Research, reports and guidance on education outside the classroom and outdoor education, with a plain-English summary of each and a link to the original. New items are added every week.
The library began with Education Outside the Classroom: Applied Research Readings 2010–2017(McNatty & Boyes, University of Otago, 2017). Later items were found, summarised and checked with AI assistance using the same method: every reference is checked against the publisher's record, every summary against the published abstract, and only items rated high confidence by two independent relevance checks are published. Summaries are a guide: read the original before citing it.
6 items
A national New Zealand study found that health and safety legislation has reduced EOTC in many schools, and that staff anxiety was heightened by threats of personal legal liability. School culture, EOTC champions, effective systems and teacher education are seen as pivotal to sustaining EOTC.
Health and safety paperwork is a major barrier to EOTC for many schools. The authors propose well-resourced systems staffed by dedicated EOTC coordinators as a possible solution.
A school board was ordered to pay more than $500,000 in reparations after a student drowned on a caving trip. WorkSafe found weather triggers, oversight and emergency planning were inadequate.
Using the death of Jeremiah Perry on a Toronto school trip as a case, the authors extend the '7 Rights' into '9 Rights' to guide legal literacy and risk management in outdoor education.
Three Canadian outdoor education deaths shared administrative failings: undefined risk tolerance, risk creep, weak oversight and problems with parental consent.
The review traces how safety is understood in NZ EOTC policy and curriculum and suggests a more holistic view could guide practice.