Title: Exploring the learning dimensions of a workcamp leaders’ training
Publisher: University of Cumbria, UK
Type: MA Dissertation
Theme: Outdoor and Experiential Learning – workcamps
Related project: IVS Research
Short Description: While more research about the impact of workcamps has been carried out in recent years, studies about workcamp leaders and how they are trained is scarce. This piece is meant to shed light on how workcamp leaders are trained to plan the learning of their future participants. The researcher used an ethnographical approach, observing the workcamp leaders’ training held by Maison des Bateleurs in France and conducting semi-structured interviews with the trainers and several trainees. The use of grounded theory to analyse the data allowed the identification of a set of competences leaders were equipped with as well as the acknowledgement that learning took place both non-formally and informally throughout the course and that collective learning was central. A metaphor is used to put together the findings and provide a summative image of their complexity. The research findings may serve workcamp organisations in their endeavour to improve their approach to workcamp leaders’ training.
Format: PDF