Qualitative study reveals key operational challenges across outdoor education centers in Ireland, highlighting critical shifts in funding, staffing, and pedagogical vision.
This paper presents findings from a study that explored the opportunities and limitations for change and development in the Outdoor Education & Training Centres/Services (OETCS) in Ireland. Several changes have occurred in the past 15 years that have potentially affected practices and programmes in the OETCS in Ireland. These include background structural changes in the local authorities that operate the centres, as well as the alignment of the centres with further (vocational) education. Rather than aiming to be representational, a post-qualitative analysis allowed for moments of interest, or glowings, to be drawn from the empirical materials (interviews with centre directors and surveyed staff/practitioners). These glowings are assembled and discussed across three lines—recognition and funding, staff and vision. The content of these sections may be useful in planning the future development of outdoor education in Ireland and further afield.
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John Pierce (2026) studied this question.
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