Outdoor education programs as gender equitable environments? An ethnographic study.

Abstract

Many physical education researchers have been searching for gender equitable physical education programs. The purpose of this ethnographic study was to examine the issue of gender equity in one outdoor education program. More specifically, the study focused on the perspectives and behaviours of 10 young women and 14 young men with respect to gender relations and gender equity in one outdoor education program. Qualitative and triangulated data collection methods were used, namely; (a) a content analysis of official outdoor education program documents; (b) a non-participant observation of program participants and their counsellors; and (c) a semi-structured, small, single-sex group interviews with program participants. The program documents were collected in June of 1996 and then content analysed. The observations and interviews took place during the last five days of a 12-day outdoor education camp. The recorded interactional episodes, and the tape recorded interviews were transcribed onto a word processor, content analysed, and patterns with regards to gender relations and gender equity/inequity emerged. From the results, two main conclusions could be drawn. First, the young women and young men at the outdoor education camp displayed some traditional stereotypical attitudes and behaviours that produced oppressive gender relations and contributed to a learning environment that was not gender equitable. Second, the campers also demonstrated attitudes and involved themselves in behaviours that challenged traditional gender relations and promoted gender equity.