, & K. Richards (Eds.), Whose journeys? The outdoors and adventure as social and cultural phenomena (pp. 33–48). Selected papers from the International Conference Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, England, April 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitten, D., Lotz, E., Warren, K., & D’Amore, C. (2012). The hidden curriculum in adventure education: A Delphi study. In A. Ewert & S. Taniguchi (Co-Chairs), Symposium on experiential education research (pp. 37–40). Symposium conducted at the meeting of Association for Experiential Education International Conference, November, Madison, WI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Munge, B. (2009). From the outside looking in: A study of Australian employers’ perceptions of graduates from outdoor education degree programs. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 13(1), 30–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Payne, P. (2005). ‘Critical’ experience in outdoor education. In T. J. Dickson, T. Gray, & B. Hallyar (Eds.), Outdoor and experiential learning: Views from the top (pp. 184–200). Dunedin, NZ: Otago University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Preston, L. (2012). An outdoor and environmental education community of practice: Self stylisation or normalisation? Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 16(1), 28–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, J. (1993). Ignorance in educational research or, how can you not know that? Educational Researcher, 22(5), 15–23. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X022005015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Lugg, A. (2018). Becoming Relational in Outdoor Education: Not Just Women’s Work. In: Gray, T., Mitten, D. (eds) The Palgrave International Handbook of Women and Outdoor Learning. Palgrave Studies in Gender and Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53550-0_20

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53550-0_20

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-53549-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-53550-0

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics