Sometimes even a single feather is enough to fly: a hermeneutic journey through rites of passage in outdoor education
Date
2018-10-02
Authors
Minichiello, Miles
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Abstract
Rite of passage is a term that is used widely and uncritically in the field of outdoor education. This hermeneutic research project explores how a third-generation Canadian outdoor educator explores how rites of passage are understood in outdoor education. On this hermeneutic journey I set out to provide a more complex understanding of rites of passage in outdoor education. In exploring the literature of rites of passage in outdoor education, I noticed that there is a lack of discussion on non-Indigenous practitioners’ cultural heritage and how to address the desire many practitioners have for ritual. I used Stephen Jenkinson’s texts as a foundation for the hermeneutic conversations that I had with rites of passage in outdoor education. The research journey shifted from focusing on rites of passage to how outdoor educators could build a ritual skillset. I propose five propositions of ritual that may help practitioners develop their own ritual sensibility.
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Keywords
Outdoor education, Stephen Jenkinson, Ritual skillset, Cultural heritage