Linköping |Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning Master program Outdoor and Sustainability , 60 hp Spring Semester 2020 | LIU-IBL/MOS-A-2020/005—SE

The Perceptions of Gambian Basic and Secondary Education Teachers about

Musa Baldeh

Supervisor: Lars Björklund Examiner: Emilia Fägerstam, PhD

Linköpings universitet SE-581 83 Linköping 013-28 10 00, www.liu.se

ABSTRACT

Outdoor education is believed to be a new teaching approach and method in the education framework which relates to learning through natural places using direct experience. However, the teaching approach that is mostly used in the Gambian schools is based on the traditional approach of teachings as well as many African countries. As a relatively new teaching technique, outdoor education is gaining recognition from many researchers who are developing a keen interest in it. Thus, the aim of the current thesis is to investigate the perceptions of Gambian Basic and Secondary school teachers about outdoor education. in that regard, six (6) Gambian teachers from different teaching subjects, grades, and regions reported their views about outdoor education. A qualitative approach methodology with the use of semi-structured interview was employed to get teachers perceptions. After the data collection, thematic analysis was used for analyzing the collected data from which three (3) themes emerged to report the participants’ opinions. The participants revealed their basic knowledge and perceptions about outdoor education and presented some characteristics and examples of how the practice outdoor education. They emphasized that they view outdoor education as a teaching approach with the use of outdoors. However, according to them, any teaching activity that involves using the outside the four corners of the classroom or the school premises, is considered outdoor education. They noted that outdoor education can take place in the form of excursions, fieldtrips, classes outside the class under a tree or within the school premises. Besides, although the teachers indicated that the main teaching approach, they use is still the traditional teaching and learning approach, they showed willingness to enrich their classes with use of outdoor education. They further revealed that the main places they conduct outdoor education is the school yard, under a tree, a visit to places of interest, excursions to various historical places or museums and the like. The Gambian teachers acknowledged many potentials of outdoor education to the students including stimulation of multi-senses, increased understanding, improved social relation and cooperation, boosting of their health and wellbeing, developing curiosity, and giving students a sense of freedom and happiness. However, participants also revealed several barriers that suppress them from doing outdoor education effectively. Among the barriers mentioned includes, inadequate funding, lack of support from parents and school administrators, lack of pedagogical training, tight schedule, and limited time. Thus, further research is needed to help testifying the results of the current study and give more insight into the field of outdoor education in the Gambia and Africa at large.

Keywords:

Outdoor education, Gambian Basic and Secondary school teachers, Perceptions, Potentials, Barriers, The Gambia, Curriculum, Teaching approach, Place-based education, Experiential learning.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of tables and figures……………………………………………………………………ii

Acknowledgement…………………………………………………………………………. iii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION…………………………………1

Research aims and research objectives………………………………………………………2

Research contributions……………………………………………………………………….2

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………3

Definitions of outdoor education…………………………………………………………….4

Historical background of outdoor education…………………………………………………5

Theoretical concept of outdoor education……………………………………………………5

Basic aims of outdoor education……………………………………………………………...5

Experiential learning………………………………………………………………………….6

Place – based learning…………………………………………………………………………8

Potentials of outdoor education……………………………………………………………….9

Previous research on teachers’ perceptions about outdoor education…………………………11

The perceived benefits/potentials of outdoor education according to teachers……………….11

The perceived barriers/challenges of outdoor education according to teachers………………12

Characteristics of the Gambian education system…………………………………………….13

Some basic facts about the Gambia……………………………………………………………13

The Gambian education system……………………………………………………………….14

Educational structure………………………………………………………………………….15

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY………………….16

Research area and sample………………………………………………………………………16

Research methods and tools……………………………………………………………………19

Interview schedule……………………………………………………………………………...20

Use of computer…………………………………………………………………………………21

Data collections………………………………………………………………………………….22

Data analysis…………………………………………………………………………………….23

Ethical issues…………………………………………………………………………………….26

Reliability and validity of the research………………………………………………………….26

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS…………………………………………….27

Theme 1: Gambian teachers’ views about outdoor education……………………………………28

Theme 2: The teachers’ perceived benefits of outdoor education…………………………………31 . Theme 3: The perceived barriers of outdoor education……………………………………………34

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSIONS…………………………………………39

Gambian teachers’ views about outdoor education……………………………………………….38

Potentials of outdoor education……………………………………………………………………39

Barriers of outdoor education………………………………………………………………………40

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS…….42

Summary of results……………………………………………………………………………….42

Methodological implication and future research…………………………………………………44

References………………………………………………………………………………………...45

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

FIGURE 1: Kolb’s cycle of experiential learning…………………………………………….7

TABLE 1: Information about participants…………………………………………………….19

TABLE 2: Thematic analysis of the results……………………………………………………28

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The current thesis is made possible not only because of my efforts and focus, but several people contributed towards making it a reality. As a result, it is fitting to say a word of appreciation to them. First, I thanked the Almighty Allah for giving me the strength and good health to be able to complete this thesis. I also thanked my parents and family for the continued support and encouragements. My late Father, Pateh Baldeh while you are not alive to rip from what you have sown, I am grateful and thankful for your foresight in enrolling me to school even though during the time few people in the village thought of such. May Allah admit you to his kingdom of paradise. My mother who has served as everything since I lost my Dad, I cannot thank you enough. You are indispensable and I pray that Allah give you long life. Besides, without the support of my supervisor – Lars Björklund, this work would have been difficult to accomplish. You have immensely help in shaping this work through your assuring, motivating and wonderful comments and corrections. You did not just correct my text, but you keep motivating me throughout the journey. I say a very big thank you Sir! Moreover, I want to register my sincere appreciation to all my lecturers especially Emilia Fägerstam and Ola Uhrqvist who have been with us throughout our master’s studies, imparting both knowledge and skills into our brains. Your teaching skills are unmatched, and your insightful lectures kept us thirsty for knowledge. Thank you so much. Additionally, to my, friends both home and abroad and my outdoor colleagues, you are the best thing that happened to me. Especially my muslim brotherhood friends in the Blue Tree mosque who have been very helpful to me during my difficult days. You provided me with company when I feel lonely and motivation when I feel demotivated. Your efforts are recognized. Furthermore, I would like to thank my participants who gave me their valuable time and energy to respond to my questions. Also, to my fellow Cluster monitor, Alh Muhammed Secka and my own brother, Demba Baldeh who help me in recruiting the participants. For Demba have been my source of motivation and inspiration. You do not just motivate me to do more, but you support me in it. In addition, without funding, it would have been impossible to achieve my dream of securing an international degree and thanks to the Swedish Institute (SI) who made this dream a reality. SI did not only pay my full tuition fees, but also gave me a standard stipend to enable me to cater for my needs while studying. I say a big thanks to you. Finally, I want to thank my family back home for being patient and supportive throughout the period. To all the people of Sareh Nyanga Village, I am grateful for the trust and confidence you have in me.

ON NJAARAAMA!!! THANK YOU ALL!!!

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION In this thesis, my wish is to investigate the perceptions of teachers about outdoor education in the Gambian Basic and Secondary Schools with a view to unravelling the under researched area in education in The Gambia. By providing insight in the findings of this thesis, teachers, education officers, curriculum development experts, researchers, and other stakeholders of the educational sector will be given the opportunity to improve the education system in the Gambia. Currently there are many Research Studies done in the outdoor education field, but little if any, research is done in the context of the Gambia. So, my aim is to break that barrier by conducting my thesis around this field in the Gambia. The research also aims to stimulate interest in the field of outdoor education and inspire teachers, education officials etc., to embrace the field and help in the implementation in the country. In the thesis there are some issues I want to unravel, such as the perceptions of teachers in the field, their perceived barriers to the field as well as the potentials or benefits attached to outdoor education. It is my hope that when teachers know the benefits attached to the field, it will enable most of them to consider the outdoor education teaching approach and hence making it a way of teaching in the daily routine. Also, when the barriers are known it will inform the responsible authorities to see how to break the barriers for a better implementation. In the Gambia, the main teaching approach is classroom teaching and little outdoor activities as the curriculum seldom mentioned anything about outdoor education. This could be one of the factors causing some teachers to see it as just a venture for exercise rather than a teaching approach, as learning in the cultural and authentic environment is more than just getting fresh air and exercising, (Szczepanski, 2016).

Outdoor Education as a type of teaching and learning approach has been an area that is gaining a lot of prominence over the years for many researchers within the educational field (Dyment & Potter, 2016). As we may know, outdoor education is not only intended for experiencing nature and having fun as many people think, but also about connecting people with nature as well as linking human beings with their daily life experiences. It is about practical and real learning experiences. Outdoor education recognizes that the experience and firsthand knowledge or information should be the hallmark for learning as learning should not only be abstract and consuming of facts. Having this in mind, I hope to see what the views of teachers about the field of outdoor education in the Gambian Basic and Secondary schools are, which will pave the way for more research about its practice in schools.

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The current Basic Education curriculum frame seldom mention about outdoor education even though it stated that fieldworks should be used as an essential element of Social and Environmental Studies, (Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, 2011). This also could be a factor that limits the practice of outdoor education in schools, but the research will dig into it and better inform us on the real challenges and barriers of practicing outdoor education. Gambian Basic and Secondary school mainly use the traditional teaching approach which is mainly the classroom based teaching indoors rather than outdoors, but in certain subjects like history and science, it is usual to see teachers taking students on fieldtrips and excursions to places of interest. The curriculum is clear on this as it is stated that certain like the enquiry based as well as experiential learning, will be more actively promoted to enable learners find a deeper meaning in their learning, (Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, 2011). Although some teachers are not well informed of what outdoor education is all about, they are unconsciously doing it.

RESEARCH AIMS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS The above-mentioned aims guided my research topic which, is to find out what teachers’ perceptions of outdoor education in Gambian Basic and Secondary school are. Once their perceptions are known, it will pave the way to looking into ways of implementing outdoor education in the Gambia.

As a guiding tool to finding out the above aim, the following research questions are highlighted. Research aim – To Investigate Teachers’ Perceptions about Outdoor Education in Gambian Basic and Secondary Schools.

Research questions – 1. What are the teachers’ perceptions with regards to outdoor education in Gambian Basic and Secondary schools? 2. What are the potentials/benefits attached to outdoor education according to teachers? 3. What are the barriers/challenges to doing outdoor education according to teachers? These questions will serve as my guiding tool throughout this research and I will highlight the

Gambian education system clearly and succinctly for better understanding.

RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS As a matter of fact, every research should help address an issue or issues which can help in the production of knowledge and advancement of the field, thus this research will also equally help in opening up a new opportunity for Gambian educationist and curriculum experts in formulating research which will help in the promotion of outdoor education in schools. The research findings can also be used as a guiding tool for teachers in the teaching field in looking into ways of ensuring 2

that they incorporate outdoor education into their planning and teaching activities. To the best of my knowledge, there is currently very few, if any research about outdoor education conducted in the Gambia so, this will be a very useful research about it and these will help a lot in giving people who are interested in such a source of information to rely on.

In the aspect of the curriculum, it will reveal the limited knowledge about outdoor education being mentioned in the current curriculum and as a result, it will enable curriculum developers to see the gap in terms of inclusion of the outdoor education approach for better implementation. As teachers most of the time rely on the curriculum in executing their functions as a teacher, when there is no mention of outdoor education it will be difficult for them to come up with ideas as to how to conduct outdoor teaching. But when this is considered and included in the curriculum, it will thus enable them to investigate the approach and this will help a lot. Additionally, it will make them familiar with the approach and hence making them aware of it from the planning of their lessons to its execution. Moreover, head teachers will use the finding in permitting teachers in going outdoors with students when the need arises without hindrance. They will also encourage and even advise teachers on the approach and support them in tackling of the challenges faced during outdoor teaching. Additionally, the school administrators can suggest to the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education which is the ministry responsible for planning and policy matters in considering outdoor education in their policies, programs and in the curriculum.

Furthermore, apart from the educational aspects it can help to give parents insight in the importance of outdoor education for their kids, so they will be more willing to allow their children to go outdoors without any fear. They will also know what they need to do to offer their support to the teachers towards the implementation of the teaching methodology. Finally, it can motivate the parents to inform others and sensitize them on the significance of outdoor education. Despite the interview sample being too small to be representative at a general level, according to Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2011), such research findings can still be sufficient and interesting.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

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The current chapter will present the background information about outdoor education by delving into the definitions of the term from different perspectives, the historical perspective of the field as well as some related theoretical aspects of outdoor education. I will talk about few concepts like experiential learning and place – based learning as they are all relevant to the main item – outdoor education or outdoor learning. With a view to introducing the Gambian educational system, I will thus delve into the education system as relating to outdoor education and a general background of the country – The Gambia. As stated, the research is about the perceptions of teachers about outdoor education in the Gambia, therefore I will dig into some earlier research dealing with teachers’ perceptions about outdoor education/learning and also some previous research findings around the benefits/potentials as well as the barriers/challenges of outdoor education.

DEFINITION OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION

Over the years, the outdoor education field have been gaining momentum both in research and practice. This made people contemplate as to what is the most appropriate definition of the term “Outdoor education”. Many practitioners and researchers tried to frame a befitting definition for it, but as Dayment and Potter stated, it is a difficult concept to define because of the manner in which people have their focus on outcomes, areas, processes and/or purposes, (Dyment &Potter 2015). Outdoor education is “education in, for and about the outdoors”, (Donaldson & Donaldson, 1958, cited Priest 1986, p.13). From the above definition we can deduce few things from it. The “in” refers to where we have the outdoor activities, could it be within the school yard, the forest, the nature reserve, or a visit to a museum. The “for” is outdoor education for who? Who is outdoor education for, is it only for students, or other people in society? But according to Priest (1986) the “for” refers to outdoor education for the protection of mother earth, while the “about” refers to learning about nature. The discussions shift towards a broader concept that includes experiential knowledge and emphasizes the interactions between people and natural resources (Priest, 1986). However, Rickinson et al. (2004) argue that there is a lack of consensus about what ‘outdoor education’ really is. According to Dahlgren and Szczepanski (1998), the main ideas of outdoor education are experience and action, and understanding of nature, culture, and society. In this case, it called for a total interaction with nature as well as society for it to be really considered outdoor education. Going further, Beard and Wilson (2004) argued that through outdoor education, educators expect to facilitate the connection between personal and social development. Still now others define the term as “education which takes place in the outdoors” and “using the outdoor as a laboratory for learning” (Hammerman et al. 2001, p.5). Rickinson et.al. (2004) categorizes learning

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outdoors in the following way: a) field work and study trips, b) adventure education and c) activities on the schoolyard and in the nearby community. To sum it up, Nicol (2002) lamented that to elucidate the nature and the basic characteristics of outdoor education and concludes that, since it is not clearly defined by a body of knowledge, it is then a teaching approach rather than a simple subject. For this thesis, I will be using the Hammerman’s definition of the term.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION It can be argued that outdoor education dates to the Stone-Aged and Neolithic “revolution”, as early man were hunter-gatherer and as time goes by, he learns through hands-on experiences which were necessary for his needs and survival (Harman, 2008). During this era, human beings came together to share knowledge and experiences through hands-on experience and practice to survive. It is, however, important to note that the historical root of Outdoor Education can be traced back from the Ionic and Greek natural philosophers who are known for their strong belief in knowledge of the hand and through first-hand experience in natural environmental of the outdoors (Dahlgren & Szczepanski, 1998). These attributes can also be seen both in old (Comenius, 1967; Rousseau, 1991; Dewey, 1997) and contemporary (Nicol, 2002a, 2002b; Higgins & Nicol, 2002) educators’ works. They argued that Outdoor Education is a cultural construct that offers three main areas of outdoor activities, namely, personal development, social and (Nicol,

2002a, 2002b; Higgins & Nicol, 2002). As generations passed by, changes occur where the industrial revolution replaced humans and animals as the main sources of production by using more technological advancement like motors using gas energy (Stearns, 2013). Through these industrialization and urbanization, the traditional schools became more widespread: teachers began by using teacher-centered approach, and these made children lose their freedom of thinking, judging and movement as Dewey argued (Dewey, 1963, p. 61). Dewey is seen as an important thinker in outdoor education as he supported students learning through practical as well as theoretical experiences (Dewey, 1990). Here the key concept of outdoor education is a combination of theoretical and practical learning experiences. In this case, even though outdoor education has not reached in all schools, it is done through hands- on experience which can be in nature and books in the classroom.

THEORETICAL CONCEPT OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION

BASIC AIMS OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION It is important for us to know why outdoor education. What are the main reasons for outdoor education? This is key to know when talking about outdoor education. According to Dahlgren & Szczepanski (1998), one basic aim of outdoor education is the acquisition of knowledge and the 5

creation of bonds between nature, culture, and society, through activities and experiences in the outdoors. When we examine this statement, we will realize that outdoor education is critical for the attainment of knowledge through the interaction with nature and in the process, build environmental awareness. The outdoor environment can be used for the teaching of knowledge as well as gaining first-hand experience through interaction with nature (Quay & Seaman, 2013). In this case, outdoor education supports the notion that experience is the focus of knowledge acquisition. Moreover, the promotion of personal and social development and the acquisition of life skills are important aims that outdoor education seeks to accomplish (Beard & Wilson, 2006).

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING This outdoor education theory was heavily influenced by David Kolb through the idea of experiential learning. Kolb heavily based his work on that of Dewey, Piaget, Lewin, and Montessori. Learning through first-hand experience constitute the key component of this educational approach and enable the learner to connect real people with real life situations (Higgins & Nicol, 2002). This means that learning through experience has the potential to give learners a real and meaningful education as it is based on real life circumstances. It enables the learner to connect with the natural world. When the students are learning outside, they are gaining knowledge while also experiencing it. According to Dewey (1997) direct experiences are the catalytic power that leads to knowledge; “every experience is a moving force” (Dewey, 1997, p. 38). In this case, through experience students can be able to learn by interacting with the material itself rather than just abstract learning, because learners have a direct contact with the natural environment thereby using most of their senses to feel and see what they are being taught. “The stimuli that children engage from the outdoor environment through sensory organs allow them to adopt new data, awaken within them the need to raise questions and to learn even more” (Chauvel & Chauvel 1998, p.12). This is very significant as far as outdoor education is concerned because it will enable both the teachers and the learners to explore and interact more with a view of gaining deeper meanings to the outdoors. In contrast to traditional teaching and learning method which is usually done in the classroom, the experiential learning type is wider in scope as the place can be the school premises, a nature reserve, a farm, a park, a forest, a river, a hill, the ocean, a mountain, or a lake and the like (Dahlgren & Szczepanski,1998).

Moreover, as Fox (2008) states, although some experiential educators have hinted at nonphysical and noncognitive elements, the primary focus of is a linear, hands-on, involvement of the body and mind with cognitive and verbal processing. It is also important to note that experience with nature is important because it does not only help in the acquisition of 6

knowledge, but also for instilling of morals and promoting personal and social development (Nicol,

2002; Higgins & Nicol, 2002; Bögeholz , 2006; Szczepanski, 2009). Experiential learning processes can be presented through the “Kolb’s experiential learning theory” (Higgins & Nicol, 2002). It provides a framework for thinking how the four different stages of an activity works based on learning experience:

Figure 1. The Kolb cycle of experiential learning • Experience stage: this is where the learner gains direct experience through the direct interaction with nature or the material. The learner uses first-hand experience and give meaning to abstract concepts. • Reflective observation: in this stage the learner review or reflects on the experience by combining previous experience and exploring new findings. It also means the learner now explains the experience. • Conceptualization stage: in this stage, the learner reflects on the experience with a view to generating new idea from an abstract concept. This indicates that the learner has learn from the experience and can theorize things. • Active experimentation stage: this is the stage where the learner uses what he has learn to apply it. The learner applies their ideas or the theory to future experience. Here the learner becomes a pragmatist by experimenting the theory.

(Healey & Jenkins, 2000)

In experiential learning, we use multiple senses which is very important for knowledge acquisition and skills development, as Fredman, P. Stenseke, M. Liljendahl, H. Mossing, A. Laven, D.

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mentioned, outdoor experience is very much about capturing the moment” (Fredman et al., 2012) with multiple senses during the outdoor activities and those senses would be generally motivated by various teaching purposes, such as specific subjects, team building, environment, self- reliance, etc. (Fredman et al., 2012). It is very clear that when teachers went outdoors with learners, they use more than one sense, they sometimes see, touch, smell, feel and the like which made learning memorable and understandable.

To sum up, it is important to note that outdoor education does not reject theoretical knowledge, but instead it is in the opposite as (Jordet, A.N., Bjørnebye, M., Bartunek, D., Hronzova, M., Kätting, E. & Brage, C., 2009) puts it “…outdoor learning, in combination with a more traditional classroom teaching has a great potential and can have a significant impact on the individual pupil’s learning as a whole human being” (p14). Thus, in as much as we appreciate experiential learning and its benefits, we must also appreciate that theoretical knowledge is also important as it forms the foundation of knowledge.

PLACE BASED LEARNING One of the most highly explored theories of outdoor education is that of place-based learning. As we are aware any form of learning activity or activities, occurs in a place, being it indoor like in a classroom or a lab; or outdoor, like the school yard, forest, museum, farm, garden, or somewhere else. Therefore, place – based learning is very important in outdoor education. When we talk about outdoor education, we mostly refer to education in a place outside the classroom, hence nature is very important place for learning as it offers us to use our senses more which is important for our understanding. Nature is an authentic place and as Higgins & Nicol (2002) mentioned, authentic places give students the opportunity to learn about the linkage between the surroundings and individuals. It is clear also that place attachment is important for environmental awareness and love for its protection, because when people are attached to a particular place, they develop a sense of belonging to the place and hence, will protect it which is important to nature, as Gruenewald (2003, p. 4) puts it “while critical offers an agenda of cultural decolonization, place-based education leads the way toward ecological "reinhabitation”. We also become more concerned about an environment when we are connected to nature, which is why outdoor education is important for environmental awareness. Place based education is also very important for students understanding as it gives them an opportunity for experience and exploration, (Sobel, 1996). In outdoor education, the outdoor environment also becomes the place-based learning as it is where the learning takes place, thus it is important to select a suitable and authentic environment. For this environment to be termed as original or inventive and lead to first-hand experiences, it should be variable and 8

unstructured (Dewey, 1997; Szczepanski, in Higgins & Nicol, 2002). It is, however, important to note that not only natural environment can serve the purpose of place – based learning, but also man-made environment in as much as it serves the purpose.

According to Szczepanski (2009), children today are disconnected from the natural world, mainly due to man-made ‘protective fences’; for example, human constructed forms of teaching (like school buildings), information (like media, books and visual images) and entertainment (like shopping centers, indoor playrooms). Therefore, children do not experience the outdoors so often, as they are captured into a ‘triangular form of life’ – the school, home, shopping center (Szczepanski, 2009, p.3). Richard Louv (2005) termed this separation of children from nature as a ‘nature-deficit disorder’, a cultural phenomenon that is characterized by the “diminished use of senses, attention difficulties and higher rates of physical and emotional illness” (Louv, 2005, p.36). In our today’s world where urbanization is taking its toll, this is very common especially in cities. Children are separated from nature and they often have some health issues from this separation from nature.

Let us examine some questions that are often raised when it comes to outdoor education. Some will be tempted to ask why outdoors? Why do we teach in an authentic environment or natural environment? What can we achieve outdoors? Why not in the classroom? To answer some of these pertinent questions, Sandell et al. (2005), support that opening up the doors in the walls of society to the outdoors, through education in nature, can establish an understanding about human – nature relationship and dependency on the environment, as well as create an authentic and cultural bonds within the society. This is particularly important for environmental sustainability because unless and until we have a strong bond with nature, we cannot have regards for it and hence we may not protect it. This is further supported by Sandell (2006), who believed that bringing students in the outdoor landscape can strengthen the relationship between human beings and nature.

To summarize however, Harisson (2010) supports the role of the place in outdoor education but states that it needs to be further investigated as it is under researched and not well documented.

POTENTIALS OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION In our today’s generation people tend to be more indoors in an artificial environment which is said to be harmful to our health and wellbeing. We spend most of our times on screens and indoor buildings doing our daily activities and this poses a serious challenge to our interaction with nature. There are many studies conducted in outdoor education which proved that exposure to nature is 9

very important in many ways. According to Szczepanski outdoor education can enhance students’ physical activities, promote their curiosity, creativity, and cooperation (Szczepanski, 2008). This is further supported by (Higgins &Nicol, 2002 and Mygind, 2009), who indicates that it improves students’ social relations as it induces their positive emotion of cooperation. This is so, because when we are outdoors, there are many challenges that we will face which ranges from the physical structure of the place as well as the safety of the place, so when we are able to overcome these challenges it will absolutely result into our creativity and physical enhancement. There is also a lot of group or team activities in outdoor education, so this will boost cooperation amongst students, hence building their social cooperation. Apart from positive cooperation, outdoor education also helps in promoting attitudes in environmental awareness, (Fančovičová & Prokop,2011). As a result, it will also lead to a strong connection between students and their natural surroundings which will enhance their concern and empathy for nature (Emmons, 1997; Johnson & Manoli, 2008). It is very difficult for one to love something and cherish it without having any connection and interacting with that thing, but once this connection is enhanced, it will develop to love, and this brings in care. Through the concern and feeling of empathy, students can live harmoniously with nature which will help in reducing pollution and some other harmful environmental practices while creating eco-friendly new technology when they grow up, and live physically and mentally healthy (Emmons, 1997; Johnson & Manoli, 2008). To further support this notion of environmental awareness, (Gill, 2011) has found evidence that children who are regularly interacting with nature develop an increased environmental awareness and a stronger feeling for the local environment when they become adults. Nature can also be used as a spiritual house for reflection and recreation and it should not only see as a leisure time hub, (Dahlgren & Szczepanski, 1997). Studies also found that exposure to nature can reduce stress and anxiety while giving people a free mind and a sense of freedom to express oneself, (Kanters et al, 2002). Furthermore, many research findings proved that direct experience teaching in the out-of-doors results in broader and richer educational opportunities and provides a conducive climate for learning (Blomberg, 1967). Moreover, Fjortoft (2001) reports that research from Scandinavia demonstrated that children who play in flexible, authentic landscapes appear to be healthier; have improved motor skills, demonstrate more creativity, and have enhanced balance and coordination. This is further supported by Szczepanski (1998) who reiterated that students with better access to the outdoors, are healthier, concentrate better and get better motor skills. Given the potentials of outdoor education on the lives of people and education and considering the fact that children spend less time with the natural environment, it is important for educational institutions to take the mediatory role in bringing children outdoors (Louv, 2009).

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Despite the importance of outdoor education, there are some limitations to doing outdoor teaching due to teachers’ perceived risk as a ‘cultural protectionism’, mainly originating from the combination of inadequate access to outdoor spaces (city environments) and fear for physical harm or inappropriate adult threats (Maynard and Waters, 2007). This is further supported by Backman, who considered outdoor teaching a risk to apply and it also depends on the school location to nature (Backman, 2011).

PREVIOUS RESEARCH ON TEACHERS PERCEPTIONS ABOUT OUTDOOR EDUCATION There are many studies conducted in this topic looking at teachers’ perceptions about outdoor education in schools, but there is none to the best of my knowledge done in the Gambian context this is why I would like to fill this research gap . As teachers are at the center stage of conducting outdoor education in schools which is commonly being referred to as outdoor learning despite it is taking place in school related activities with a view to teaching students, knowing their perceptions of the field is very important. It is teachers who are usually applying the alternative teaching techniques and methodologies, their perceptions about outdoor education is very useful to discussing the development of outdoor education (Richardson, 1996; Neophytou & Valianides, 2012). Through practicing outdoor teaching activities, teachers have different ideas or perceptions about what outdoor education entails, and besides they are at the focal point in the implementation of curriculum, thus their opinions are very useful in (Tsaggaridou, 2008).

THE PERCEIVED BENEFITS/POTENTIALS OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION There are certain potentials that teachers have discovered during outdoor teaching activities, usually many people think it is only for the learners who benefits from outdoor learning, but even teachers get some of those benefits as Braund & Reiss (2004) intimated that during the outdoor education process, teachers’ knowledge about learning are enhanced and they equally enjoy the entire process like the students. This shows that the teachers also indeed benefits from the outdoor education activities. This is further supported by Gilbertson G., Bates, T., McLaughlin, T., & Ewert, A. (2006) who also indicates that being outdoors is different from staying indoors even if teachers apply the same activity because in outdoors you are having direct connection with nature. So even where in the same kind of activities are conducted both indoors and outdoors the impacts will not be the same as there are different environments which have huge impacts on learning. Still on connection with nature Goldenberg (2001) added that being in the outdoor surroundings to learn about the

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environment and other related issues, learners can improve their theoretical thinking skills. According to Ogilvie, “outdoor challenges may involve some risk and uncertainty” (2005, p.32). The writer supports the belief that during outdoor learning, it is impossible to do away from risk altogether, participants have to take some degree of responsibility and it depends on their strength, but this is important for them as it will give them more independence and promotes learning and personal development in the future. This is further supported by Little et al 2011, who noted that practitioners of outdoor play spoke about the necessity for children to take physical risks when learning new skills, “not only for skill development but also for confidence building and learning how to avoid injury” (Little et al 2011, p.123). Outdoor activities also help students in applying multiple senses when doing outdoor learning. Many researchers (Szczepanski, 1998; Higgins &Nicol,2002; Gilbertson et al, 2006; Fägerstam, 2012) support that sensory experience within the outdoor environment is helpful to a learning process. This is also supported by several studies including (Zhao, 2016 and Oikonomou, 2012) who both conducted their thesis on teachers’ perceptions of outdoor education and found out that in both studies, teachers believed that outdoor education do help in stimulation of senses. They both stated that, according to teachers when students are taken outdoors, they are more motivated, and their senses being activated. Furthermore, many studies also argued that outdoor learning have been found to promote health and wellbeing (Dahlgren & Szczepanski, 1998; Kanters et al, 2002; Higgins & Nicol, 2002). To further validate this notion, Zhao (2016) conducted a thesis on the perceptions of Chinese teachers about outdoor education and found out that they also belief that outdoor learning supports health and wellbeing as per the following quote, “almost all participants mentioned the improvement of both mental health, including reducing stress, exciting the mood, and moving the body” (Zhao, 2016; p.37). To sum it up, outdoor education is also believed to help teachers in connecting theory to practice during outdoor teaching (Oikonomou, 2012).

THE PERCEIVED BARRIERS/CHALLENGES OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION We will all believe that outdoor education has a lot of potentials or benefits, but equally there are some barriers to teachings and learning in the outdoors which many teachers have highlighted during different research by outdoor education enthusiast. Firstly, many studies indicate that one of the barriers for the realization of outdoor education is a tight time schedule and a curriculum that is too overcrowded because outdoor education is not stated in the school curriculum (Backman, 2011). This poses a serious challenge to outdoor education as school teachers are of the view that applying

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outdoor lessons is challenging as time of teaching is limited and schedule is tight (Robertson & Krugly-Smolska, 1997; Tan & Pedretti, 2010; Write, 2010; Backman, 2011). This is further supported by Oikonomou (2012), who investigated academic teachers’ perceptions and experiences of outdoor education in her previous research. She mentions that seven teachers report time constrains for preparing and implementing outdoor lessons, such as tight semesters, short lesson duration as well as lack of systematic student attendance. Apart from time constrain, there is also weather issues and the distance to outdoor places which affects the implementation of outdoor education (Wright, 2010; Backman, 2011). Another barrier highlighted by research is the fact that some teachers are not well trained on how to conduct outdoor education and as result they are unconfident and find it difficult to control the class outdoors (Backman, 2011) and there is limited support coming from both fellow teachers and the school administration (Robertson & Krugly- Smolska, 1997; Write, 2010). Furthermore, students’ behavior is also a challenge to doing outdoor education as some students found it difficult to concentrate outdoors which hampers understanding (Tan & Pedretti, 2010; Wright, 2010).

Another significant challenge of outdoor education is limited or unavailability of financial resources, educational materials and the relevant infrastructure is a huge challenge to outdoor education (Robertson & Krugly-Smolska, 1997; Rickinson, 2004; Tan & Pedretti, 2010). However, this one can argue is a problem not only for outdoor education but for all educational activities as Tan and Pedretti (2010) mentioned, “it was almost a job description to have to work with limited time and resources” (p.79).

Finally, the safety issues and risk associated to outdoors form a barrier for the realization of outdoor teaching (Oikonomou, 2012; Maynard & Waters, 2007; Backman, 2011 and Zhao, 2016), however the presence of risk is also seen as an opportunity as well in outdoor education and learning (Ogilvie, 2005; Little et al, 2011; Backman, 2011).

CHARACTERISTICS OF GAMBIAS EDUCATION SYSTEM

SOME BASIC FACTS ABOUT THE GAMBIA The Gambia is in the Western part of Africa and is boarded by Senegal at all sides except the Western part which is the Atlantic Ocean. The Gambia share a lot in common to its neighbor, Senegal, ranging from culture, traditions, and religion. The country has enjoyed a long period of peace since independence and for this reason many tourists knew it as “The Smiling Coast of

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West Africa”. The country is the smallest in mainland Africa and gained its independence from Britain in the year 1965. The capital city is in Banjul and found in the Urban center. The country has a population of approximately 2.2 million people (Gambia Bureau of Statistics). The annual growth rate is estimated to be at around 3.2% and the population of the capital city in Banjul is around 31,000 inhabitants.

The population of the Gambia is mainly made up of youthful people with about 63.55% being below the age of 25 years. This made the country to have a huge number of schools going age children and the literacy rate as of 2019 was estimated to be 64.3& for females and 68.0& for males. Elderly persons of 65 years and above account for 2.8% of the population. The age structure: The 0-14 age bracket makes up 43.9% of the population (males 382,385 / females 378,853) and the 15-64 age bracket makes up 53.4% (males 459,315 / females 466,689). Finally, the 65 years and over group accounts for 2.8% (males 24,303 / females 23,919) - estimate (Gambia Bureau of Statistics, 2018). The country is one of the most densely populated in Africa with a population density of 134 persons per square kilometers. The country is one of the poorest in the world according to the UNDP, it is ranked 165th out of 187 countries in the world. The percentage rate of poverty is estimated to be more than 60% of the population of the country. The major religious beliefs in the country is Islam which made up more than 90% of the population and Christianity making up about 4% while the remaining is from other minor religious beliefs. There are five major languages spoken in the country with some other indigenous languages. The major languages are pulaar, mandinka, wolof, jola, and sarahuli (Access Gambia).

THE GAMBIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM The Gambian constitution of 1997 made basic education a constitutional right and compulsory. In section 30, chapter 4 states that “All persons shall have the right to equal educational opportunities and facilities and with the view to achieving the full realization of that right”. This made education a right but if it went further to say that “basic education shall be free, compulsory and available to all”, while “secondary education including technical and shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education” (Constitution of The Republic of The Gambia, 1997). Going through these provisions, basic education is not only free but also compulsory for all Gambian children. It is the duty of parents to ensure that their children are enrolled in schools. For Secondary education is not compulsory but should be available to all regardless of geographical location. The management of education is done by the government and headed by the Minister of Education while the Permanent Secretary is the Chief Executive Officer 14

of the ministry and provides support to the Ministers of education. There are two ministries of education in the Gambia, one responsible for Basic and Secondary Education and the other is responsible for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology. the two ministries shared a joint policy which have a lifespan of 15 years (2016-2030) and is co-managed by the two ministries (Education Sector Policy, 2016-2030). There is an increased interest in education throughout the country. This is because of the free of the government, but it also created challenges for the government in terms of funding to match the need for educational materials and infrastructure. This calls for partnership between government and other private sectors to make education a reality for all.

EDUCATIONAL STRUCTURE The Gambian Education system is based on the 6-3-3-4 model which is expected to last for a period of 12 years of Basic and Secondary education and a further 4 years of tertiary education. The first 9 years are what is referred to as basic education while the 3 years that follows is secondary education. The first 9 years of basic education is compulsory and free as stated in the constitution of the Gambia. While in the new education policy there is an increased support and need for establishing Early Childhood Development (ECD) which is education, it is not compulsory. Thus, the education structure is summarized as follows:

• Early Childhood Development (ECD)/ - this is the first stage of education for children and the age for enrollment is 4 years to 6 years and it takes 3 years to complete. The aim of the ECD is to bring about holistic development of children and facilitate children’s smooth transitioning to primary education.

• Lowe Basic School – this is the first stage of compulsory basic education for kids and it begins when children are 7 years old and will last for a period of 6 years. When children complete this stage, they are expected to be at the age of 13 years old. The main of aim of primary education is to develop the innate ability of each child through child-centered education. They are also prepared for life in the upper basic level.

• Upper Basic Education – this stage takes a period of 3 years and children are expected to be at the age of 13 years old and complete by the age of 16. In this stage children are expected to be good in communication, be independent and hardworking while being able to know their health conditions. This stage also prepares them for Senior secondary education.

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• Senior Secondary Education – this stage marks the beginning of secondary education and the age of children are 16 years when they are enrolling. They will spend a period of 3 years here until they reached the age of 19 when they are expected to graduate. The main aim at this stage, is to produce competent citizens who can contribute to economic development and have respect and value for positive national traditions, cultural and social heritage, and democratic values of the country. Children are expected to serve in some middle-level human resource base of the workforce and prepare them for post-secondary education.

• Tertiary Education – this is the apex stage of the Gambian education system. After the completion of secondary education at the age of 19, children and enroll to tertiary education, either the colleges or . Enrollment to the colleges and universities depends on performance. In the tertiary level, students are prepared for work life. They are trained on how to contribute to the socio-economic development of the country and the world at large. At this stage, students can pursue either degrees, certificates, or diplomas at the different institutions. Those who cannot access the tertiary institutions are usually enroll in vocational colleges for skills development (Education Sector Policy, 2016-2030).

CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY My aim in this chapter is to present the process through which I conducted the research, the way I selected the participants and the tools I used in gathering my data. I will also present the process and way in which the data was analyzed for the purpose of clarity. In brief, the study is based on qualitative research using semi-structured interviews of six (6) teachers from six different regions of The Gambia. The participants are all teaching staff of different grades of Gambian basic and secondary schools. I will also lament on the ethical issues as it is very important in any research undertaking. As research validity and reliability is of importance, I will end this section by talking briefly about it too.

RESEARCH AREA AND SAMPLE

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As mentioned in the introduction section, the reasons for choosing the current research area and sample stems from my curiosity about the views of teachers pertaining to outdoor education in my home country – The Gambia. There is little or no study conducted in the main area of outdoor education in The Gambia which kept me wondering as to how can I pioneer such a study with a view to finding out how basic and secondary school teachers perceived outdoor education there. Secondly there is an urgent need for outdoor education to be effectively implemented in schools so that both students and teachers can benefit from the approach, hence triggering me to set that journey in motion. Even though The Gambia have huge places where students can explore with their teachers, it seems that is not the case as teachers seldom utilized the available natural environment for educational purposes, this is why I want to find out why this is the case. Therefore, the current scientific research gap which is left to be filled as well as my fervent desire to enrich my understanding motivated me to choose the research area and sample.

As we might be aware in qualitative research, three main types of sampling are identified under the “purposive sampling”, which are: theoretical, generic and snowball sampling (Bryman, 2008). In this research, the snowball sampling which is also under the ‘purposive sampling’ is the choice of sampling used. As Bryaman (2008) mentioned that snowball sampling is a technique used in the sampling that is based on a non-probability way and is aimed at sampling participants in a strategic way which will ensure the sample is relevant to the study. Thus, this is the reason for choosing this type of sampling of my participants as I know my main aim and focus on the study. Furthermore, according to Bryman, (2012) a research that is based on the non-probability sampling technique do not choose participants at random but base on purpose.

The current research is concentrated in the Gambia in which teachers from various teaching disciplines were selected to participate. In the Gambia there are six educational directorates which manages the education in their regions. The six regions are named after numbers starting from the capital in the Greater Banjul are which is tagged as Region 1, followed by Brikama area termed as Region 2 then Kerewan Region 3, Mansakonko Region 4, Janjangbureh at Region 5 and then Basse being Region 6. I selected six teaching staff from these regions for the study. I choose one teacher from each region making a total of six (6) teachers in total. Another factor which I also considered when searching participants was their teaching level and subjects for it to be better representative. For that reason, two (2) teachers were selected from each level, meaning two teachers from the Lower Basic level, two from the Upper Basic level and two from the Senior Secondary level. For the subjects I decided to select teachers who are involved in teaching in the sciences and social and environmental studies, this is because in the Gambia these are the subjects 17

that are more associated to fieldtrips and excursions. In this case, three teachers were selected from each subject area, that is three teachers teaching in the sciences and three teachers teaching in the social and environmental studies. So, altogether the teachers selected for the research are six in number. Although these teachers teach, the above-mentioned subjects and grades, all of them teach some other subjects as well. For instance, those teaching in the lower basic schools teaches most the subjects in the lower cadre while those in the upper and senior secondary level have two subject specialization each. There are five male teachers and one female in the study. As for the location of the schools sampled, two are from the urban areas while four are from the rural areas. The ages of the participants range from 23 to 40 years and the average age is 30.2 years. The teaching experience of the sampled teachers range from 2 years to 14 years making an average teaching experience of 6.2 years.

In choosing the participants, I first selected one teacher that I knew have the characters which I am looking for and then the rest I relied on education officers with whom I worked with before whom I know knew the teachers with such experience and characteristics which I needed for my study. They helped me in searching for the right participants as according to Bryman (2012) in snowball sampling the researcher selects those people whom he/she deemed relevant to the research and after which he/she can rely on the participants too to search for the remaining ones. I selected the participants in this way so that it does not be a case study which was not my choice of research method. Another reason is to achieve balance in the participant selection and have a more heterogeneous sample by choosing teachers with different experiences and locations (Salmons, 2011).

Even though a non-probability sampling limits the generalizations of the research findings (Bryman, 2012), it still enables the researcher to have an interesting and useful information, which constitute the building block of further research in the specific field (Silverman, 2001; Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2011). However, the information gathered can provide a useful insight into the perceptions of teachers about outdoor education and can help in the future studies in the field in focus. The table below explains the teachers selected and some information about them:

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Pseudonym Teaching Teaching Teaching Age School level of teacher Region Subject (s) experience Alieu 1 Science & 8 yrs 34 Senior Biology Secondary Samba 2 Science & 3 yrs 29 Lower Basic Social studies Malick 3 Social Studies 14 yrs 40 Senior & History Secondary Buba 4 Science & 3 yrs 27 Upper Basic Health Kumba 5 Science & 2 yrs 23 Upper Basic Agriculture Haruna 6 Integrated 9 yrs 29 Lower Basic Studies Figure 2. information about participants

RESEARCH METHOD AND TOOLS In this research, a qualitative method was used, and the data was extracted from semi-structured interviews of Gambian Basic and Secondary School teachers. I used the Thematic analysis as the method for the data analysis from raw to finished. Qualitative research is a broad term that entails a range of theoretical approaches and methods (Povee, Kate and Roberts, Lynne D, 2014). My choice of qualitative method is because it is more flexible than that of structured one and as a result it allows certain degree of freedom and leeway in elaborating and discovering of new information. It also allows for probing or asking of follow-up questions when the need arises. In this way, you can always ask for further clarification on points that are not very clear. As McMillan and Weyers mention, “the value of qualitative research derives from the authentic and case-specific detail that it can encompass” (2010, p.125). It helps us in academic study by offering an in dept conceptualized understanding of human behavior and personal views and experiences that may not be possible without qualitative methods (Povee, Kate and Roberts, Lynne D, 2014). According to Creswell (2012), when researchers are conducting a study, there is a process which follows six steps: identify a problem, review the literature, specify the purpose, collect data, analyze and interpret the data and finally report and evaluate the research. So, in this study I followed the same pattern, as I am the one conducting the research, I first identified a topic and then followed the same process. In this

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case, I am the one who should know which method is the best and due to the nature of the topic I am convinced that a qualitative method is the best for my study.

This is further supported by Coombes (2001) who argues that if a researcher is involved closely with small group of individuals in research process, one-to-one personal qualitative research helps in cultivating a better understanding of the experiences that have taken place. Therefore, since teachers’ perceptions constitute a major part of this research, I believe qualitative method with the use of semi-structured interviews is the best one to use. The method also will allow me to make some comparison of the responses among the Gambian teachers. As interview is a process of having a conversation with the participant it will give you the required information because you can further probe into many things if they are not very clear to you.

Despite my aim is to investigate the perceptions of teachers about outdoor education, this method is the best in my view because in qualitative method is best suited when you want to know the values or beliefs of social grouping, as opposed to quantitative method (Bryman, 2002). It will be hard to get your intended results with quantitative method with this type of research. In semi-structured interview, the participants are usually asked to answer open questions and the interviewer have an opportunity to ask follow-up questions in case the interviewer wants to more detailed answers want (Berg & Lune, 2009). This method also offers the interviewer the opportunity to ask unplanned questions when the need arises with a view to getting what is needed to a certain degree. Moreover, semi-structured interview allows the researcher to find meanings and intentions in certain things in a certain situation by exploring participants’ experiences, feelings, and opinions (Bond, 2004; Bryman, 2008).

INTERVIEW SCHEDULE During data collection, I developed an interview guide which was meant to guide me in the interview process. There were some demographical questions at the beginning which were followed by eight (8) main question about outdoor education in general. This was followed by six (6) questions about the potentials of outdoor education and nine (9) other questions which majority of them were about the barriers of implementing outdoor education. These question where developed in trying to get my aims and objectives with regards to the research. As it is important to design both the main questions and be cognizant of the sequence of the questions in semi-structured interviews (Salmons, 2011). There is also the need to developed an interview guide which will help the researcher to ask all the questions which are needed and to also guide him/her in ensuring that all the questions are administered (Creswell, 2012). The interview guide is important as it will serve 20

as a guiding tool to the researcher and it offers some flexibility to the researcher in changing the way the questions are to be administered depending on the responses from the participants. The researcher can also add some other important questions in order to elicit more information when the need arises (Bryman, 2008; Salmons, 2011). The questions were tested first through a pilot interview with a colleague teacher through skype so that I can see if they are fit for the research or not. The pilot also enables me to know how the participants will feel with the questions and if the questions can help me get the answers for the research aims and objectives.

After the pilot interview with my friend, I developed some few other questions which were meant to make the data gathering smoother and more efficient which will help in ensuring both the reliability and validity of the interviews (Cohen et al, 2011, p.204). According to Patton (in Hughes, 1996) through the interview questions a researcher can acquire six different kinds of information: “demographic information, experience/behavior information (what a person does or has done), opinion/value information (what a person believes), information about feelings (emotional responses to experiences and thoughts), knowledge (factual information) and senses (sensory questions)” (p.172). In this research the kind of information I am looking at includes both demographic, experiences, and knowledge, so hence the use of this method.

USE OF COMPUTER Semi-structured interview can be conducted through either face-to-face or with computer assisted technology like the phone or computer (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009). This is because there are instances whereby a researcher cannot meet the participants face-to-face due to either distance or other issues. As Salmons (2011) mentioned, when participants are in a location that is far and not within the access to the researcher, it can be possible to have a virtual presence to enable one to carry on with his data collection. Also, Kvale and Brinkmann (2009), stated that virtual communication is very similar to face-to-face interaction. This is further supported by Bryman, (2008) who argued that using online technology like skype is like that of face-to-face interview because the participant and the interviewer can see each other. In this case, since the current research is geared towards investigating the perceptions of teachers in The Gambia which is located far from Sweden and considering the cost as well as the closure of the airspace making travelling difficult; the use of virtual communication is the available option. This use of virtual means of interviews is almost the same as face-to-face interview because in the virtual means of interviews the participant and the interviewer can see each other (Murray, 2003). In today’s world where technology is so advance and people can use different means of communication like skype, WhatsApp, face chat and the likes, virtual means of interviews becomes easier although there are 21

some challenges which one must address like building of rapport. So, these are some of the things which motivated me to use virtual means of interview by using skype and WhatsApp. There are also some advantages in using online interviews to face-to-face interview, in that in online interview like skype, it is more flexible as one can always change the interview schedule quite easily, it is cost effective and saves time, and it is more convenient to use (Bryman, 2008). However, it is also important to note that there are some issues that one might encounter while using online interviews, such as limited internet connection, difficulty in observing body language which is important in interviews (ibid).

DATA COLLECTION Prior to conducting the interview, participants were all informed through an invitation letter which was sent to them via email and WhatsApp which explains the purpose of the research and they were also informed of anonymity and confidentiality. They were also informed that their participation in the research is voluntary and they can withdraw at any time they feel before the publishing of the results (see appendix?). They were also informed of the need for recording their voice during the interview which is also voluntary and if they do not like to be voice recorded then their responses can be taken, but they all consented to the use of voice recorder for the purpose of the research. The above information was given to the participants for the protection of their rights in research as active participants (Kvale, 1996). To achieve the anonymity of the participants and to reassure them of anonymity, I used pseudonyms. Prior to the interview, I spoke with them on phone to build a good rapport which is important in the interview.

The interviews were conducted in April 2020 using skype and WhatsApp where skype call was not possible, both applications are computer and telephone social applications which are very useful in online interviews. The interviews were also conducted at quite places which is key in interviews. The interviews lasted for 20-40 minutes where I was able to exhaust all the questions. During the first part of the interview, I use the time to introduce myself to the participants as a masters student and a teacher by profession and later asked them some biographical questions to build a strong rapport for the interview to go smoothly. This briefing also helps me in building a comfortable atmosphere for the interview to flow (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009). At this point I do not use the voice recorder as these can make the participants suspicious, so it is important to first build a good relationship with the participants during the first few minutes (Hughes, 1996). So, after my introduction and asking the questions about their biographical data, seek their permission to record the interview to which they all consented with no hindrance. During the interviews, I listened

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attentively and use a comfortable body language to show the participants that am interested in what they have to say.

Furthermore, I changed the sequence of the questions a little bit in response to the way they answer my questions which is not a problem in semi-structured interview because although the ordering of the questions changed, I was able to ask all the questions (Salmons, 2011). Finally, I ensured that where the arises I use probing questions to elucidate on responses that are not clear. After the completion of the interviews, I thanked the participants and asked if they have questions for me which some of them had. Few of them asked me further about my outdoor education practice in Sweden and the like. I also informed them that if they wish to be notified of the findings which they all answered in the affirmative, while some of them requesting for the thesis once published where possible.

DATA ANALYSIS There is no easy way of analyzing interview data even though it is a method of data collection which can help the researcher gather his/her materials for analysis. Even though qualitative research method using interviews is a popular approach to data collection and helps in gathering very useful and interesting information as according to (Creswell, 2012), it is not easy to refine the data, analyze it and give real meaning to it. Thus, it is of paramount importance to ensure that one look into the interview thoroughly and choose an ideal method to your data analysis to have a meaningful and well explained research. As Cohen et al., (2011) argued that there is a strong connection between the research questions and the method of analysis. Therefore, it is very important to choose a method which fits the questions to be able to effectively address your aims. For the purpose of this research, I choose the thematic analysis as a method of analyzing my data due to the fact that in interviews there are usually a lot of information that is being gathered and it need to be refined so as to get your results. According to Kvale & Brinkmann (2009, p. 30) it is necessary to listen to the explicit descriptions and meanings, as well as to what is said “between the lines”. So, in this case there is the need to be very attentive and pay attention to all the details when doing your analysis. Kvale & Brinkmann (2009) argued further that the main purpose of a qualitative interview is to obtain real life descriptions, to interpret the meaning of the described phenomena and obtain thoroughly tested knowledge. To achieve that, “it goes beyond the spontaneous exchange of views and becomes a careful questioning and listening approach between two persons conversing about a theme of mutual interest” (Kvale & Brinkmann 2009, p. 3). It is therefore of essence to be very attentive during the interview process for the researcher to be able to

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get the gist of what is being said and immerse oneself in the process. This is what prompted me to choose thematic analysis to be able to be watchful and organize my data.

Thematic analysis as Bryman (2012) argued is a common way of analyzing data, also Braun & Clarke (2006) supported it by stating that it should be treated as bed rock in qualitative analysis. When conducting research it is very important to be equipped with the necessary skills to be able to do it with ease, and Braund & Clarke (2006) intimated that thematic analysis provides one with the core skills that will be needed for conducting many other forms of qualitative analysis. During the data analysis process, I decided to do the data analysis through themes and not individuals, as the whole set of data from an individual will be difficult to work on due to the way it is presented. Also, analyzing each interview base on individual would neither connect explicitly the respondents’ answers nor reveal the overall picture in each research aim and objective (Cohen et al, 2011). According to Braun and Clarke (2006), six phases are involved during analyzing the data in athematic way which includes: familiarizing yourself with the data, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing the themes, defining the themes and producing the report. This approach is one of the most popular approach used in thematic analysis because it offers a very clear way of conducting the analysis in a step by step basis. The six-phase approach is highlighted below and is the approach I used in this research.

Phase 1. familiarizing yourself with your data This is the first phase in the thematic analysis and in this stage, I ensured that I familiarized myself with the data by transcribing the interview transcripts entirely which helped me in immersing myself with the data. This is very important even though it is not that easy according to Braun and Clarke (2006, p. 87) “immersion involves repeated reading of the data, reading in an active way, and searching for meanings”. Therefore, after the transcription of the data into written form, I took some ample time to read and re-read the data back and forth to get a good understanding of the extracted data. Although this is time consuming, it worth undertaken as it will help you find some meanings to the information.

Phase 2. generating initial codes After reading and familiarizing myself with the data, I moved on to try to generate my initial codes. During the reading of the data, I was also taking some points and codes which is very important in helping me to find some information and which I can use in the next stage. This list of ideas in the initial code extraction is what Braun & Clarke (2006) referred to as generation of initial codes. According to Cohen L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K., (2011, p. 559) a code is defined as “a name or label that the researcher gives to a piece of text, that contains an idea or a piece of 24

information and enables the researcher to identify similar information”. Thus, this stage is also very key in the whole process and I generated a list of codes which needed to be organized well further on.

Phase 3. searching for themes The task in this stage was to generalize the codes into potential themes. According to Boyatzis (1998), the identification of the themes can be either stated at explicit or an interpretative level. Braun and Clarke (2006), defined a theme as a pattern that captures important aspects of the data. In this stage I work through the entire data set and while doing this is was very attentive to any emergence of themes which I was able to get. I did the coding using highlighters which I was able to later gather my themes from. Some codes where divided into sub-themes and categorized accordingly while some of the codes were dropped as they did not fit into any theme which is supported by Braun & Clarke (2006, p. 90), who stated that stated that “it is rightly acceptable to create a theme called miscellaneous, where you put all the codes that don’t fit in your main themes”. After this, I matched the themes and began to cluster them into sub-themes and main themes. This gives answers to the research questions.

Phase 4. Reviewing the themes This stage involved the refinement of the themes and reviewing the different themes. In this case, I broke down some of the themes into separate themes and created some new ones in accordance to what Braun & Clarke (2006) described as the breaking down of themes into separate ones, connecting new themes and creating new themes altogether. According to Boyatzis (1998) thematic analysis is as a way of analyzing and interpreting data, by finding explicit or implicit interconnections between the different codes. At this stage, some of the initial codes were thrown away as there were not enough data to support them while some themes were adjusted based on the information gathered. Also, important to consider is the research question and literature which I ensured that are always connected.

Phase 5. defining and naming themes In this phase, I defined and refined the themes and identify which aspect they identify in the research and why they were important. Also, important to note is to identify in what way do they limit the current research.

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Phase 6. producing the report This is the last phase in the thematic analysis process as it is where I produced the report and presented a strong connection between the themes and the way in which they answer the research aims and questions.

ETHICAL ISSUES In every research undertaken it is very key to consider ethical issues as it is important factor, especially for the participants. According to Kvale and Brinkmann (2009), moral related issues should be concerned extremely in an interview inquiry. They argued that the interaction between human beings can affect interviewees and the knowledge that is generated through an interview research can affect our understanding of human condition. It is therefore of importance for the researcher to address these issues so that there will be a good balance between him and the researcher. According to Bryman (2002), there are four ethical demands for scientific research: the informational demand, the approval demand, the demand of use and the demand of confidentiality. It is also key to protect the identity of the participants according to Kvale (1996) who stated that the confidentiality in a research should be achieved by protecting the private data which can identify the participants not to be disclosed. In this research, all the participants were protected by using pseudonyms and the locations of their schools were not revealed to protect their identity. Apart from confidentiality, as Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2011) argue informed consent is another factor, which affects the balance between the researcher and the participants. Further to that Kvale (1996) mentioned that informed consent includes informing the participants about the overall purpose of the research project and its main features, as well as any possible risks or benefits from their participation. In this regard, before the interview was conducted I sent a letter to all the participants informing them of the entire purpose of the research and during the interview also I started by informing them of the research as a way to building trust and confidence. This was done to give a clear information as to what the aims and objectives of the study is all about.

RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE RESEARCH There are some important things to consider in research before the choice of research method, which are reliability and validity of the research (Golafshani, 2003). According to Cohen et al., (2011, p. 133) “reliability is a necessary, but insufficient condition for validity in research; it is a necessary precondition of validity and validity may be a sufficient, but not a necessary condition for reliability”. Thus, it is very key to consider both these issues throughout the research process if you do not want your data analysis to be rendered worthless, (Coombes, 2001). To achieve reliability,

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there are two key aspects, internal and external reliability. While internal reliability can be achieved when there is a connection between the extracted data and the ideas generated, external reliability is achieved by replicating studies to generalized findings (Cohen et al., 2011). Also, according to Bryman (2010) reliability refers to whether the outcomes of the research can be adapted to extended research or repeated while validity refers to honesty of the outcomes.

In order to ensure that the raw data that is transcribed, I begin by transcribing each interview I took before beginning another one so that I will have ample time to do a good transcription, because if I make many interviews before transcribing them it may lead to poor work. As Bryman (2002) stated, mishearing, tiredness and carelessness are the key factors that lead to mistakes. Thus, I took this decision so that I do not make mistakes in the transcribing. Also, during the transcribing of the material, I did listen to the audios attentively and replay them so that I did not misunderstand what is being said. According to Cohen et al (2011), “a research does not strive for uniformity; two researchers who are studying a single setting may come up with very different findings, but both sets of findings might be reliable” (p.149).

All the teachers who participated in the research are qualified teachers with their teaching certificates from The Gambia and they all have more than one-year teaching experience. However, data collection can be subjective and there can be recall bias and self-report bias because one’s desire of response (Zunker, Ivankova, 2011). Therefore, the results of the current research cannot be generalized to the whole of The Gambia, but it is important in trying to find their perceptions regarding outdoor education and is based on these teachers and it fulfilled the aim of the study.

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS This chapter presents the results of the research which emanated from the thematic analysis. The results are presented below and the way they relate to the research questions and aims. While the results are introduced here in three themes, the discussion is done in the next chapter under discussions. The discovered themes are summarized as follows: (1) Gambian teachers’ views about outdoor education; (2) the perceived potentials/benefits of outdoor education; and (3) the perceived barriers/challenges of outdoor education. The connections of the themes, the aims and the research questions are presented in the table below. 27

RESEARCH DESCRIPTION THEMES AIMS BASIC AIM The perceptions of Gambian Basic and All themes Secondary school teachers about outdoor education Objective 1 Teachers views about outdoor Theme 1. views about outdoor education education meaning and how it is practice Objective 2. Teachers perceptions about the Theme 2. the perceived potentials/benefits of outdoor benefits/potentials of outdoor education education Objective 3. Teachers perceptions about the Theme 3. the perceived barriers/challenges of outdoor barriers/challenges of doing education outdoor education

Figure 3. Results from the thesis

Theme 1. Gambian Basic and Secondary Schools teachers views about outdoor education The first theme has the potential to investigate the views of teachers about the term “outdoor education”. Teachers reported their perceptions about what outdoor education means and how they practice it in their various schools. Their answers are related to the first question of the current research.

• The various interpretation of the term “outdoor education” In a bid to investigate about what the teachers know about the concept outdoor education, the question was ask to all of the teachers, which is: what do you understand about the term outdoor education or how do you defined outdoor education? Out of the six teachers interviewed, five of them referred to the term outdoor education as education that takes place outside the classroom or the four corners of the classroom. Teachers phrases like “education that is given outside the four corners of the classroom, “education that is not given within the inside of the class”, “a process through which teachers and students go outside to an open place or an open environment to have lessons” etc. are some of the examples. The descriptions of the teachers,

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including subjects taught, teaching experience, age, level, and regions are included in a table earlier in the method section. According to most of the teachers, the principle that marked outdoor education is for the fact

that it takes place outside the classroom. As Samba noted. outdoor education or outdoor learning is a process through which teachers and students go

outside to an open place or an open environment to have lessons (Samba, 2020)

Also, another participant defined outdoor education as education that takes place outside the classroom like fieldtrips or excursions. According to Haruna outdoor education is learning activities that takes place outside for instance fieldtrips. He stated as follows: having classes around the school but not in the classroom might be going on excursions or field

trips with the students for the purpose of learning (Haruna, 2020). So, in this case it can mean either having classes just outside the classroom or outside the entire school for visits and excursions. However, not all of them have the same view about how outdoor education is practiced as we can see in the following quote from one of the participants. … it can also be taking some out of school children or adults for education during after school

hours (Kumba, 2020). The following quote shows that the practice of outdoor education is viewed differently by some of them as complementary teaching during after school hours or weekends. Finally, one of the participants indicated that he has little knowledge about outdoor education as it is new to him. He was not much familiar with the term outdoor education. He has this to say in the beginning when the question about what outdoor education is:

hmm outdoor education like what, I do not understand you (Alieu, 2020).

So, even though most of them understand the term as learning that takes place outside the four corners of the classroom, which is the most used definition, few do not share the same view or understanding.

• Outdoor education practice and place Teachers were also asked as to how they practice outdoor education and the place where they do outdoor activities. According to their responses, it emerged that teachers performed outdoor education differently. While some do it to complement their teaching activities as found in the curriculum in the form of field trips and excursions, others do it under a tree for the

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comfortability of the outdoor space. Examples of responses that indicates that they do it for field

visits and excursions are as follows: … we go for excursion ah fieldtrips, ah visit historical sites because my teaching has to do with

the historical heritage of this country (Malick, 2020).

Another participant also has this to say when asked about how do he conduct outdoor education. It can also involve taking children to the museum to visit places and see things for themselves

(Alieu, 2020). Apart from fieldtrips and excursions, there are those who also who practice outdoor education to ensure that students can see things for themselves which will make them better understand topics that are being taught. This is a way to follow the curriculum whereby teachers can employ some teaching approaches to enhance understanding. As Samba remarked. We just use the outdoors as teaching materials as they said you should use teaching materials...

(Samba, 2020) This was in response to whether outdoor education is in the curriculum. He stated that he just uses it as a teaching methodology so that students will see things for themselves. Moreover, another participant also has this to say when he was asked if the outdoor activities, he usually do is part of the curriculum: yea it has to do with something that is related to the curriculum, amb… in fact I just remember in

history we teach them about these indigenous crafts and industries (Malick, 2020).

He went further to state that: I know that in the history syllabus, there is mentioned of that. It is stated that students should visit

historical sites, you know it is important when it comes to their studies... (Malick). This was in response to a question about whether outdoor education is captured in the History syllabus. So, this indicates that he just does it to enrich his teaching methodology. However, some of the teachers practice outdoor education differently, under a tree to get a better environment for teaching especially when the class is hot or boring. They use the outdoor environment under a tree within the school premises. When I asked one of the teachers how do she practice outdoor education, she responded the following: usually I take out the black board and place it under a tree and then invite the students and give

them classes there (Kumba, 2020).

Another participant has this to say:

… it might be under big trees within the school premises... (Samba, 2020).

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This was in response to a question about where he practices outdoor education. He did indicate that it depends, but he does it at times under a tree within the school premises.

So, to summarize, the participants have very similar definition of the term outdoor education, but they practice it in different ways. While most of them associate outdoor education as learning that takes place outside the four corners of the classroom, when it comes to practice they have different ways of doing it, ranging from field trips, excursions to following the curriculum and showing the students things.

Theme 2. The perceived benefits of Outdoor Education The second theme is based on the perceptions of the teachers on the advantages to having outdoor education and from the responses of the six teachers interviewed, this theme emerged. The teachers mentioned the potentials of outdoor teaching and gave some examples. The theme is related to the research question 2 of the current thesis.

• Stimulation of senses According to all the participants, being in the outdoors helps in stimulation of students’ senses, for example, using the eyes, ears, hands etc. They all attested to the fact that when they are

outdoors with students, it helps them see or hear things with their sense organs.

… when we go outdoors with the students, they will be able to see things and feel them also interact with them physically this will help them to understand better and then teaching will

become very very easy (Buba, 2020) Besides, Kumba stated that learning is easier outdoors because it offers the students the opportunity to see things for themselves which make them interact with the materials

physically. You know when they are outdoors, they see the things physically and you know students usually understand what they see better so they understand more when they are outdoors than indoors (Kumba, 2020).

• Increased understanding All the participants noted that outdoor education help in boosting students’ understanding. These most of them attributed to the fact that when they are outdoors, they interact with each

other and with the materials physically. 31

Yes, for me I found it very important especially my area – science, when they are taken

outdoors, they use to understand better (Haruna, 2020) Moreover, Haruna went further to associate better understanding of what is being taught to the fact that students can see things and touch them which is important in improving their understanding. Here is what he has to say with that effect: This is because in the outdoors students have the opportunity to not just see, but also touch and

smell some of the materials which enhances their understanding (Haruna, 2020) Furthermore, one of the participants stated that when students are taken outdoors it help them see things and, in the process, understands better. Yes, it is, because if you take them outdoors to show them these plants, they will see it and

understand better. It is important in the teaching field (Alieu, 2020)

So, all of them agree to the notion that outdoor education enhances students understanding.

• Creation of freedom and happiness All the teachers interviewed mentioned that when students are taken outdoors it makes them happy and free. This gives them a sense of freedom and they enjoyed being outdoors due to the free environment and fresh air at the outdoors. If you are also explaining to them about these organisms you will see the happiness in them, you will see learning will be taking place far more than indoors because when they are inside

you will notice some of the will be sleeping as a result of being inside for long time

(Alieu, 2020) Moreover, as Malick stated, the students also feel exited when they are outdoors, and this makes them want to return always for the activities. They feel very excited, normally they like it and they will want to visit the place again and they will say they usually understand more after seeing how things are made and practicalize

it (Malick, 2020) Phrases like this indicates how they feel when they are outdoors, and this is shared with most of the respondents which is five out of the six interviewed.

• Increased curiosity motivates students to ask questions Another advantage of outdoor education according to the participants, is that it increases the curiosity of the students and makes them open-up to ask more questions. This is something that all the participants highlighted during the interviews. This shows that outdoor education has a

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great potential as asking questions will indeed constitute participation in the teachings and learning. … they ask more questions when they are outdoors, and they interact more when they are

outdoors than indoors (Kumba, 2020) Moreover, as for Alieu, the students asked extremely difficult questions after interacting with the animals and plants outdoors, this shows their increased curiosity which is key to learning. Well the most challenging moment is the questions they will be asking outdoors, because when they are outdoors many will be asking difficult question as they will all want to know more

(Alieu, 2020). He went further to state that it is because of the things they will see outdoors which will make them curious and hence posing difficult questions as they will want to know more. When they see the organisms for themselves, they will want to know deep about the things they

saw, and they ask many questions... (Alieu, 2020). All these shows the level of curiosity being increased because of exploring the outdoors. This proved to be important element in outdoor education.

• Improved health and wellbeing All the participants believed that outdoor education helps in improving students’ health and wellbeing. This is because during outdoor activities, students are active and physically exercising in the process by walking some distances. Also, because the outdoor environment is free, spacious, and natural it makes them love it and stress free. When having your lessons outdoors usually it helps them to stay physically fit and refreshes their brains, you become fresh anyway. Moving around to different places usually make them

active and boost their alertness (Samba, 2020). Besides, as Buba mentioned, it makes the students stress free which is important for their wellbeing and health: You know most of these kids when they come to school at times they came with a lot of stress, so taking them outdoors will help in making them stress free through their interaction amongst themselves and the free spacious and fresh environment, this help to boost their mental

wellbeing and their social wellbeing (Buba, 2020). Specifically, all the participants agree that outdoor education is good because when there, they are freer and hence increases their wellbeing: … outside the classroom you sat under the shade, under the veranda at least you have fresh air

blowing, that comfort alone you know will make the students pay more attention

(Malick, 2020)

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• Enhanced teamwork and cooperation Another advantage of outdoor education that is reported by the participants during the interview is the fact that it enhances teamwork and group cooperation. Many of the participants reported that students cooperate more when they are outdoors and given the fact that they work in groups most of the times outdoors, this helps in building teamwork amongst them: With regards to teamwork, here is what one of them have to say when asked about teamwork and where it is better: It is better outdoors because when we are taking them outdoors, we usually divide them into groups and they work together and interact in their teams, this enhances team building

(Haruna, 2020). Five of the participants mentioned that when they are outdoors group cohesion and team building is better because most of the time they interact more outdoors and assigned groups works: Well team building is more effective when they are outdoors because when you group them and give them different task to do it usually improve their team building. So, when they are given

task in different groups, they learn more through their interaction (Alieu, 2020) In summary, there are many potentials or benefits of outdoor education for students according to the participants, ranging from team building, improved health and wellbeing, stimulation of senses which is key to outdoor education.

Theme 3. The perceived Barriers/challenges of Outdoor Education The third theme focuses on the barriers or the challenges that teachers are faced with during their teachings outside the classroom or the school. This theme has the potential to investigate the third objective or question about the barriers to practicing outdoor education by teachers. They highlighted several challenges they face when they go outdoors as well as the barriers they encounter when they want to do outdoor teaching effectively. The challenges apart from cost related issues, includes lack of support from administration and parents, time factor, and inadequate pedagogical training to effectively implement outdoor education in schools.

• Cost and inadequate funding One of the challenges faced by teachers in implementing outdoor education is the cost associated with it, especially when the outdoor education activity involves fieldtrips and

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excursions, which often is the case. This hinders the implementation of outdoor teaching as some of the places which are to be visited are far from the schools and there is cost attached

to going to those places which often is expensive, and teachers cannot meet. As Alieu highlighted, the fact that it is not funded, and children are not to be tasked to provide

the required funds which is a government policy hinders outdoor education. “hmm well you know here in Ndow’s school we did came with the idea to do outdoor teaching but what the school administration told us was that there is no budget for that. And you know for field trips and excursions you cannot tax the parents for that so there are no resources for that, so we

also just forget about it” (Alieu, 2020). Moreover, sometimes even if there is money in the school budget for such activities, it is very difficult to access from the administrators. The fact that there are many classes and once a teacher request for funds to carry on an excursion it becomes difficult to access. As you can see in the following quote when asked as to why he do not go to the forest or on fieldtrips. “No because there is far, and we will need some resources to carry on such fieldtrips. So, availability of funds and resources is another hindrance to outdoor teaching. There is money in the school, but if you ask for it the school administrators will tell you there no money so is better not to

push and create chaos” (Samba, 2020) However, although all the teachers stated that funding and cost of fieldtrips are barriers to implementing outdoor education, some like Malick observed that he receives some financial assistance from the school administration even if it is not enough. “I know when you are going on fieldtrips or excursions there is some financial support they provide and financial support as well. I have been receiving some of those assistance for the past

years” (Malick, 2020).

• Lack of or inadequate pedagogical training Having the intension of doing outdoor education is one thing but having the pedagogical training is another issue which is very important in the implementation of the teaching approach. So, lack of training is a huge challenge when it comes to outdoor education. While some have some training during their college time, but the training is not enriching, and others do not have any pedagogical training at all. This is a huge setback in doing outdoor education

according to all the participants. “People like us do not have much experience on teaching outdoors so if you are not very strong

it becomes a difficult task to do” (Buba, 2020). For Haruna, although he has some training on how to teach outdoor education, but it was not

enriching which is a hindrance to outdoor teaching. 35

“… although it was not very much enriching on how to teach outdoors but it at least was good.

In PE also we have some trainings but apart from that we do not” (Haruna, 2020).

• Inadequate support from administration and parents Support from school administrators and parents is key to outdoor education implementation, because in the school, the head teachers have a big role to play in helping teachers achieve their teachings aims and goals, but at times the support is not enough which hampers outdoor education. In the aspects of the parents, we know children spend little time with teachers while the more time is spent with parents and when parents are not willing to allow their children to go on fieldtrips, this have a big challenge to outdoor education. All the participants highlighted difficulties when it comes to support from parents and administrators. For parents, there are always concerns about the safety and security of their children which make them cautious in allowing their children to go on fieldtrips and excursions. “... some school heads do not want to see students outside; they don’t want to see them out at all. They think that going outdoors will be a source of disturbance to the other classes because it is not easy to control them when they are indoors. Some of them will not be quite while

outdoors so, this make some heads not to like the idea of outdoor teaching” (Samba, 2020). Besides, some teachers indicate that due to the lack of knowledge about outdoor education on the part of school administrators, makes it really difficult as they will be opposed to any idea of taking children outdoors because they think that it is less important. “... you know many of the school heads do not know these teaching methods, so most of the time when they see you outside with the kids, they usually think that you are wasting much time. So sometimes they complain to us about outdoors so those are the things we encounter from them”

(Haruna, 2020). Moreover, as Kumba noted, parents are not willing to allow their children go to outdoors especially after school hours which is how some teachers do outdoor education. They assign their kids to do domestic and farm works which hinders outdoor education. “Before they become regular and punctual it was difficult, I use to go after them to urge them to come with me and some of them use to complain of going to the farms. At times I use to go to their parents to explain to them so that they will allow their children to come, those are the

challenges I use to encounter” (Kumba, 2020). For others, it is because of their fear for their children safety which makes them not willing to allow their children to be taken outdoors. As Malick noted:

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“... some of them do allow it but for some it is difficult you must write to them to get approval for their children to be allowed. Sometimes also you must visit them and talk to them but some

of them have no problem...” (...) “some will not allow it unless you go and talk to them

in person” (Malick, 2020).

• Tight schedule coupled with time factor Time is another factor that was highlighted by the participants as a hindrance to outdoor education. Although not all of them mentioned time as a challenge to conducting outdoor education, but four (4) out of the six (6) participants did indicate that due to limited time and tight schedule they find it difficult to do outdoor education. One of the participants in fact, mentioned that time factor and non-flexible timetable is the biggest challenge for him: “the most challenging thing is the time factor because the timetable is prepared, and you cannot

tamper with it” (Haruna, 2020).

Besides, as Samba noted, it is time consuming to do outdoor education as it involves many preparations and the period for the subjects is short which affects outdoor education. “it is absolutely time consuming, because before you leave the class, until you get to the ground and settle down is all time consuming. It is time consuming unlike in the class, that is why it is

not easy to practice during school hours” (Samba, 2020). Finally as Kumba mentioned, due to having many subjects to teach and the fact that she use to be so occupied, this hinders her from doing outdoor education during school hours which is why she do it during the weekends or after school hours. When asked as to why she is not doing outdoor education during school hours, this is what she replied: “... because during school hours I normally teach double shift so there is no time for me to take

them outdoors as I use to be busy” (Kumba, 2020). So, this indicates that time is a factor that affects the implementation of outdoor education in schools. To summarize, teachers have some differences when it comes to the way they implement outdoor education, ranging from fieldtrips, excursions, as a complement to the traditional classroom teaching, going under a tree for fresh air etc. They all highlighted that there are many benefits of outdoor education which includes, health and wellbeing, better understanding for students, more interest in what students learn and a host of others; however there are also challenges to implementing outdoor education which spans from lack of training, inadequate resources, time factor as well as cost implications. 37

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSIONS

In this chapter, my aim is to discuss the most important part of the research findings, try to link or connect it with the relevant literature and the previous researches on the topic, giving particular focus on the views, potentials, and barriers of outdoor education. I will compare and equally contrasts my findings with that of previous research in order to achieve my research aim. Finally, I will also highlight what the Gambian curriculum said about outdoor education.

Gambian Basic and Secondary School Teachers’ view about Outdoor Education The first theme relates to the views of teachers about outdoor education. There is a specific focus on the meaning and practice of outdoor education. The way the participants defined the term Outdoor Education is almost the same but with slight differences. The theme reveals the purpose of going to the outdoors and how they practice outdoor education in general. All the participants were asked what outdoor education is, where do they practice outdoor teaching, how often they practice outdoor teaching, what do they do outdoors and when do they usually go outdoors.

All the five participants associated Outdoor Education to mean educational approach that takes places outdoors, meaning outside the four corners of the classroom or outside the school at times. Their definition is in tandem with that of Hammerman et al, (2001) who stated that outdoor education is “education which takes place in the outdoors and using the outdoor as a laboratory for learning” (p.5). There is only one participant who found it difficult to come up with a definition of the term, citing little understanding of what it means. However, their view about the definition of the term is in contrast with other who linked outdoor education to environmental education or nature. Notable amongst them includes Priest (1986) who defined outdoor education as learning about nature. Although three of the participants mentioned that they teach students about plants and animals in the outdoors which is about nature, but that is not the only characteristic feature of how they perform outdoor education. These teachers are the ones teaching sciences. However, most of the participants did not actually mention about the need for outdoor education for environmental stewardship.

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When it comes to the practice of outdoor education and the place, there are some variations as to how the participants practiced it according to their answers. While some teachers perform outdoor education as a complementary way of enhancing the understanding of students through the application of their senses, others use do it to follow the curriculum through fieldtrips and excursions. This is in line with what Dewey (1990) termed as learning through practical and theoretical experience, because during fieldtrips students are exposed to practical aspects of education as they see things and interact with it which enhances their understanding.

According to all the participants, they performed outdoor education to enhance learning and increase understanding which is key in education. While they all have some sort of place in doing outdoor education activities, such as museums, under the trees within the school, nature centers, environmental places and garden which relates to what (Dahlgren & Szczepanski, 1998) mentioned about the place of outdoor education practice, but the places are not specific and not in any way intended to serve as a sense of place for them. It is, however, clear from the findings that the participants use the natural environment for teaching like they do in class. They only use the outdoor environment as a place of learning. This relates to Mannion, Fenwick & Lynch (2013) theory of place responsive pedagogy. According to their research, place responsive pedagogy entails teaching by means of an environment with the main aim of enhancing understanding and promoting human-environment relations, (Mannion, Fenwick & Lynch; 2013).

Potentials of Outdoor Education The second theme relates to the benefits or potentials of outdoor education. All the participants indicated that it stimulates multi-senses which is supported by many researchers including, Sobel (1996), Dewey (1997), Chauvel & Chauvel (1998), and Dahlgren & Szczepanski (1998). According to them, when they are outside the main purpose of taking them there is to ensure that they see things for themselves especially for the fieldtrips which are part of outdoor learning. Teachers states that such visits offer the students an opportunity to use their senses and see things, smell them, and touch them which is key to learning. Besides, they all mentioned that it also helps in improvement of health and wellbeing including both physical and mental health due to the activities they do outdoors and the interaction with the natural environment. It also helps in reducing stress, exciting the mood, and freeing the mind of all negative emotions which are all important for health which are all supported by various researchers, such as Kanters et al (2002). And the idea of promoting physical health by both Szczepanski (1998), Higgins and Nicol (2002). They also mentioned that outdoor education 39

helps in team building and caring for one another through cooperation and mingling when they are outdoors. Apart from this, outdoor education is found to increase happiness, creates freedom and enjoyment. This is so because according to the participants, when students are outdoors they interact with materials and have a free mind as the environment outdoors is pure and natural, so after staying in the classroom for so long going out have been found to be a remedy for stressful life and give students freedom. This is supported by several studies, including (Zhao,2016; Higgins & Nicol, 2002; Mygind, 2009 and Kanters et al., 2008). According to Kanters et al., (2008) being outdoors reduces anxiety and give students a sense of freedom to express themselves.

Finally, all the participants indicated that outdoor education is important as it increases the curiosity of students which make them to ask more questions. This is very important because when students are curious, they open-up and learn more. When they are outdoors interacting with nature and the material they have been learning in class, it makes them more curious as one of the participants noted, “the most challenging moment is the questions they will be asking outdoors, because when they are outdoors many will be asking difficult question as they will all want to know more. When they see the organisms for themselves, they will want to know deep about the things they saw, and they ask many questions, so this is the most challenging for me” (Alieu, 2020). This points to the fact that they are more excited and are exposed to practical knowledge. Due to their increased curiosity, they are triggered to ask more questions as they want to know deep. This is important in learning because when students are asking questions it indicates that they are learning.

Barriers or challenges to doing outdoor education Even though outdoor education is important according to the participants, there are some challenges to doing it in schools. The third theme relates to the barriers to doing outdoor education and it will set some light on the third objective and research question. All the participants highlighted some challenges faced and from which some of them are shared by all of them. One of the challenges faced in doing outdoor education is one that is from the educational systems which particularly is the time factor, tight schedules coupled with issues with the curriculum. According to four of the participants, tight schedule and time factor is a huge setback in performing outdoor education as the timetable is designed by the school administration and not meant to be altered. Due to the nature of the timetable teachers have problem in doing outdoor education because according to them the time for each period is short and before they go outside and start outdoor lessons the time is over. This is the words of one of 40

the participants, “the most challenging thing is the time factor because the timetable is prepared, and you cannot tamper with it” (Haruna, 2020). Therefore, some of the teachers prefer to do outdoor teachings during the weekends or after schools closes. This is what one of the participants have to say with that regards, “... because during school hours I normally teach double shift so there is no time for me to take them outdoors as I use to be busy” (Kumba, 2020). So, time factor is one big challenge in doing outdoor education which is related to what many studies stated which includes (Robertson & Krugly-Smolska, 1997; Tan & Pedretti, 2010; Write, 2010; Backman, 2011) who mentioned that applying outdoor education is challenging because of tight schedules and limited time. Besides, another barrier highlighted by the participants is the cost and inadequate funding to perform outdoor education as outdoor education at times is expensive especially those who do it through fieldtrips and excursions where the place is far. All the participants noted that due to the cost and limited resources, they find it difficult and challenging to do some outdoor activities, because it is prohibited for teachers to charge students for such trips and the school administration may not fund all the intended activities, either as a result of lack of funds or lack of support from their part. However, one of the participants did indicated that he receives some financial assistance from the administration even though it is not enough. I found that cost and inadequate funding similar to what (Robertson & Krugly-Smolska, 1997; Rickinson, 2004; Tan & Pedretti, 2010) stated about the challenges of outdoor education being limited or unavailability of financial resources, educational materials and the relevant infrastructure. Furthermore, lack of or limited pedagogical knowledge about how to teach outdoor education was found to be a hindrance to outdoor education implementation from the participants. Four of the participants mentioned that they are not trained on how to teach in the outdoors while two of them have training but not enriching and this makes them either unable to teach outdoors or makes them unfit to handle students outdoors. This is similar to what Bryman indicated in his research, that some teachers are not well trained on how to conduct outdoor education and as result they are unconfident and find it difficult to control the class outdoors (Backman, 2011).

Finally, there were some issues mentioned about the curriculum of the Gambia not being designed in a way that promotes outdoor teaching by three of the participants even though it does not form a theme. In the Basic Education Curriculum of 2011, there is little mentioned of the term ‘outdoors’, so according to some of the participants, this is vague and it have the potential to make school administrators restrict them from doing outdoor teaching because some of the school heads think that it will cause a lot of disturbance in the school premises. It is believed that when it is clearly stated in the curriculum it will compel the administration to 41

facilitate teachers on conducting outdoor education. In the Curriculum Framework for Basic Education (2011), there is mentioned of outdoors once, that is in Chapter 5, Teaching methods and strategies:

The curriculum states that, “teaching should involve peer tutoring both in and ‘out’ of class” (p.34). Apart from this also there is mentioned of using fieldtrips and excursions especially in the Sciences and Social and Environmental Studies syllabi as a way of enhancing teaching and learning. However, according to the participants, the little mentioned of outdoor education in the curriculum hampers their aim of doing outdoor teaching because they find it difficult to convince the school administration as to the value of teaching students outdoors. This they argued if incorporated into the curriculum and clearly spelt out then it will compel and motivate teachers to doing it in the future.

To summarize, Gambian teachers viewed outdoor education differently and the way they practiced it also differs. While many do it occasionally with reference to the curriculum through fieldtrips, excursions, under a tree, visits to different places, others do it during after school due to time factor. They also lamented many potentials of outdoor education ranging from improved health and wellbeing, better understanding, building of teamwork and cooperation as well as increased curiosity and alertness. This importance is sometimes not realized due to lack of understanding and knowledge of the approach. However, there are also some barriers to doing outdoor education which spans from inadequate pedagogical knowledge of outdoor education, lack of support from administration and parents, time factor and cost involved. The vagueness of the curriculum also make some teachers not to be involved in doing it, so in order for it to be better implemented there need to be a curriculum that clearly specified outdoor education approach for better implementation.

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION In this final chapter, I will summarize the main results of the current findings. I will also briefly talk about the methodological implications of the current study from an individual point of view. Finally, I will also give my proposal for future research about outdoor education.

Summary of results

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The study aimed at discovering the perceptions of Gambian Basic and Secondary school teachers about outdoor education using a qualitative research approach with semi-structured interview method. A number of six (6) teachers from different regions were interviewed in trying to get an insight into the aim of the current research. The research succeeded in finding out the main aim and objectives as it has set light into the perceptions of Gambian Basic and Secondary school teachers about outdoor education. Their perceived benefits and potentials of outdoor education also figured out which contributed to the under researched field. From the analysis of data, the following conclusions are drawn:

▪ The Gambian Basic and Secondary school teachers revealed how they view outdoor education and that they believed that outdoor education is practiced in different ways, but most of them agreed to the fact that it involves teaching students in the outdoors or outside the four corners of the classroom or school. They also highlighted that they practice outdoor education in the same way they do in the classroom with aims and objectives but specifically to make students use their senses for better understanding.

▪ The teachers also indicated that outdoor education has several potentials and benefits for students, which includes, better understanding, enhancing better use of senses, improved health, and wellbeing, etc. They also indicated that the use of outdoor teaching is helpful in terms of increasing curiosity, and creativity of students, better cooperation, and sense of freedom.

▪ The participants mentioned several barriers that hinders their willingness to conducting outdoor teaching. Time constraints, tight schedule, cost, and inadequate funding were amongst the challenges faced according to the participants. Besides, they also indicated that due to their lack of the necessary pedagogical training they find it difficult to teach outdoors, as they have challenges controlling the students when they are outdoors. Moreover, most of the participants revealed that they do not have the necessary support from both parents and school administrations when they want to conduct outdoor teaching which significantly hinders the teaching approach. Even though not all the participants mentioned about the issue of the curriculum, a good number of them believe that because outdoor education is clearly spelt out in the education policy and curriculum, it makes it difficult for them to convince the school administration to support the approach.

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In general, even though outdoor education is not a big priority for teachers as a teaching approach, there is hope that when they are exposed to it, they are willing to take it as a way of teaching. What is needed is the political will so that outdoor education will be made a policy idea in the policy document and the curriculum so that it will be used for better teaching.

Methodological implications and future research With regards to the methodological limitations, the research sample was too small and as a result it only gives a view about Gambian teachers about outdoor education. So, this make the research not to generalized to the entire Gambia which made it not to be very much reliable. Having a larger number of participants from different parts of the Gambia would have been more accurate and increase the reliability. However, the research achieved the aims of investigating the perceptions of Gambian Basic and Secondary school teachers about outdoor education which is key. Besides, apart from semi-structured interview, it would have been good to also include observations of teachers practicing outdoor education, in that way it is my view that then a rich and broad information would have been sought.

Moreover, further research using qualitative method would be indispensable for establishing the results and digging deep into the field in the Gambia for people to know more about the teaching approach. For instance, changing the participants or including more female participants and comparing them, would add more value to the findings. It was a big challenge for me to secure female participants in this current research which may hamper the findings. It would be interesting also to investigate the teachers experience about outdoor education in close observation of the Gambian education curriculum so that it will be establish if the education policy also have any effect on the use of outdoor education approach.

Additionally, it would be great if the study can be replicated to other African countries and compare them with that of the Swedish or the Scandinavian way of doing outdoor education. This will help us know if there are any differences or similarities in the way outdoor education is done with regards to cultures and geographical locations.

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