Making Sense of a Day in the Woods: Outdoor Adventure Experiences and Early Childhood Teacher Education Students

Abstract

Less than one third of early childhood educators have a bachelor's degree, yet national indicators of high-quality early childhood program standards emphasize the importance of higher education for these practitioners. In order to adequately serve and retain these nontraditional learners as they strive to earn their degrees, teacher education programs must go beyond the standard curriculum and strive specifically to engage these adult learners. One innovative way to engage nontraditional students in higher education endeavors is to supplement coursework with applied experiences in outdoor adventure education settings. In this study, rich descriptions are provided of the trials and successes of groups of nontraditional early childhood education students as they participate in a fixed facility low ropes and team challenges course. Furthermore, these observations and narratives are also thematically examined in order to portray key characteristics of participant experiences of “a day in the woods.”