Outdoor environmental education research and reflective practice

Many outdoor environmental educators develop their learning through professional practice and encounter research by reading, or in the role of a researcher themselves. Research is important to develop an evidence base for the efficacy of outdoor interventions, and to demonstrate outcomes to give confidence and reassurance to practice, which may inform policy or effect change. Reflective practice may be informed by research or research may inform reflective practice. In this chapter, examples of research in outdoor contexts are provided to show how reflective and reflexive practice can be used to interpret their relevance and application to practice, and how questions about practice inform research. A new model is presented to illustrate the prominence of research and reflective practice in an outdoor practitioner’s consciousness. It is suggested that outdoor environmental educators develop their professional practice with respect to research through processes of reflection, which becomes more critical, deeper and reflexive with increasing experience.