Zoekresultaten

Rewilding Education in Troubling Times; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Post-Nature

The first part of this paper provides a series of conceptual critiques to illustrate how the recent move to inaugurate a “post-nature” world works to vindicate anthropocentric perspectives and a techno-managerial approach to the environmental crisis. We contend with this premise and suggest that troubling nature has profound implications for education. In the second part, we provide case studies from nature-based programs in The Netherlands and Canada to demonstrate how anthropocentric thinking can be reinscribed even as we work towards “sustainability”. Despite the tenacity of human hubris and the advent of the Anthropocene, we suggest these troubled times are also rich with emerging “post-anthropocentric” perspectives and practices. As such we offer “rewilding” as a means to think about education that moves beyond the romantic vestiges of “Nature” without lapsing into delusions of human exceptionalism. http://dx.doi.org/10.13135/2384-8677/2334 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/

Are incubators the new wonder tool for entrepreneurship education?

In the nineties of the last century, a lot of (ICT) incubators started in the Netherlands, many private (GorillaPark, Ant Factory, Lost Boys and Newconomy), some public, such as Twinning. Most of them stopped early this century or gone bankrupt. From 2005 university incubators like YesDelft!, Erasmus MC Incubator, UtrechtInc, Biopartner and ACE opened their doors to students which operate alongside the curriculum. Afterwards also incubators of colleges aroused, often integrated with education. Enterprize of the The Hague University of Applied Science was one of the first ones. In recent years, all kinds of private initiatives arises, called Accelerators (Rock Start and Start-Up Boot Camp). The primary purpose of an incubator is to create successful entrepreneurs, for different reasons. Much research has been done to the success rate of companies through incubators. It is assumed that the entrepreneur of a successful business should have learned a lot in this initial period. In the emerged entrepreneurial education it is therefore assumed that incubators also should be a good tool for students to quickly and efficiently learn. But is that so? As a successful serial entrepreneur, I started more than ten incubators. Most of them were a tool for regional development, cluster development or for further investments (private equity). Now he wanders if an incubator can also be a tool for teaching. He has been given the opportunity to researche this at the The Hague university for applied sciences; “What is the (added) value for entrepreneurship education of an incubator?” This paper is a preamble to that research and a call for participation.

Higher Education and Wicked Problems

The challenges we collectively face, such as climate change, are characterized by more complexity, interdependence, and dynamism than is common for educational practice. This presents a challenge for (university) education. These transition challenges are often described as wicked or VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) problems. In response, educational innovations that are inspired by ecology such as living labs are starting to emerge, but little is known about how learners engage within and with these more ecological forms of education. This work is an exploratory study into how learners navigate VUCA learning environments linked to tackling sustainability transition challenges, with a focus on the positive qualities of these experiences. This is done through interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of seven students (using semi-structured interviews) of the MSC Metropolitan Analysis, Design and Engineering program, a joint degree from Wageningen University and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. The main findings, which are both psychological and educational, of this exploration include openness to new experiences (1), flexibility (2), a process appreciation of learning (3), a desire to create a positive impact on one’s direct biophysical environment (4) and society (5). In addition, we discuss the potential limitations of the malleability of these different qualities and propose future avenues for research into ecological learning for universities. This work closes by highlighting recommendations for educators to consider when designing or engaging in ecological forms of higher education that connect students to sustainability transitions.

The impact of artificial intelligence on adventure education and outdoor learning: international perspectives.

This is a composite article which brings together the international perspectives of the editorial board of the Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning to explore the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) on the field of adventure education and outdoor learning (AE/OL). Building on the AE/OL profession’s response to the impacts of COVID-19 on outdoor and environmental education in 2020, this article includes authors from 10 countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Japan, Kenya, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and Wales. The statements discuss the impacts and opportunities of AI for the AE/OL professions, researchers, the nature of being in and with the outdoors, and Indigenous knowledges. The intention of this article is not to present a definitive summary of the state of the profession, but to provide examples of the ways in which diverse people are responding to the challenges and opportunities of AI. By sharing these views, and identifying some commonalities, we hope that AE/OL educators, practitioners, researchers and managers can creatively and cautiously seize the opportunities of this technological revolution.

Exploring the transformational role of regular nature-based adventure activity engagement in mental health and long-term eudaimonic well-being.

Rethinking tourist wellbeing through the concept of slow adventure.

The necessity for humans inhabiting the 21st century to slow down and take time to carry out daily practices frames the discourse of this research note. We suggest reconceptualising tourist wellbeing through the concept of slow adventure, as a response to the cult of speed and as a vehicle for engaging in deep, immersive and more meaningful experiences during journeys in the outdoors. We suggest that slow adventure has the potential to improve people’s general health and wellbeing through mindful enjoyment and consumption of the outdoor experience and thus bring people back to a state of mental and physical equilibrium. In so doing, we argue that extending the concept to include discussions around the psychological and social aspects of slow adventure is needed.