The legacy of maps: breaking the link between maps and navigation in order to experience place

Embedded in all outdoor activities, are a set of values that reflect the cultural conditions of the time in which the activity was first developed for educational purposes. Using Bernstein’s curriculum constructs, this paper examines what, in relation to navigation, these values are, from where they arose and whether and in what way these values are present today. The alternative of navigation without maps and compasses is then considered. It is argued that any values embedded in outdoor activities can be altered in order to fully develop their potential for a place-responsive education. That the values embedded in the traditional approach to navigation were not intended for a place-responsive education is highlighted. A study using a participative approach was designed and repeated with four cohorts (n = 86). A participant led thematic analysis compared experiences with and without maps and compasses. Participants with maps and compasses objectified the landscape and treated the activity as a task reproducing the norms of the activity. Those without described a different relationship with the landscape and tended to construct their own experiences. The author suggests two benefits of these findings for a place-responsive education. Approaches that remove the mediating tools that distance people from place, and the values attached to them through ritualised practices, create richer starting points for an education that seeks to promote relational and sustainable values.