A cultural and comparative perspective on outdoor education in New Zealand and friluftsliv in Denmark

Abstract

The paper is based on a comparative and qualitative case study of friluftsliv in Denmark and outdoor education in New Zealand. Cultural analysis with a comparative cultural perspective informed the research approach. Configurational analysis was used as an important supplement to focus on cultural patterns linked to bodily movement. It is argued that outdoor education in New Zealand is focused on action, risk and challenge, with personal development as the central pedagogical goal. There seems to be a general search for effectiveness and a special relationship to land and nature with both functionalism and personal relationships linked to identity. Outdoor education in New Zealand can generally be understood as a reproduction of political ideas and values in western liberal societies. Friluftsliv in Denmark exhibits complexity of forms and settings within outdoor education, with simple life in nature and adventure being two dominant trends. The study identifies differences as well as similarities between the cultural expressions of friluftsliv and outdoor education in New Zealand and discusses the results using theories of late modernity.

Keywords:

• Outdoor education
• Friluftsliv
• Cultural analysis
• Risk
• Late modernity

Acknowledgements

A number of schools and institutions in New Zealand have willingly let the author participate in practice in the outdoors and interview leaders and students—many thanks for that. The opportunity to stay and work at the University of Otago, Dunedin, has been a very important element in this study. Dr Mike Boyes has indeed been very helpful and generous in giving the author this opportunity, in valuable discussions during the process and finally in commenting on this paper.

Notes

1. The following quotations are selected from the interviews. ‘C’ refers to the specific case, ‘t’ indicates that it is a teacher speaking, while ‘s’ indicates it is a student. Furthermore, ‘m’ is male and ‘f’ is female.

2. See www.outdoorsnz.org.nz, www.nzoia.org.nz, www.sfrito.org.nz, www.eonz.org.nz.

3. See http://www.panz.org.nz/challenge-ropes-courses.asp.