We have more outdoor education PhD students than anywhere else in the world, and a large staff with wide-reaching interests to support them in their research. Study for a PhD Our rich and diverse PhD community covers a range of topics. Supervision can involve staff from other Schools within the University of Edinburgh and external organisations.If you are interested in PhD study please contact individual staff members and visit our School's 'Postgraduate Research degrees' page.Staff membersPostgraduate Research degrees Current PhD students and working thesis titles Kate Clay: Exploring Outdoor Learning: Comparative Pedagogical Approaches of Montessori, Forest School, Experiential, and Teacher-Led MethodsElena Dominguez Contreras: Travelling scholarship: Environmental Stewardship 5-8yr olds (working title) Cornell Scholarship inc. Clare Cullen: Conservation Education in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia: An exploration of the history, systems, structures and pedagogies of Chipembele Conservation Education TrustJianing Fu: Outdoor play and culture in childrenJonathan Hancock: Learning Ecologies Louise Hawxwell: An exploration into the impact of outdoor experiences on the perceptions and practices of trainee teachers over the course of their undergraduate study and into their NQT year – a longitudinal studyMorgan Luddington: Women's experiences of menstruationChloe Paul: An ethnographic exploration in how women renegotiate value in their body and self through embodied experiences with the more-than-human world.Lewis Stockwell: What might be educational about canoe journeying? The case for natural aestheticsBrian Wright: Outdoor Education for a Sustainable Future: The United World Colleges as a participatory case study of outdoor education structures, theories of change, and pedagogical practices for impacting student outlooks regarding sustainability Completed PhD students 2023Sharon BoydPlace-responsive higher education at a distanceChristian HanserWandering with a shepherd's hut: fragments of a vagabond methodologyChris MackieDiffractive ethnography of early childhood-nature relations in Scottish school-based outdoor learningSuzy PaulusExploring place-based outdoor education in the context of transmigration realitiesJakob PorsteinssonAffordances of Outdoor Education in Iceland: How nature contributes to place-based experience, reflection and friendshipJack ReedFrom virtual worlds to the Outward Bound Trust: a study of contemporary residential outdoor adventurous education in postdigital space2021Douglas Briton“Is this an emergency?” Examining “emergency” in the context of school expeditions. Examining “emergency” as a social act.Ethan LewisIdentity, space, place and power: an ethnographic study of a community gardenJohn PierceNature of public provision outdoor education in the Republic of Ireland: an ethno-case study of four outdoor education and training centresDorothea VincentThe United Nations' relationship with civil society: development of the 2nd Charter 'The united peoples' and the United Nations' principled decision-making policy through the Naber model2020Shang ZhanImpact of outdoor learning continuing professional development and policy change on teachers in Scotland. 2019Rebekah TauritzUncertainty in Outdoor Education for Sustainability.2018David ClarkePracticing immanence: (still) becoming an outdoor environmental education academicAbdul KahlidThe nature and scope of outdoor education in the city-state of Singapore. Stephen PorterProduction-phase greenhouse gases embedded within food loss and waste: magnitude, drivers, and mitigation potentialHannah RitchieGlobal Food Systems: Addressing Malnutrition Through Sustainable System Pathways.2017Sharifah Syed AbdullahAn Investigation into the Influence of Outdoor Environmental Education Courses on the Environmental Attitude and Behaviours of Malaysian Participants: A life history approach. Jamie HamiltonA systems-based evaluation of the feasibility of a national outdoor education programme and the long-term socio-economic and developmental dynamics of implementation.Clare NugentMulticase study of nature-kindergarten practices: exploring three examples in Denmark, Finland and Scotland.Jenn TreacyCurricular Sports Programmes and Positive Youth Development in a Scottish context.2016Jane SpiteriYoung Children’s Perceptions of Environmental Sustainability: A Maltese Perspective. (Maltese Government Scholarship)Sho ShimoyamadaProduction of Scottish Open Gardens. Differences in Perception of Power.2015Stephen BanksDistal and proximal attentional focus effects on the performance of closed and open continuous motor skillsMark BakerPolicy Development of Outdoor Education in Scotland2014Iain Stewart-PattersonRole of intuition in the decision process of expert ski guidesJohn CrosbieThe value of outdoor education for people with disabilities : an in-depth case study of the Calvert Trust. (Calvert Trust/ Zurich Research Studentship)2013Justine GeyerDeveloping an understanding of greenspace as a resource for physical activity of adolescents in ScotlandRachel HowellPromoting lower-carbon lifestyles: the role of personal values, climate change communications and carbon allowances in processes of change2012Sam HarrisonPlace-based praxis: exploring place-based education and the philosophy of place2011Paul StonehouseRough ground of character: a philosophical investigation into character development, examining a wilderness expedition case study through a virtue ethical lensRoger ScruttonStatistical Analysis of the Benefits of Outdoor Adventure Activities Programmes (MPhil)Ralf Westphal'We have the fjells, but you have character...': a comparative study of personal and social development (PSD) within the discourses of outdoor education in Great Britain and Friluftsliv in Norway2010John TelfordMeanings, values, and life course: a study of participants’ experiences at a Scottish outdoor education centre. (ESRC 1+3 Award)2006Myra Beatrice Maposah-KanermiriEnvironmental Education in Schools: Contrasting Programmes, Context and Impact in Scotland and Zimbabwe2005Takako TakanoBonding with the land: outdoor environmental education programmes and their cultural contexts2004Beth ChristieRaising Achievement in Scottish Secondary Schools? A study of outdoor experiential learning. (North Lanarkshire Council, Outward Bound and University of Edinburgh funded)2001Robbie NicolOutdoor Education for Sustainable Living? An investigation into the potential of Scottish local authority residential outdoor education centres to deliver programmes relating to sustainable living. (MHSE bursary) This article was published on 2024-11-28
