Education outside the classroom (EOTC) to enhance student wellbeing and school engagement
Details:
4:35 – 5:25 pm
4th of December
Room: Sports Pavilion
Helen Cooper
Wellbeing and school engagement are key features of the success or otherwise of a student’s educational endeavours at school. This presentation will outline a research project focusing on the impact of place-based education outside the classroom (EOTC) on student wellbeing and school engagement. Existing research linking curriculum-based EOTC to positive outcomes relating to student wellbeing and school engagement will be discussed, as well as the significance of the study in the context of the mental health crisis, emphasising the need for alternative approaches to traditional classroom learning. The recent inclusion by the Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority (ACARA) of the outdoor learning curriculum connection will be highlighted. This is then related to the Danish udeskole tradition that will be implemented in the study to facilitate curriculum-based learning in the outdoors. The study is to be conducted in 2024 with students and teachers of two Year Eight classes in an independent secondary school in Sydney. A mixed-methods research study will be conducted using the validated Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (SSWQ) and school absenteeism data, supplemented with student and teacher semi-structured interviews. Through an examination of experimental design and implementation of a robust methodology, the research seeks to identify what effect a 10-week EOTC intervention has on Year eight students’ wellbeing and school engagement.
About the Presenters
I’ve been kicking around the outdoor industry for over 25 years wearing every hat under the sun. Having done every job imaginable in outdoor education and adventure tourism including running my own wilderness adventure business, I now find myself spinning many plates simultaneously. Currently I am PhD student in the School of Education at Western Sydney University looking at integrating place-based EOTC into Australian secondary schools to enhance student wellbeing, school engagement, and academic buoyancy. I balance this out by working for Outdoors NSW & ACT, Western Sydney Uni and Greater Sydney Parklands to keep it real.
