Comparison Between Formal Anchoring of Outdoor Education in School Curriculum and its Conception on Model Elementary Schools Cover Image

Komparace formálního ukotvení terénní výuky ve školních vzdělávacích programech a její pojetí v modelových základních školách
Comparison Between Formal Anchoring of Outdoor Education in School Curriculum and its Conception on Model Elementary Schools

Author(s): Hana Svobodová, Radek Durna, Darina Mísařová, Eduard Hofmann
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Education, School education
Published by: Univerzita Karlova v Praze, Nakladatelství Karolinum
Keywords: elementary school; outdoor education; school curriculum; structured interview; teacher

Summary/Abstract: The outdoor education is an educational form that can be included in the teaching process at elementary and secondary schools. What remains often neglected (and what is marginalized in Czech literature) is both formal and procedural part of outdoor education. The authors of this paper assume that the inclusion of outdoor education in the teaching process is inconceivable in most Czech schools. The presented study analyses the conception of outdoor education at selected primary schools in Czechia. The first phase of research consists of the content analysis of School Education Programs (SEP, i.e. school curricula). This analysis was made in relation to outdoor education on a sample of 50 schools from Czechia. The aim of this step was to analyse the formal part of the outdoor education at selected schools. It means to identify both partial forms of outdoor education and partial educational themes as well as the educational connection of the content of school learning (traditionally indoor) and outdoor education. Time management of outdoor education, its overall concept and the interdisciplinary character was further investigated. The next phase of our research – the structured interview with teachers at nine model elementary schools – specifies and deepens the above described results achieved in the first phase. Interviews were conducted with 18 teachers (9 of them teaching at the first stage of elementary school and 9 teaching at the second stage of elementary school). Selection of these schools was based on the knowledge that the outdoor education has been implemented in these schools continuously for many years, using different forms of outdoor education (both of this was identified in SEPs). The analysis of SEPs showed that the SEP particularly differs by the extent of the description of individual teaching subjects and their content. The most differences were found in the various forms of outdoor education, in terms of quantity and quality of learning. Subsequent interviews with teachers have confirmed these differences, on the other hand, the results have pointed to several additional information which is not possible to obtain in any other way.

  • Issue Year: 13/2019
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 95-116
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: Czech