Overboard! The turbulent waters of outdoor education in neoliberal post-secondary contexts
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Overboard! The turbulent waters of outdoor education in neoliberal post-secondary contexts Janet E. Dyment 1
& Tom
G. Potter 2
Accepted: 4 November 2020/ # Outdoor Education Australia 2020
Abstract In this paper, we report on formal semi-structured interviews with seven wellestablished outdoor education (OE) academics from around the world who have navigated the decline and/or closure of an outdoor education program in their university. The interviews sought to understand the reasons why their once-vibrant program had declined or been closed. Analysis revealed three clusters of themes that prompted the declines/closures: 1) societal trends and beliefs – which included the rise in neoliberalism and poor understanding of OE’s role in universities; 2) high level leadership and power structures – which revealed the significant role of senior administrators (especially newly appointed ones) looking to make change, the formidable impact of internal and external reviews, and the misconception around OE resourcing; and, 3) personal role – which included lack of strategic advocacy. In response to these three theme clusters, we unpack emergent lessons that may be useful for OE academics working in higher education, whether their programs are under threat, or not. Lessons include a need to: understand the neoliberal agenda driving universities; maintain strategic relationships with senior academics; position oneself in high level academic positions; participate in reviews equipped with evidence; strategically advocate for OE programs; and, question the merit of being overly humble in the cut-throat evidencebased world of neoliberal universities. Keywords Outdoor education . Higher education . Post secondary . Neo-liberal . Threats
* Janet E. Dyment [email protected] Tom G. Potter [email protected]
1
School of Education, Acadia University, 15 University Avenue, Wolfville, Nova Scotia B4P 2R6, Canada
2
School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 5E1, Canada
Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education
Introduction Outdoor education programs have a long tradition of being offered in universities around the world. Yet, as a result of the various cycles of change inherent to universities, the status of university outdoor education programs ebbs and flows over time: some programs are in growth phases, signalled by increased student enrolments, new faculty positions, and healthy budgets to support teaching and infrastructure associated with field based experiential teaching; other programs are holding steady, with consistent student enrolments, faculty appointments, and funding; still other (once strong and vibrant) programs are struggling to stay afloat for a range of reasons; and some have closed. It is unclear whether there is an overall gain or loss of program offerings – perhaps for every program that closes, another program is developed, or possibly rebranded under another name or course. While it is encouraging to see programs in gro
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