That was the message from 91¶¶Òõ academic Dr Gary Stidder in his keynote speech to a West Sussex County Council Outdoor Education conference.
Dr Stidder said learning outside the classroom could be integrated into physical education curriculum. Benefits from “adventurous activities that involve problem-solving and decision-making”, he said, would include the promotion of exercise, health and values.
in the university’s School of Sport and Service Management and Co-founder of the award-winning Football 4 Peace International programme, said he recognised that some schools were restricted by limitations in facilities, resources and “teachers insecurities in subject knowledge” but, he said, the benefits “far outweighed the challenges faced by teachers”.
Adventurous activities, he said, can help pupils learn how to “overcome adversity, defeat phobias such as a fear of heights and enclosed spaces, and develop a ‘can-do attitude’. This in turn can improve academic achievement, improve interpersonal behaviours and develop transferable skills and independence in a wide range of environments”.