Abstract
Fifteen years ago Loynes expressed concern that market-place values were detrimentally impacting on the provision of outdoor education experiences. As tertiary educators with an interest in the impact of globalization on outdoor education, we have sought to extend Loynes’ use of McDonaldization by drawing on Bryman’s conceptual framework of Disneyization in order to more deeply understand patterns of contemporary consumption. We draw on field visits to investigate the degree to which these two concepts have permeated the provision of recreational providers that serve schools. We contend that there is evidence that Loynes’ concerns remain valid, but we suggest that more recent discourses around ‘place’ may offer viable and supportable alternatives to ‘consumption-oriented’ outdoor education practice.
Notes
1. Snowplanet is located in Auckland, New Zealand and is the country’s only indoor snow slope. The slope is 200 m long and features two rope tows and a terrain park. Extreme Edge rock-climbing is located in Hamilton, New Zealand and is the region’s largest indoor rock-climbing venue with over 100 climbs. Snowfactor is located within the Xscape complex in Glasgow. At the time of the visit Snowfactor was called Snozone. Throughout the paper we have referred to the current branding designation of Snowfactor. Ratho climbing centre is located in Edinburgh and is operated by the City of Edinburgh Council.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Simon Beames
Simon Beames is programme director for the MSc in Outdoor Education at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He is co-editor of the book Outdoor Adventure and Social Theory published by Routledge.
Mike Brown
Mike Brown is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education, The University of Waikato, New Zealand. He is co-author of A Pedagogy of Place: Outdoor Education for a Changing World. He is interested in supporting outdoor educators to provide quality learning experiences that are accessible for participants from across the socio-economic spectrum.