Equitable learning in outdoor and environmental education: Exploration through a curricular lens

Open Access
- Author:
- Hileman, Jennifer
- Graduate Program:
- Recreation, Park and Tourism Management
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- May 04, 2023
- Committee Members:
- Peter Newman, Program Head/Chair
Brendan Taff, Chair & Dissertation Advisor
Anil Kumar Chaudhary, Outside Unit & Field Member
Lucy McClain, Major Field Member
Danielle Lawson, Major Field Member - Keywords:
- outdoor and environmental education
equity
inclusion
curriculum
hidden curriculum
overt curriculum
in-use curriculum
student funds of knowledge - Abstract:
- Equity and inclusion have consistently been problematic within the field of outdoor and environmental education. Despite numerous positive benefits associated with programming, current trends highlight discrepancies in the affordance of those outcomes. The present dissertation explores equity within the curriculum in outdoor and environmental education through examination of the hidden and in-use curriculums along with the student funds of knowledge framework. Each thematically related study explores curricular impacts on equity through a unique lens. A deductive qualitative comparison of the in-use and overt curriculums is used to understand the extent to which student funds of knowledge is incorporated within an existing education program. A second study explores the awareness and perceptions of hidden curriculum among outdoor and environmental education professionals and proposes a scale to measure those elements through an exploratory factor analysis. The third study includes the identification of hidden curriculum present in a specific education program through inductive coding of Provider interviews. Collectively, these studies show direct impacts of curriculum related to specific programs, highlight broader implications for practitioners across the field, and support future research to further understand curriculum as it relates to equity and inclusion in outdoor and environmental education.