Between the factory and the forest : an ethnographic exploration of three educational programmes seeking to provide young people with experiences of the wild

Ford, Daniel Michael

Abstract

This thesis is the result of empirical research looking at what happens when young people have experiences of wild places and wild instruction, within and alongside formal education. Three ethnographic accounts (Atkinson 2017) present original evidence from educational programmes seeking to provide young people with experiences of the wild. These ethnographic accounts include the voice of the researcher (revealing some transformation of researcher identity), whilst privileging the voices and testimony of young people, voices that remain under-represented within this area of educational research. This commitment aligns with the researchers’ position, which is explicitly outlined as being ‘human-centred’ (Gill & Thomson 2012; 2017).

The accounts reflect perspectives about our current institutionalized education systems and our relationship with the wild world that may have significance outside of bounded contexts.

Attempting to understand these perspectives has resulted in four cautious proposals. Firstly, that structured (pedagogic) wild experiences may possibly contribute to the alleviation of mental health problems (amongst other significant benefits). Secondly, that these experiences (and benefits) are connected to an emerging pedagogy for the wild. Thirdly, that nature disconnection (Richardson 2018), and severing (Morton 2017) can be transformed by intense, immersive experiences, especially those based on traditional, indigenous practices (Berry 1999). Finally, that if included within the pedagogical process with intention then the wild world has the capacity to act as guide and exemplar. These proposals appear to require particular relationships between “educator and educatee” (Freire 1971), alongside a pedagogic sequencing that includes: skill acquisition; acclimatisation; and periods of preparatory solitude; sequencing that results in extreme boundary-crossing practices that may in turn provoke experiences of altered consciousness resulting in enhanced empathic appreciation of both the human and the wild world.

What was witnessed during this research presents examples of “educational alternatives” (Hope & Montgomery 2016) that seek to extend freedom and autonomy, sometimes radically so, to those participating. These accounts also present “another way of being” (Hage 2012), one that is perhaps urgently needed by those currently situated between the factory and the forest, and by those seeking to discover alternative ways of addressing the twin challenges of education and the flourishing of all life into the future.

Citation

Ford, D. M. (2019). Between the factory and the forest : an ethnographic exploration of three educational programmes seeking to provide young people with experiences of the wild. (Thesis). University of Hull. Retrieved from https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4223107

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Apr 9, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 23, 2023
• Keywords: Education
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4223107
• Additional Information: School of Education, The University of Hull
• Award Date: Jun 1, 2019