Phenomenological Deconstruction - Slow Pedagogy - and the Corporeal Turn in Wild Environmental/Outdoor Education

Oct 15, 2026

The paper argues for a slow pedagogy of place in environmental and outdoor education, enacted by the authors over three years in the undergraduate unit Experiencing the Australian Landscape. It links embodied sensory-perceptual engagement with phenomenological understanding of relations between body and nature in time and space. The authors call for deconstruction and reconstruction of fast “take-away” pedagogies so education can better address the ecologically problematic human condition and critique precarious prospects for experiential schooling.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Slow pedagogy of place in environmental/outdoor education

Embodiment, phenomenology, and place

Critique of fast “take-away” pedagogies

Corporeal turn and ecocentric intercorporeality

Limits of conventional environmental education

Phenomenological Deconstruction, Slow Pedagogy, and the Corporeal Turn in Wild Environmental/Outdoor Education. Phillip G. Payne & Brian Wattchow, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia Abstract A “slow pedagogy of place” in (environmental/outdoor) education has been enacted by the two authors over the past three years in a third year under graduate semester-long unit named Experiencing the Australian Landscape. An integrated practical and theoretical, de-and reconstruction offastpedagogies is now needed, we believe, if education is to make a positive contribution to overcoming the ecologically problematic human condition. Experiencing the Australian Landscape fosters an embodied sensory-perceptual and conceptual-theoretical “sense” or “possibility” of place while assisting its participants to understand the relations of their body and nature, in time and space, as they are experienced phenomenologically. We hope the notion of a slow ecopedagogy prompts a reversal of the precarious prospects for experiential education in schooling and acts as a critique of the “take-away”pedagogies proliferating in education. Résumé Pendant les trois dernières années, dans le programme d’éducation écologique et de plein air, les deux auteurs ont déroulé une « pédagogie du lieu au rythme de la nature » . Le tout est survenu pendant la troisièmeannée d’un module semestriel au niveau du baccalauréat et intitulé Experiencing the Australian Landscape. On doit maintenant, croit-on, déconstruire et reconstruire la pédagogie artificielle en intégrant la pratique et le théorique, si on veut que l’éducation contribue positivement à surmonter la condition humaine écologiquement problématique. Experiencing the Australian Landscape favorise un amalgame du « sens » ou du « potentiel » perceptuel-sensoriel et conceptuel-théorique du lieu en même temps qu’il aide ses participants à comprendre les rapports de leur corps et de la nature dans le temps et l’espace au fur et à mesure qu’ils les vivent phénoménologiquement. Nous souhaitons que la notion d’une éco-pédagogieau rythme de la nature provoque un revirement de laprécarité perçue en éducation expérientielle et agisse comme une critique des pédagogies « amenuisantes » qui prolifèrent en éducation. Keywords: body, time, phenomenology, place, wild, edge, ecopedagogy, experiential education Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 14, 2009 15 Looking Back to Edge Forward Our “slow pedagogy of place” highlights the importance of the body in an education with various environments—as those bodies are lived in and overtimes in natural spaces. A slow pedagogy, or ecopedagogy, allows us to pause or dwell in spaces for more than a fleeting moment and, therefore, encourages us to attach and receive meaning from that place. This paper provides insights into how a slow pedagogy was developed by the two authors, and what slowing down a bit invites us to achieve in environmental education. Our version of slow pedagogy emphasizes the role of the body(ies) in learning experiences and, therefore, takes seriously the corporeal and intercorporeal turns in philosophy and nature discourses (e.g. , Grosz, 2004; Merleau-Ponty, 1962) . That is, for any pedagogy claiming responsiveness to the ecologically problematic human condition, there needs to be a shift in emphasis from focusing primarily on the “learning mind” to re-engaging the active, perceiving, and sensuous corporeality of the body with other bodies (human and more-than-human) in making-meaning in, about, and for the various environments and places in which those bodies interact and relate to nature. This pedagogical turn to an “ecocentric intercorporeality” remains on the margins in education—even in critical versions of environmental, outdoor, physical, health, and sustainable educations. For example, outdoor environmental education often seems to be trapped in a cultural logic of skilled activities and safe performance in the outdoors, wh

FAQs

What is “slow pedagogy of place” in this paper?

It is an approach that emphasizes dwelling in natural spaces so learners can attach meaning to place beyond a brief experience. The paper treats this as a form of ecopedagogy for environmental education.

How does the paper connect embodiment to phenomenology and learning?

It highlights the role of the body in learning as lived over time in natural environments. It argues for shifting emphasis from the “learning mind” to active, perceiving, sensuous corporeality.

What critique does the paper make of mainstream environmental education?

It suggests many programs rely on fast, take-away, quantified, and commodified time and space models. Conventional outdoor education is described as often trapped in performance, standardized objectives, and constrained opportunities for reflective learning.

Oct 15, 2026

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