The purpose of this essay is to investigate and display the present position of outdoor education
in Swedish compulsory schools. In doing so the focus lies on teachers’ and researchers’
perspectives on the current situation and the influence of a teacher’s personal interest in the
general process of implementing outdoor education as a teaching technique. Next to an
intensive literary and national curriculum research, the inquiry draws on the concept of habitus,
by Pierre Bourdieu, to analyze interview transcripts from qualitative interviews with four
participants who implement outdoor education in their teaching practice. Findings suggest that
there is a strong dependence between a teacher’s personal
outdoor habitus and teachers
teaching habitus
when it comes to implementing outdoor education as constant teaching
technique. Nevertheless, is it emphasized that there is neither a need to be an outdoor specialist,
nor to change a teacher’s personal
habitus towards an outdoor habitus by training, when aiming
to work with pupils outdoors on a regular basis. In fact, it is discussed that it is more important
to focus on the
teaching habitus and provide future, as well as in-service, teachers with a
practical training and useful toolbox for a proper implementation at school. Issues such as
safety, feasibility, collaboration and the general circumstances at the respective school, seem to
be key factors within this discussion aiming to identify the options and values of outdoor
education for the whole curriculum. In this essay challenging and supporting factors, as well as
potential initiatives for using outdoor education as a constant teaching technique in the future
are discussed.
2017.
Swedish concepts of outdoor education, Swedish compulsory schools, habitus.