Peer-reviewed research2017–2026 update
Living in history: Recognising the challenges for outdoor educators and taking on the pedagogical responsibility (the 2023 Brian Nettleton Lecture)
Outdoor educators 'live in history' when teaching on Country. This lecture and its classroom application show non-Indigenous educators taking up responsibility for that teaching.
What's new
The paper presents arguments from John Quay's 2023 Brian Nettleton Lecture: histories continue to shape human–human and human–nature relationships, and outdoor educators teaching on Country are living in that history. It pairs these arguments with Belinda Dalziel's practical application in planning and teaching the senior Outdoor and Environmental Studies course of the Victorian Certificate of Education. Both are non-Indigenous educators responding to First Nations educators' call to share responsibility for teaching in this area.
Why it matters in Aotearoa
This Australian work parallels the responsibility outdoor educators in Aotearoa carry to understand the histories of the places they teach in, including the Treaty of Waitangi and the relationships of mana whenua with those places.
Putting it into practice
Before taking students to a place, learn and plan to teach its histories, including mana whenua relationships, so that place-based learning acknowledges the past and its ongoing effects.
How strong is the evidence
This is a lecture-based argument with a practitioner account of one course. It is not an empirical study.
What to read
Belinda Dalziel's account of applying the arguments in her senior course.