Gateway to Outdoors: Partnership and Programming of Outdoor Education Centers in Urban Areas

• Main Authors: Paige O’Farrell, Hung-Ling (Stella) Liu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-11-01
• Series: Education Sciences
• Subjects: outdoor education; outdoor skills; partnership; outdoor programs; outdoor education in urban areas
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/10/11/340

The purpose of the study is to understand the challenges and opportunities of urban outdoor education centers in partnership and programming. The context for this study involves efforts by all-season outdoor education centers, Outdoor Campus (OC), in two urban areas in South Dakota (SD). Outdoor education scope and social-ecological framework were applied to guide this qualitative study. Semi-structured interview questions were used to interview eight outdoor educators in 2019, including four individuals from each service location composed of three males and five female educators. Qualitative content analysis was applied to identify common themes and essential quotations that emerged from the data analyzed through the interviews. Three main themes emerged: (1) gateway to our outdoor legacy (2) working together for outdoor education, including three sub-themes: formal partnership, programmatic partnership, and finding balance in partnership, (3) challenges as opportunities in outdoor education programs, including two sub-themes: common challenges and evolving process.