Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

(Re)turning to the Sacred Trails: (Re)storying Connections to More-than-Human Worlds in Outdoor Education

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

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

  • 1632 Accesses

Abstract

The foundational purpose of Australian outdoor education is to explore the three-dimensional relationships between self, others, and the environment. However, implicated within the disciplining narratives of adventure hegemony, the type, depth, and quality of our relationship with the environment can become compromised. Using a political ecology in education approach, with posthumanist and ecofeminist perspectives, this chapter argues for a closer examination, and critique, of the taken-for-granted practices in outdoor education. The author suggests that in calling attention to the constraining hierarchies of discursive practices, there is opportunity for outdoor education to produce the conditions of possibility to include additional ways of knowing, thinking, being, and doing towards a moral inter-dependency and inter-connection with more-than-human worlds.

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

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
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

Notes

  1. 1.

    I acknowledge the critique of posthumanism, in that it could just be another anthropocentric tactic, producing the same structures of domination within humanist conceptions of responsibility in that we explicitly know what is best for the environment (Calvert-Minor, 2013; Chagani, 2014). However, I counter this argument with the idea that this critique is equally enmeshed within anthropocentric rationalisation, suggesting a human domination over more-than-human worlds, in itself.

References

  • Alcoff, L. (1995). Cultural feminism versus post-structuralism: The identity crisis in feminist theory. In N. Tuana & R. Tong (Eds.), Feminism and philosophy: Essential readings in theory, reinterpretation, and application (pp. 434–456). Boulder, CO: Westview.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ammary, S. (2008). “The road not taken” in Hemmingway’s “The snows of Kilimanjaro”. Connotations, 18(1–3), 123–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, K., & Perrin, C. (2015). New materialism and the stuff of humanism. Australian Humanities Review, 58, 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barad, K. (2007). Meeting the universe halfway: Quantum physics and the entanglement of matter and meaning. Durham & London: Duke University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, M. J. (2005). Making (some) sense of feminist poststructuralism in environmental education research and practice. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 10, 79–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, M. J. (2009). Beyond human-nature-spirit boundaries: Researching with animate Earth. PhD dissertation, University of Regina, Canada. Retrieved from http://www.porosity.ca

  • Benton, T. (1996). The greening of Marxism. UK: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergman, R. (2004). Caring for the ethical ideal: Nel Noddings on moral education. Journal of Moral Education, 33(2), 149–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blenkinsop, S., & Egan, K. (2009). Three “big ideas” and environmental education. In M. McKenzie, P. Hart, B. Heesoon, & B. Jickling (Eds.), Fields of green: Restoring culture, environment and education. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowers, C. A. (2004). Comments on David Gruenewald’s, A Foucauldian analysis of environmental education. Toronto: Blackwell Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braidotti, R. (2010). On putting the active back into activism. New Formations, 68(68), 42–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braidotti, R. (2013). The Posthuman. UK/USA: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calvert-Minor, C. (2013). Epistemological misgivings of Karen Barad’s ‘posthumanism’. Journal of Human Studies—Springer Journals, 37, 123–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chagani, F. (2014). Critical political ecology and the seductions of posthumanism. Journal of Political Ecology, 21, 424–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clayton, S., & Meyers, G. (2009). Conservation psychology: Understanding and promoting human care for nature. UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronon, W. (1995). The trouble with wilderness; or, getting back to the wrong nature. In W. Cronon (Ed.), Uncommon ground: Rethinking the human place in nature (pp. 69–90). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diehm, C. (2002). Arne Naess, Val Plumwood, and deep ecology subjectivity: A contribution to the deep ecology—Eco-feminist debate. Ethics and the Environment, 7(1), 24–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eder, K., & Ritter, M. T. (1996). The social construction of nature: A sociology of ecological enlightenment. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esbjorn-Hargens, S. (2010). Integral theory in service of enacting integral education: Illustrations from an online graduate program. In S. Esbjorn-Hargens, J. Reams, & O. Gunnlaugson (Eds.), Integral education: New directions for higher learning. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fellner, A. M., Hamscha, S., Heissenberger, K., & Moos, K. J. (2014). Is it ‘cause it’s cool?: Affective encounters with American culture. Vienna: Lit Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, P. M. (1981). Principles and practices of outdoor/environmental education. Canada: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frost, R. (1916). The Poetry Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173536

  • Gaard, G. (2011). Ecofeminism revisited: Rejecting essentialism and re-placing species in a material feminist environmentalism. Feminist Formations, 23(2), 26–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gough, A. (2013). Researching differently: Generating a gender agenda for research in environmental education. In R. B. Stevenson, M. Brody, J. Dillon, & A. E. J. Wals (Eds.), International handbook of research on environmental education. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray, T., & Martin, P. (2012). The role and place of outdoor education in the Australian national curriculum. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 16(1), 39–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gruenewald, D. A. (2004). A Foucauldian analysis of environmental education: Toward the socio-ecological challenge of the earth charter. The Educational Researcher, 34(1), 71–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gruenewald, D. A. (2008). The best of both worlds: A critical pedagogy on place. The Educational Researcher, 14(3), 308–324.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howell, N. R. (1997). Ecofeminism: What one needs to know. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, 32(2), 231–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ideland, M., & Malmberg, C. (2015). Governing ‘eco-certified children’ through pastoral power: Critical perspectives on education for sustainable development. Environmental Education Research, 21(2), 173–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jickling, B., & Wals, A. E. J. (2008). Globalization and environmental education: Looking beyond sustainable development. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 40(1), 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karpiak, I. E. (2010). Written in “three voices”: A turn toward integral higher education. In S. Esbjorn-Hargens, J. Reams, & O. Gunnlaugson (Eds.), Integral education: New directions for higher learning. Albany: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirby, V., & Wilson, E. A. (2011). Feminist conversations with Vicki Kirby and Elizabeth A. Wilson. Feminist Theory, 12(2), 227–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lloro-Bidart, T. (2015). A political ecology of education in/for the Anthropocene. Environment and Society: Advances in Research, 6, 128–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacGregor, S. (2004). From care to citizenship: Calling ecofeminism back to politics. Ethics and the Environment, 9(1), 56–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, P. (2007). Caring for the environment: Challenges from notions of caring. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 23, 57–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, P. (2010). Outdoor education and the national curriculum in Australia. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 14(2), 3–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, P., & McCullagh, J. (2011). Physical education and outdoor education: Complimentary but discreet disciplines. Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Physical Education, 2(1), 67–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McInerney, P., Smyth, J., & Down, B. (2011). ‘Coming to a place near you?’ The politics and possibilities of a critical pedagogy of place-based education. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39(1), 3–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKenzie, M. (2005). The ‘post-post period’ and environmental education research. Environmental Education Research, 11(4), 401–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLaren, P. (2009). Critical pedagogy: A look at the major concepts. In A. Darder, M. P. Baltodano, & R. D. Torres (Eds.), The critical pedagogy reader. New York and London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orr, D. (2004). Earth in mind: On education, environment and the human prospect. Washington, DC: First Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Payne, P., & Wattchow, B. (2009). Phenomenological deconstruction, slow pedagogy, and the corporeal turn in wild environmental/outdoor education. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 14, 15–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powch, I. (1994). Wilderness therapy: What makes it empowering for women? Women and Therapy, 15(3–4), 11–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riley, K. (2014). Narratives exploring earth-based spirituality for transformative outdoor and environmental studies. Masters Research dissertation, Deakin University, Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rizvi, F., & Lingard, B. (2010). Globalizing education policy. New York and London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roszak, T. (2001). The voice of the earth: An exploration of eco-psychology. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, C. L., & Bell, A. C. (1996). Politicised ethic of care: Environmental education from an eco-feminist perspective. In K. Warren (Ed.), Women’s voices in experiential education (pp. 172–181). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snaza, N., Applelbaum, P., Bayne, S., Carlson, D., Morris, M., Rotas, N., et al. (2014). Towards a posthumanist education. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 30(2), 39–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snaza, N., & Weaver, J. (2014). Posthumanism and educational research [electronic resource]. Hoboken: Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonu, D., & Snaza, N. (2015). The fragility of ecological pedagogy: Elementary social studies standards and possibilities of new materialism. Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, 12(3), 258–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • St Pierre, E. A. (2000). Poststructural feminism in education: An overview. Qualitative Studies in Education, 13(5), 477–515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sund, L., & Öhman, J. (2014). On the need to repoliticise environmental and sustainability education: Rethinking the postpolitical consensus. Environmental Education Research, 20(5), 639–659.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sundberg, J. (2014). Decolonizing posthumanist geographies. Cultural Geographies, 21(1), 33–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tuck, E., & McKenzie, M. (2015). Place in research: Theory, methodology and methods. New York and London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vance, L. (2001). Ecofeminism and wilderness. NWSA Journal, 9(3), 60–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Poeck, K., & Vandenabeele, J. (2013). Education and sustainability issues: An analysis of publics-in-the-making. In G. Biesta, M. De Bie, D. Wildemeersch (Eds.), Civic learning, democratic citizenship and the public sphere (Chap. 14, pp. 195–211). Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, P. (2013). Walking my talk as an intentional, embodied, (co)constructed environmental educator. PhD dissertation, University of Regina, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winter, D. D., & Koger, S. (2004). The psychology of environmental problems. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zink, R. (2004). The work outdoor education does: A Foucauldian analysis. PhD dissertation, University of Otago, New Zealand.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deakin University Australia, Burwood, VIC, Australia

    Kathryn Riley

Authors
  1. Kathryn Riley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia

    Tonia Gray

  2. Prescott College, Prescott, AZ, USA

    Denise Mitten

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

Riley, K. (2018). (Re)turning to the Sacred Trails: (Re)storying Connections to More-than-Human Worlds in Outdoor Education. 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_38

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53550-0_38

  • 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

Search

Navigation