Non-formal Education through Outdoor Activities Guide Dorin Festeu and Barbara Humberstone With Collaborators Steffanie Baasch Abe Stanek Jari Kujala Lorand Balint Anders Szczepanski Peter Larsson Zoltan Balla Ivana Turcova Dominic Lefebvre Peter Becker Olivier de Vesvrotte Michaela Majewska Steve Bowles Agata Wiza Sarah MacKlay Sue Cox Arturas Artiusenko Jakub Michalowicz Roxana Enoiu Juliusz Ast Martina Novakova Mathew France Ede Balla Lenka Nováková Gasser Martina Peter Bazley Janne Ojanen Magdalena Jedrzejczyk Emanuelle Bergougnoux Kristyna Oswald Anders Johansson HeatherBrown Vita Pavilonyte Alain Kerjean Nathan Carpenter William Payne Jon Runar Kleppe Adrian Diac Bruno Rastoin Iwona Kielbasiewicz Lisa Diggins Gherasimos Repassos Steve Lenartowicz Erwan Duc Asmund Sorvik Alain Liegeois Jürgen Einwanger Ina Stan Martin Lindner Robert Florkowsky Carl Sykes Chris Loynes Birgit Franzke Anna Tabola Spiridoula Margariti Timo Haaksluoto Susanne Tietz Elena Moldovan Michael Hüls Sigmund Valaker Jan Neuman Milan Hybner Ieva Vaitkevica Robbie Nicol Lenka Jevulová Florent Vaissade Martyna Rabska Yvonne Karlsson Vaclav Vanek Jochem Schirp Tasos Kontokostas Delphine Vanhee Lasse Suirala Martin Kounty Darius Zizys Dalia Stakenaite Michal Kristynek All rights reserved. This publication may be reproduced or transmitted for educational purposes only with acknowledgement to the Non-formal Education through Outdoor Activities project. This project has been carried out with the support of the European Community. The content of this project does not necessarily reflect the position of the European Community nor does it involve any responsibility on their part. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the participants of the Non-formal education project and do not necessarily represent those of the Editors or the European Institute for Outdoor Adventure Education and Experiential Learning ISBN: ???????????? Editorial matter and selection © Dorin Festeu and Barbara Humberstone 2006 Cover design and typesetting by Fiona Exon Published by European Institute for Outdoor Adventure Education and Experiential Learning Page ii Non-formal Education through Outdoor Activities Guide PAGE iii List of content PAGE 1 Introduction PAGE 1 The concept of Non-formal Education PAGE 5 Outdoor education and experiential learning in a European Context PAGE 5 European Youth-work PAGE 5 Examples of good practice and the impact of outdoor activities on young people PAGE 5 4.1. Austria- Institut für Sozialdienste PAGE 5 4.2. Czech Republic 4.2.1.Czech Republic ESTER Association . 4.2.2.Czech Republic- Charles University in Prague PAGE 5 4.3. Finland- The Association for Outdoor Education for Northern Finland PAGE 5 4.4. France 4.4.1. France-Association APPRENDRE PAR L’EXPERIENCE 4.4.2. France ADALPA PAGE 5 4.5. Germany bsj-Marburg PAGE 5 4.6. Greece Department of Secondary Level Education of West Attica PAGE 5 4.7. Lithuania- Youth Exchange Agency-Vilnius PAGE 5 4.8.Norway -Base Camp AS . PAGE 5 4.9.Poland 4.9.1. Szkola Aktywnego Wypoczynku FRAJDA- Poland 4.9.2.Poland-AWF Poznan PAGE 5 4.10.Romania 4.10.1.Romania-The University of Transylvania Brasov 4.10.2.Romania-Human Reform Foundation (HUREF) Odorheiul Secuiesc PAGE 5 4.11.Sweden- Centre for Outdoor Environmental Education PAGE 5 4.12.United Kingdom 4.12.1. United Kingdom-Brathay Hall Trust . 4.12.2. Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College PAGE 5 4.13 European Institute for Outdoor Adventure Education and Experiential Learning PAGE 5 Evaluation of the impact of outdoor education in youth work PAGE 5 Description of good practice standards regarding non-formal education through outdoor activities PAGE 5 Partner Organisations Page iii Page iv Non-formal Education through Outdoor Activities Guide Introduction “A group of disadvantaged young people are grappling with the challenge presented by the ‘spider’s web’, involving a rope obstacle suspended by trees. They work together effectively, listening to each other’s solutions and agreeing a way to enable them to pass through the spider’s web safely. As they progress with the task, the gains made in knowledge and understanding about the need for precision and control of movements and the importance of analysing, planning and selecting approaches to solving problems are accompanied by clear improvements in teamwork, co-operation and self- confidence. At different times during the activity, individual youth adopt a leadership role by encouraging the group to take a particular decision and guiding them through the task.” (excerpt from BCUC report) One of the most important aims of the NFE Project and of this Guide is to facilitate debate surrounding non-formal education and outdoor activities and how each can contribute to the others development and inter-relation. We hope that the Guide is a starting point for a more in depth and wider debate on this complex issue. A second important aim of the Project was to facilitate exchange of experience between the 18 partners who represented 12 European countries in the project. Of course, we do not claim that our partners are representative (in empirical meaning) of the organisations from their countries (they might well be) or that they are the best organisations from those countries (they might be as well and some are recognised as such). However, we strongly believe that the Guide opens a window through which the reader can have a glimpse of good practice regarding the use of outdoor activities in non-formal education within a number of European countries. The writing up of this guide was the result of collaborative work involving directly more than 50 people; outdoor practitioners, theoreticians, academics, youth workers, outdoor centre managers, and beneficiary young people. If we include those who assisted us in collecting data and responding to surveys then this Guide represents the collaborative contribution of more than 250 people. Long debates, during meetings and, perhaps most fruitfully, during breaks and walks, have provided the opportunities to try to identify the appropriate structure and content for the Guide. As it looks now, the Guide tries to create a theoretical framework for whoever gets involved in non-formal education through outdoor activities. We believe that there is nothing more practical than a good theory. At the same time the Guide, through the examples of good practice, tries to facilitate the comprehension of various educational practices throughout Europe but again we must stress that one should not believe that the material presented here is complete or very representative. It is surely trivial, since widely acknowledged that education is more than just schooling. But there is less certainty and consensus about which elements of practical education outside the classroom concretely support the growing up of children and teenagers in such a way that it leads to an autonomously created and successful orientation towards life. Furthermore, Introduction the way in which these elements and methods contribute to education is open to discussion as well. We proceed from the assumption that the expectations that different professional groups have created in the course of their work with disadvantaged young people could be helpfully used for the development of educational programmes outside school. Page 1 An interesting and realistic perspective on behavioural patterns and problems of socially disadvantaged young people is expressed by our partners from bsj Marburg, Germany, who ‘consider that young people living in socially deprived areas, or situations, only seldom have their specific strengths and abilities recognised. There is an almost constant pattern as follows: male teenagers especially, show bad achievements and performances in school. Their behavioural repertoire is characterised by unreliability, a tendency to be frustrated, unpunctuality and so forth. Their abilities to communicate and verbalise are obviously deficient. Some dialogue partners (trainers outside school, youth social workers) have discovered a negative development in recent years. Surveys conducted by our partners indicate an increase of drug usage, especially in the context of immigrants. One of our respondents, a judge, complains about changes in the sphere of youth crime and an increase of mal-treatments and bodily injuries, particularly by girls. Family deprivation is a common theme. This relates to problematic situations in the lives of the adolescents in early stages of their childhood whilst still in their parental home, the lack of fully stimulating and supportive settings and the dominance of electronic media, violence and alcohol and so on. Generally, our surveys also identified problems and challenges associated with demographic shifts caused by migration and especially late immigrants. They stress that the chances of young people to enter the job market have clearly decreased because of the global and technological changes in the work environment’. Our point of view regarding outdoor activities and non-formal education is clearly worded by Peter Becker, Jochem Schirp and Martin Lindner; ‘Education in a broad perspective aims at a never-ending, open process of developing an autonomous lifestyle in as many spheres of life as possible. This includes the professional and private spheres, the participation in social and cultural life and so forth. “Capability of acting and criticizing, of self-determination and of an independent lifestyle requires more than imparting and accumulating knowledge: self-initiative