The purpose of the project was to develop a comprehensive literature unit that integrates essential meteorology study within the relevant chapters of the book. Since the development of such a unit needed to encompass much more than merely the reading of the book and the study of applicable meteorological material, a multi-faceted literature experience was designed.

This research study addressed a current topic of interest in the environmental education community: How can people of non-European origin be recruited into the field of outdoor and environmental education?

The purpose of this study is to aid interpreters in evaluation sources (research material) for use in interpretive presentations and programs in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. This was done by illustrating the need for source evaluation and then developing the guidelines for selecting, evaluating, and most effectively using various sources in the development of interpretive programs in the National Parks Services (NPS).

This project provides a fire ecology lesson to accompany a hike for student groups from fourth through eighth grade. The lesson plan will acquaint students with the beneficial aspects of forest fires.

This phenomenological, qualitative study addressed student perceptions of their meaning-making process towards self-authorship in a self-designed gap year experience and was conducted in a public higher educational institution in the Southeast. Data was gathered through interviews from a purposeful sample of gap year program participants and program administrators. Emerging themes and categories were identified by coding and analyzing the interview data, such as continual reflection reinforces the value of individual meaning-making, self-expectations versus self-worth, the influence of societal expectations are minimized, and self-designed learning helps to solidify changes in self-authorship. The data showed a strong connection between multiple meaning-making contexts for students and an enhancement in their authorship, as well as multiple-identities. The findings may be useful in gap year program reflection and redesign, and provide implications for self-design in experiential learning opportunities and gap year outcomes.

Syftet med detta examensarbete har varit att undersöka vilken betydelse närområdesstudier ochutomhuspedagogisk undervisning knuten till lokalsamhället har för lärare i samhällskunskap,att skapa variation i undervisningen och om samt hur lärare använder närområdet i sinundervisning i årskurs 4–6. Det finns tidigare forskning kring främst natur- och äventyrsinriktadutomhuspedagogik som fokuserar på yngre elever, men mindre kring närområdesstudier,studiebesök och besök från samhället, för ämnet samhällskunskap.De teoretiska utgångspunkterna var Vygotskijs sociokulturella perspektiv och pragmatismenenligt Dewey, som användes för att analysera empirin. Undersökningen genomfördes med hjälpav kvalitativ metod och semistrukturerade intervjuer. Sex respondenter från fem skolor deltogi undersökningen. I analysen av resultatet framkommer att lärarna ger många exempel påmöjligheter till undervisning utomhus och i närområdet men att det finns hinder att övervinnainnan man kommer ut ur klassrummet.En slutsats som kan dras utifrån undersökningens engagerade lärare och tidigare forskning äratt vi kan drista oss till att konstatera, att utomhuspedagogiken och närområdesstudierna görstor nytta för de flesta elever. Det som återstår att göra är, att ”kavla upp ärmarna”, utmanahindren och ta med eleverna på deras livsresa både i klassrum och utomhus, för att ge demminnen och kunskaper för livet. / The purpose of this master thesis has been to examine which meaning neighborhood studiesand outdoor education attached to local society has to teachers in the subject of civics, to createvariation in teaching and if and how teachers use the local area in their teaching in classes 4–6.There is earlier research mainly around nature and adventure oriented outdoor educationfocusing on younger pupils, but with less focus on neighborhood studies, study visits and visitsfrom society, in the subject of civics.The theoretical starting points was Vygotskijs sociocultural perspective and pragmatismaccording to Dewey, that was used to analyze the empirics. The survey was conducted by usingqualitative method and semi-structured interviews. Six respondents from five schoolsparticipated in the survey. In the analysis of the result, it emerges that the teachers give manyexamples of outdoor and neighborhood teaching, but there are obstacles to overcome beforegetting out of the classroom.A conclusion, that can be drawn based on dedicated teachers of this survey and former researchis, that we dare to note, that outdoor teaching and neighborhood studies do great good to mostpupils. What remains to be done, is to “roll up the sleeves”, challenge the hindrances and bringthe pupils on their journey of a lifetime in both classrooms and outdoors, to give them memoriesand knowledge for life.

Previous research has indicated the majority of athlete alumni do not give charitable donations to their alma mater or athletics department. With over 4 million former National Collegiate Athletic Association student-athletes, these athlete alumni should have an inherent affinity for their athletics department. The purpose of this research study was to examine the relationship between a student-athlete career preparation program (“Career Program”) and athlete alumni affinity for the athletics department. This study uses the theoretical framework of Social Exchange Theory to examine if an athlete alumni’s affinity for their athletics department increases when they receive support for their career launch. The quantitative quasi-experimental study had two groups of athlete alumni, career program varsity athlete alumni and non-career program varsity athlete alumni, who graduated from one large, public university at the Football Championship Subdivision level. The intervention of the Career Program was provided to one group of athlete alumni. An athlete alumni affinity questionnaire was developed and administered to both groups. The questionnaire received a low response rate with 71 respondents. The Pearson chi-squared test did not show a relationship between athlete alumni affinity and the Career Program. There was no statistical difference indicated between the two groups for the five latent variables of (a) career preparedness, (b) communication, (c) connection, (d) student-athlete experience, and (e) undergraduate experience. Two athlete alumni affinity statements did show significance, and they were related to student-athletes developing a LinkedIn profile and professional resume.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur förskollärare närmar sig barns perspektiv i utomhusmiljö. För att fånga upp hur förskollärare resonerar kring hur de närmar sig barns perspektiv i utomhusmiljö så har intervjuer genomförts. Studiens teoretiska perspektiv utgår från det utvecklingspedagogiska perspektivet. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att förskollärare närmar sig barns perspektiv genom ett medvetet förhållningssätt där de närmar sig barnen fysiskt och försöker förstå omgivningen genom barnens glasögon. Förskollärarna använder även flera metoder som att planera för att kunna närma sig barns perspektiv, aktiviteter där de agerar för att underlätta för barnen att få utrymme att utrycka sina perspektiv samt dokumentation för att både synliggöra barnens perspektiv samt fånga upp barnens perspektiv för att kunna använda det i verksamheten. Resultatet visar även att ett antal förskollärare upplever möjligheter i utomhusmiljön vilket kan främja utomhusundervisning samt att ett antal förskollärare upplever utmaningar med utomhusmiljön vilket kan utmana utomhusundervisningen.

Le domaine du plein air est un champ traditionnellement masculin où les filles et les femmes éprouvent généralement des difficultés à être reconnues par leurs pairs et subissent plusieurs formes de discrimination. Cette faible reconnaissance, ainsi que la discrimination subie par plusieurs d’entre elles, ont des impacts négatifs sur leur participation, leur confiance en elle, leur sentiment d’appartenance, le développement de leurs habiletés techniques, et même, sur leur longévité professionnelle dans le domaine. Plusieurs activités de plein air se déroulent en contexte de groupe dans lesquels les inégalités de genre du domaine sont susceptibles d’émerger et de se reproduire. Ainsi, les groupes d’expédition sont des contextes privilégiés pour observer comment opèrent l’émergence et le fonctionnement des inégalités de genre dans le domaine du plein air. Ce projet de recherche doctorale vise à développer une meilleure compréhension des processus entourant la reconnaissance sociale dans les groupes d’expédition éducative, et ce, en portant une attention particulière au genre. Une étude de cas ethnographique comprenant de l’observation participante au cours d’une expédition de canotage de quatre semaines a été menée auprès d’un groupe d’étudiants (17 hommes et 7 femmes) engagés dans un programme de formation universitaire de premier cycle en intervention plein air. Un cadre conceptuel sociologique bourdieusien a été utilisé afin de rendre compte des différents processus pouvant influencer la reconnaissance sociale des membres d’un groupe d’expédition. Les concepts de champ, d’espèces de capital et d’habitus ont permis de mener trois analyses distinctes mais interreliées. La première étude est basée sur la signification et la valeur symbolique des tâches et des activités inhérentes à la conduite d’une expédition de canot et porte sur la division sexuée du travail en expédition. Cette étude montre comment le genre, les représentations du genre de même que la classe sociale interagissent pour orienter les stratégies d’amélioration ou de maintien de statut. La deuxième et la troisième mobilisent certains constats issus des travaux sur les hiérarchies de statut dans les groupes ayant des objectifs à atteindre. Plus précisément, la deuxième étude est basée sur le postulat selon lequel la perception de 6 compétence et les attentes de performance à l’égard d’une personne jouent des rôles déterminants dans les processus d’attribution de statut dans les groupes. L’analyse des données a permis d’identifier différentes stratégies consistant à laisser implicitement sous-entendre, dans ses actions ou ses discours, la possession d’une certaine expertise. Cette analyse a aussi permis de mettre en évidence comment les rapports sociaux de genre jouaient des rôles importants dans les processus de distinction liés à la compétence et comment les compétences de certaines femmes étaient parfois ignorées ou encore utilisées par d’autres participants pour apparaître plus compétents qu’elles. Enfin, la troisième analyse s’appuie principalement sur les concepts de capital social et de champ comme espace de luttes dans lequel les agents cherchent à influencer le mode de perception et d’appréciation légitime. Cette troisième analyse a permis d’identifier des stratégies consistant à gérer les relations et les interactions sociales avec autrui de façon à en tirer des avantages en termes d’amélioration ou de maintien de statut au sein d’un groupe. Cette étude a permis de montrer comment les rapports sociaux de genre et de classe interagissent et influencent les relations et les interactions sociales dans le groupe et donc, les processus de reconnaissance sociale. L’ensemble de ces analyses permet de mieux comprendre les logiques d’action et le fonctionnement, en contexte d’expédition, des inégalités fondées sur le genre et la classe sociale. Parallèlement, ces études ont aussi permis d’examiner certains enjeux relatifs à l’apprentissage et à la gestion des risques en contexte d’expédition éducative. À cet effet, des pistes d’intervention praxéologiques susceptibles de favoriser une dynamique de groupe plus inclusive et d’accroître le bien-être des participants, leur apprentissage et leur sécurité ont été proposées. / The outdoor field is a traditionally male-dominated field where girls and women generally have difficulty being recognized by their peers and suffer from many forms of discrimination. This low recognition, as well as the discrimination experienced by many of them, have negative impacts on their participation, confidence, sense of belonging, development of their technical skills, and even on their professional longevity in the field. Many outdoor activities occur in a group context where gender inequalities in the field are likely to emerge and recur. Thus, expedition groups are privileged contexts to observe how the emergence and functioning of gender inequalities in the outdoor field operate. This doctoral research project aims to develop a better understanding of the processes underlying social recognition in an educational expedition group, with particular attention to gender. An ethnographic case study involving participant observation during a four-week canoeing expedition was conducted with a group of students (N=24; 17 men and seven women) engaged in an outdoor adventure leadership undergraduate program at a university in Quebec (Canada). A Bourdieusien sociological conceptual framework was used to examine the different processes that could influence the social recognition of expedition group members. The concepts of field, forms of capital, and habitus offered powerful heuristic tools to conduct three distinct but interrelated analyses. The first study is based on the significance and symbolic value of the tasks and activities of a canoe expedition and focuses on the sexual division of labor. This study shows how gender, gender representations, and social class interact to guide the strategies used by the participants to maintain or uplift their social status as outdoor leaders. The second and third studies built on and seek to contribute to the research on status hierarchies in tasks-oriented groups. More specifically, the second study is based on the assumption that perception of competence and expectations of performance towards a person play decisive roles in the status allocation process in groups. Data analysis allowed us to identify various rationales underlying the strategies used by group members to convey an impression of competence in their actions or discourse. This analysis also highlighted how gender relations play essential roles in competence8 related processes of distinction and how the skills of some women are sometimes ignored or used by other participants to appear more competent than experienced women. Finally, the third analysis is mainly based on the concepts of social capital and field as a space of struggles in which agents seek to influence the legitimate principles of perception and appreciation in force in the group. In this third analysis, we identified six relational strategies that consist in managing social interactions and relations with other group members in order to improve or maintain one’s status within the group. This study showed how gender and class interact and influence relationships and social interactions in the group and, therefore, social recognition processes. Taken together, these analyses provide a better understanding of the logic of action and how inequalities based on gender and social class work in the context of expeditions. Moreover, these studies examined some issues related to learning, risk management, and inclusion in educational expeditions. To this end, practical recommendations have been proposed to foster a more inclusive group dynamic and increase participants' well-being, learning, and safety.

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