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ERIC Number: EJ1178926
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Jun
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1053-8259
EISSN: N/A
Cultivating Nature Connection: Instructor Narratives of Urban Outdoor Education
Grimwood, Bryan S. R.; Gordon, Michelle; Stevens, Zachary
Journal of Experiential Education, v41 n2 p204-219 Jun 2018
Background: Outdoor education often aims to facilitate positive human-nature relationships and craft healthy, sustainable lifestyles. Processes and outcomes of program innovations seeking to address "nature-deficit disorder" among children can be understood from a narrative perspective. Purpose: This study illuminates how a group of instructors working for a charity-based outdoor organization in Toronto, Ontario, perceive the cultivation of nature connectedness in and through the urban outdoor education programs they facilitate for children. Methodology/Approach: A narrative methodology was used to engage instructors in telling personal stories about their involvement and perceptions of programs they facilitate, and to interpret thematic insights into the broader meanings circulating within this instructor group. Findings/Conclusions: Analyses revealed that instructors story the cultivation of nature connectedness around three spatial metaphors: "creating space for nature connection", "engaging that space", and "broadening that space". Findings cast light on how instructors situate their practices within a broader community committed to mentoring nature connectedness in individuals, families, and society. Implications: Instructor stories shed light on contemporary practices of outdoor experiential education, and the meanings and perceived impacts of nature-based learning. The study contributes to literature illustrating the promise urban outdoor education holds for fostering nature connectedness.
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada (Toronto)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A