Can we move beyond 'Indigenous good, non-Indigenous bad' in thinking about people and the environment.
Robyn Zink, Monash University
Bucknell and Mannion (2007) commented that student responses in the 2006 VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies (OES) exam could be boiled down to a pat answer of “Indigenous good, non-Indigenous bad”.  They suggested that the subject of OES is too rich for such a simple answer.  This paper uses the expression of ‘Indigenous good/non-Indigenous bad’ as a springboard to explore some of the ways notions of the environment, race and ethnicity intersect and how this might lead to an exam question being answered in such a uniform and simplistic way by some students. The aim of this paper is to highlight some of the productive tensions of environment, race and ethnicity as a strategy for richer and more complex debates around peoples’ interactions with the environment.

Skill instruction in outdoor leadership: A comparison of a direct instruction model and a discovery-learning model.
Glyn Thomas, La Trobe University, Bendigo
In this paper I discuss some of the strengths and weaknesses for two different approaches to teaching motor skills to students in outdoor education and outdoor recreation settings.  Using acronyms to describe their stages: DEDICT is a six step, direct instructional model that some outdoor leaders may already be familiar with; and FERAL is my adaptation of a discovery learning approach that can be used to teach students and participants skills.  It is my premise that both models are theoretically sound in terms of motor skill acquisition theory and the physical education literature on skill instruction.  I discuss and critique both models with reference to the theories of motor learning, the stages of skill acquisition, the role of feedback, the characteristics of effective practice, the value of demonstrations, the role of verbal instructions, and experiential learning theory.  Finally, I offer some recommendations on how to optimise the effectiveness of skill instruction in outdoor leadership using both models.

Outdoor and Environmental Studies: More challenges to its place in the curriculum.
Annette Gough, RMIT University
In Victoria, Australia, outdoor education has been a legitimate subject in the school curriculum for over 25 years.  However its place has been debated and challenged over this period.  This paper traces the history of the subject, its current status in the Victorian Certificate of Education, future challenges to its place in the curriculum – particularly from the Education for Sustainable Development agenda – and strategies for using challenges towards defining the subject with its own identity.

Sustaining adventure in New Zealand outdoor education: Perspectives from renowned New Zealand outdoor adventurers on the contested cultural understanding of adventure.
Maurice J. Kane & Hazel Tucker, University of Otago, New Zealand
New Zealand is renowned as a place of adventure.  This representation is enhanced by individuals who have gained world recognition in outdoor leisure pursuits.  These adventurers ability to sustain their adventure identities has considerable impact on their lives but also on the sustainability and validity of adventure as an educational avenue.  Guided by the ideas of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, this paper examines and interprets renowned New Zealand adventurers’ perspectives of adventure.  Analysis of autobiographic adventure texts, memoirs, web pages, externally authored articles in print media and where possible individual interviews focuses on the context, traits, skills and values associated with adventure experience. The adventure narratives in these accounts are predominantly an individual experience focused on personal challenge, control and decision making.  The adventure identities are presented as, or portray themselves as, role models of an adventure experience that is critical to social development and human sustainability.  They all share a positive perspective of the educational benefits of adventure experience, but have divergent ideas on what should be understood as adventure.  Their ‘true’ adventure is in conflict with the popular representations, such as bungy jumping thrill, reality TV stunts or survival epics.

What outcomes are we trying to achieve in our outdoor education programs?
Beth McLeod & Sandy Allen-Craig
In this paper we examine the effect an outdoor and experiential education program on the life effectiveness skills of its participants.  A private boys school in Melbourne focused on the challenging time of year nine to implement a program they hoped would enable boys to develop life effectiveness skills in the areas of time management, social competence, achievement motivation, intellectual flexibility, task leadership, emotional control, active initiative and self-confidence.  The program involved a progression through a variety of curriculum areas including a number of outdoor education components and trips.  We specifically considered two major areas of the program.  The first, an examination of the boys life effectiveness skills after the program; and secondly, whether participation in the outdoor education component had a more significant impact on life effectiveness skills compared to the other programs.  Results showed the life effectiveness skills of the boys increased after each aspect of the program, with a significant difference found between the life effectiveness skills of the boys who participated in two outdoor education programs compared to only one.

Preventing death and serious injury from falling trees and branches.
Andrew Brookes, La Trobe University, Bendigo
Of 128 outdoor education related deaths examined since 1960, 14 have been due to falling trees or branches.  This article examines the grounds on which death or serious injury due to falling trees or branches can be regarded as an inherent risk in outdoor education, and the extent to which such incidents can be regarded as preventable.  It compares alternative approaches to prevention, and draws conclusions about how best to reduce the risk in the future.

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