Seeing What Children See: Enhancing Understanding of Outdoor Learning Experiences Through Body-Worn Cameras

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18666/JOREL-2018-V10-I1-8192

Keywords:

place-based education, visual methods, child participation, body-worn camera

Abstract

This study investigates innovative ways that outdoor educators can actively promote young participants’ authentic voice in educational research and, in turn, increase our understanding of their worldview through accurately recording what children are seeing, hearing, doing, and touching when they are beyond our researcher’s gaze. The study was conducted with an Australian primary school class who completed a 1-year place-based outdoor learning program. It employed a novel research design wherein video footage was obtained from body-worn cameras mounted on the chests of the children. The footage depicts first-person visual and audio data from children’s viewpoints and deepens our understanding of children’s learning experiences. Additional data included observations, curriculum work samples, academic results, interviews, and student-generated photographs. Results highlight that footage provides unique insights regarding triangulating findings on student learning experiences. Body-worn cameras may be used to enhance young people’s participation in research when integrated into a broader child-friendly approach.

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Author Biographies

Amanda Lloyd, Independent Scholar and Practitioner

Amanda Lloyd, PhD is an outdoor learning educational consultant and practitoner. Her focus area is the primary school years of children aged 5 – 12 years. Amanda’s specality is in researching and developing outdoor programs that connect children to nature, encourage resilience, wellbeing and foster deep learning of the curriculum by utilising place-based pedagogies.

Tonia Gray, Western Sydney University

Tonia Gray, PhD is a Senior Researcher at Western Sydney University's Centre for Educational Research, Australia. She has been involved in wilderness studies and outdoor education for over 35 years as a researcher, practitioner, and curriculum developer. With a Master’s in Community Health and PhD in Outdoor Education, her interdisciplinary research explores human–nature relationships and their impact on wellbeing and human development.

Son Truong, Western Sydney University

Son Truong, PhD is a specialist in Health and Physical Education Curriculum and Pedagogy, and is a member of the Sustainability Research Group in the Centre for Educational Research, at Western Sydney University. He has extensive experience working with young people in diverse educational settings, in both minority and majority world contexts. His research interests centre on wellbeing and environments. 

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Published

2018-01-25