An Examination of the Constraints to Teaching and Learning Outdoors in Public Elementary and

163 Pages·2016·2.23 MB·English

by  Mallory Light

An Examination of the Constraints to Teaching and Learning Outdoors in Public
Elementary and High Schools in Winnipeg, Manitoba

By
Mallory Light

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of the University of Manitoba in
partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree o f

MASTER OF NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Natural Resources Institute
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg

Copyright © 2016 Mallory Light
ABSTRACT
Alternating traditional classroom-based teaching techniques with hands-on learning
activities outdoors is beneficial for children of all ages. The purpose of this thesis was to
explore whether and how teachers may negotiate the constraints to facilitating hands-on
learning opportunities outdoors. A snowball sample was used to identify twelve outdoor
educators for semi-structured interviews documenting their characteristics, skills and
experiences, perceptions of the constraints to outdoor education and recommendations for
building interest in and supporting outdoor education. The findings suggested that
participants’ childhood experiences outdoors were influential on their decisions to start
teaching outdoor education, and that the participants’ perceptions of the constraints
varied dependent on their experiences, objectives and attitudes. The participants’
recommendations were focused on what teachers could do to help themselves and each
other to succeed. Altogether, the participants’ experiences suggest that passionate and
engaged outdoor educators can have a lasting impact on students’ relationships with the
natural world.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to my advisor, Dr. Michael Campbell, and to my committee members Drs.
John Sinclair and Amanda Johnson for your guidance and encouragement. Your
knowledge and expertise, especially in qualitative methods and the practicalities of
conducting research, helped me to transform my curiosities into an achievable thesis
project.

To my parents I would like to say thank you for setting high expectations and challenging
me to meet them – I pursued graduate school because you raised me to believe higher
education is essential, and that I could achieve it. Finally, I would like to thank my
husband, Geoff, who spent hours listening to my worries, calming my nerves, and
reminding me that I would finish someday.

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DEDICATION

To my Grandma Liz,
Who inspired her family to achieve more
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ ii
DEDICATION ............................................................................................................... iii
TABLES ........................................................................................................................ vi
FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... vi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 1
Background ..................................................................................................................... 1
Research Questions ......................................................................................................... 4
Study Area ...................................................................................................................... 5
General Methods ............................................................................................................. 6
Thesis organization ......................................................................................................... 7
Chapter II: Literature Review ......................................................................................... 8
Generational Change ....................................................................................................... 8
Biophilia ........................................................................................................................ 10
Life Course Research .................................................................................................... 13
Benefits of Direct Experiences with Nature ................................................................. 14
The Role of Schools ...................................................................................................... 20
Leisure Constraints Research ........................................................................................ 42
Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................... 46
CHAPTER III: METHODS: ......................................................................................... 48
Qualitative Research Design ......................................................................................... 48
Sampling Technique ..................................................................................................... 50
Semi-Structured Interviews .......................................................................................... 52
Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 54
Ethics Approval ............................................................................................................ 58
CHAPTER IV: TEACHING AND LEARNING OUTDOORS ................................. 59
The Participants: Who is Teaching Outdoor Education in Winnipeg........................... 59
Teaching Outdoor Education in Winnipeg ................................................................... 64
Why Outside?................................................................................................................ 70
Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................... 74
CHAPTER V: IDENTIFYING, NEGOTIATING AND ALLEVIATING THE
CONSTRAINTS TO OUTDOOR EDUCATION ........................................................ 76
The Constraints to Outdoor Education in Winnipeg, Manitoba ................................... 76
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Location and Weather: Illustrating Variations in the Participants’ Perceptions and
Experiences of the Constraints to Outdoor Education .................................................. 85
Ranking the Constraints to Outdoor Education in Winnipeg ....................................... 88
Motivating Factors ........................................................................................................ 88
Increasing Interest in Outdoor Education in Winnipeg ................................................ 89
Supporting Outdoor Education in Winnipeg ................................................................ 93
Key Supports for Successful and Sustainable Outdoor Education ............................... 97
Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................... 98
Chapter VI: UNDERSTANDING THE CONSTRAINTS TO OUTDOOR
EDUCATION ................................................................................................................ 100
Using Leisure Constraints Research to Conceptualize the Constraints to Outdoor
Education .................................................................................................................... 100
Conceptualizing the Constraints to Outdoor Education in Winnipeg, Manitoba ....... 103
Understanding Participants Differing Perceptions and Experiences of the Constraints to
Outdoor Education ...................................................................................................... 112
From Preference to Participation: The Function of Life Experience, Skills, Motivation
and Attitude ................................................................................................................. 117
Chapter Summary ....................................................................................................... 122
CHAPTER VII: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................... 125
Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 125
Recommendations: Fostering Diversity Amongst Outdoor Educators in Winnipeg .. 131
Contribution to the Literature ..................................................................................... 135
Areas for Future Research .......................................................................................... 136
Limitations of this Study .......................................................................................... .137
Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................ 138
WORKS CITED......................................................................................................... 140
APPENDICES ............................................................................................................ 150
Appendix A: Interview guide.................................................................................... 150
Appendix B: Sample Consent Form ......................................................................... 153
Appendix C: Ethics Approval ................................................................................... 155

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TABLES
Table 1: The Non-Formal Curriculum .............................................................................. 32
Table 2: Influences of the non-formal curriculum on students, teachers and communities
........................................................................................................................................... 34
Table 3: Coding Themes and Sub-Themes ....................................................................... 56
Table 4: Constraints to Outdoor Education in Winnipeg, Manitoba ................................ 76
Table 5: Comparing the Constraints Identified by Participants and in the Literature .... 128
FIGURES
Figure 1 - Winnipeg's school divisions ............................................................................. 50

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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
Background
Following the work of Wilson (1984) and Kellert and Wilson (1995), Richard
Louv (2008) coined the term “nature deficit disorder” to describe the profoundly negative
effects of children’s increasing alienation from the natural world. My personal interest in
this issue developed, through reflection on my own experiences playing and learning
outdoors as a child and facilitating wilderness activities for children at YMCA-YWCA
camps in Alberta and Ontario as a young adult. When I was introduced to Richard Louv’s
(2008) book Last Child in the Woods I was in the final year of a political science and
religious studies undergraduate degree and unsure how to proceed. Louv’s work inspired
me to reconsider how I could integrate my competing interests in policy and the value of
personal and societal connections to nature. Eventually this process led me to pursue a
master’s degree at the Natural Resources Institute and to write this thesis.
Louv, Wilson and Kellert have inspired many others, sparking a movement to
reconnect children to the natural world (Charles 2009). The Canadian education system
could be a significant partner in this movement. The benefits of increasing student’s
exposure to natural areas converge with many of the goals of educators: positively
impacting attention capacity (Katcher and Wilkins 1993; Taylor, Kuo and Sullivan 2001;
Wells 2000), cognitive development (Kellert 2002; Kellert 2005) and environmental
knowledge (Pyle 2002). In addition, recent research has documented the positive impacts
that time spent outdoors can have on children’s mental (Kellert 2005; Thomashow 2002;
Wells and Evans 2003) and physical health (Fjortoft 2001; Frumkin and Louv 2007;
Grahn et al 1997; Strife and Downey 2009), emotional well-being (Kellert 2002; Kellert
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2005) and cognitively important play behaviours (Bell and Dyment 2000; Clements 2004;
Malone and Tranter 2003; Taylor et al., 1998; Waller 2007).
At school children may engage with the natural world during informal play
periods or non-formal, teacher-led hands-on learning activities. Informal play in
naturalized school grounds is of particular value for student learning (Malone and Tranter
2003; Titman 1994). Children that attend schools with naturalized grounds behave more
positively in and towards school and each other (Tranter and Malone 2003); participate in
more open-ended, non-competitive play, encouraging cooperation, civil behaviour and a
sense of belonging (Bell and Dyment 2000; Coffey 2001; Malone and Tranter 2003);
engage in more moderate and light physical activity (Bell and Dyment 2000) and; have
greater attention capacity and motivation to learn (O’Brien 2009; Taylor, Kuo and
Sullivan 2001; Wells 2001) than students that attend schools with grounds designed
based on the dominant ‘surplus energy model’.
Teachers, counsellors and other staff members may facilitate non-formal, hands-
on learning opportunities for students outdoors. Non-formal teaching strategies include,
but are not limited to outdoor, environmental, adventure, experiential and place-based
education. Students that participate in non-formal hands-on learning outdoors are more
motivated and engaged in the learning process (Bell 2001; Dyment 2005; North
American Association for Environmental Education 2002; O’Brien 2009; Powers 2004;
Raffan 2000; Skamp and Bergman 2001), perform better academically (Lieberman and
Hoody 1998; National Environmental Education Training Foundation 2000) and have
better relationships with their peers (Lieberman and Hoody 1998; North American
Association for Environmental Education 2001; O’Brien 2009) than students taught using
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traditional classroom-based techniques. Teachers that facilitate hands-on learning outside
of the classroom setting tend to be more enthusiastic about and committed to teaching,
have superior curriculum planning skills, are better collaborators and leaders and are
better equipped to meet the varying needs of their students (Lieberman and Hoody 1998;
Powers 2004; Raffan 2000; Skamp and Bergman 2001). Finally, when teachers and
students engage in hands-on learning outdoors opportunities arise to strengthen school-
community ties and reduce teacher isolation (Bell 2001; Cramer 2008; North American
Association for Environmental Education 2001; Powers 2004; Raffan 2000; Skamp and
Bergman 2001).
Despite the demonstrated benefits of reconnecting children to nature and non-
formal learning few teachers incorporate opportunities for hands-on learning outdoors
into their teaching plans (Charles 2009). Logistical constraints including natural
impediments (Dyment 2005; Skamp and Bergman 2001), lack of funding, transportation
and administrative support (Dyment 2005; Ernst 2007; Ernst 2009; Skamp and Bergman
2001), the increased difficulty of managing classes outdoors (Dyment 2005; Skamp and
Bergman 2001) and the amount of time needed to adjust to new teaching methods and to
plan and carry out curricular activities in the community (Dyment 2005; Ernst 2007;
Ernst 2009; Powers 2004; Skamp and Bergman 2001; Waller 2007) are commonly cited
as constraints to taking students outside. Pre-service and in-service training programs that
treat subject areas in isolation and focus on using the local environment as a tool for
teaching science only influence teacher’s confidence and ability to use the environment
as a context for teaching core subject areas (Dyment 2005; Ernst 2007; Ernst 2009; Ham
and Sewing 1998). Finally, and perhaps most perniciously, underlying perceptions of
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