Sensory Perception, Rationalism and Outdoor Environmental Education

Abstract

There is a strong emphasis on sensory perception and ‘hands-on’ learning in the outdoor environmental education of children. In addition, normative concerns infuse children's environmental curricula, and in particular, the notion that environmental education is not a passive undertaking; when one appreciates the essential value of the environment, one is bound to care for it. In post-secondary educational settings, the ethical dimension of environmental education remains largely intact, but comparatively little attention is placed on cognition through the physical senses. Among college-age learners, the external senses can be useful for reinforcing conventional learning modalities, such as empirical observation and cause-and-effect reasoning. Moreover, sights, taste, touch and other external senses are means for breaking down dualistic conceptions of ‘people’ and ‘nature’ in environmental studies, particularly in outdoor contexts.