Outdoor Education Fatalities in Canada: A Comparative Case Study

Auteurs-es

Mots-clés :

outdoor education, risk management, risk, risk play, case study, safety, Canada

Résumé

The recent criminal negligence case against an Ontario teacher in the death of a student identified pertinent outdoor education administration and policy issues. This comparative case study examined this case and two additional high profile Canadian outdoor education fatalities, identifying common factors and issues. Using Accimaps to illustrate the multiple contributing factors for each event, the case studies all exhibited contributory administrative factors of undefined risk tolerance, risk creep, lack of oversight, and issues regarding parental consent. Conclusions were drawn as preventative lessons that can inform school or board-level outdoor education policy and practice.

Références

Asfeldt, M., Potter, T. G., & Henderson, B. (2013). Outdoor adventure education in Canada: Characteristics and influences. Erleben Und Lernen: Internationale Zeitschrift Für Handlungsorientiertes Lernen [International Journal for Action Oriented Learning], 1(3), 14-18.

Asfeldt, M., Purc-Stephenson, R., Rawleigh, M., & Thackeray, S. (2021). Outdoor education in Canada: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 21(4), 297-310.

Borland, J. (2011). Provoking dialogue: A short history of outdoor education in Ontario. Pathways: The Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education, 23(2), 32-33.

Borland, J. (2014). Sustainability of Ontario school board-operated outdoor education centres. In Deer, Falkenberg, McMillan, and Sims (Eds.) Sustainable well-being: Concepts, issues, and educational practices (pp. 7-21). ESWB Press.

Breunig, M., Murtell, J., & Russell, C. (2014). Students’ experiences with/in integrated environmental studies programs in Ontario. Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, 15(4), 267-283.

Brookes, A. (2003a). Outdoor education fatalities in Australia 1960-2002. Part 1. Summary of incidents and introduction to fatality analysis. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 7(1), 20-35.

Brookes, A. (2003b). Outdoor education fatalities in Australia 1960-2002. Part 2. Contributing circumstances: Supervision, first aid, and rescue. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 7(2), 34-42.

Brookes, A. (2004). Outdoor education fatalities in Australia 1960-2002. Part 3. Environmental circumstances. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 8(1), 44-56.

Brookes, A. (2007a). Research update: Outdoor education fatalities in Australia. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 11(1), 3-9.

Brookes, A. (2007b). Preventing death and serious injury from falling trees and branches. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 11(2), 50-59.

Brookes, A. (2011). Research update 2010. Outdoor education fatalities in Australia. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 15(1), 37-57.

Brookes, A. (2018). Preventing fatal incidents in school and youth group camps and excursions: Understanding the unthinkable. Springer International.

Campbell, J. L., Quincy, C., Osserman, J., & Pedersen, O. K. (2013). Coding in-depth semistructured interviews: Problems of unitization and intercoder reliability and agreement. Sociological Methods & Research, 42(3), 294-320. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124113500475

Cloutier, R. (2003). Review of the Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School outdoor education program. Bhudak Consultants.

Deloitte. (2018, April). Review and assessment of Ontario school board policies and procedures on outdoor education/ excursions involving water-related activities. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://getkidspaddling.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Deloitte-April-2018-Outdoor-Education-Review-and-Assessment-Recommendations.pdf

Dery, S. (1978). Coroner’s report to the Attorney General following an inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of thirteen persons found drowned in Lake Témiscaminque on June 12, 1978. Ministère de la Justice, Bureau du Coroner.

Ferguson, R., Gibson, V., & McIntosh, E. (2017, August 17). Ontario to review school trip rules after Jeremiah Perry drowning. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/08/17/ontario-to-review-school-trip-rules-after-jeremiah-perry-drowning.html

Graham, P., Evitts, T., & Thomas-MacLean, R. (2008). Environmental scans: How useful are they for primary care research. Canadian Family Physician, 54(7), 1022-1023.

Henderson, B., & Potter, T. G. (2001). Outdoor adventure education in Canada: Seeking a way back in. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 6(1), 225-242. https://cjee.lakeheadu.ca/article/view/297

Heshka, J. (2006). Canada’s legal standard of care for outdoor education. Paper presented at the Canadian Association for the Practical Study of Law in Education 2005 conference.

Jackson, J., & Heshka, J. (2011). Managing risk: Systems planning for outdoor adventure programs. Direct Bearing.

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2009). Acting today, shaping tomorrow: A policy framework for environmental education in Ontario schools. Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

Parks Canada. (2019, November 25). Custodial groups mountain safety. https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/mtn/securiteenmontagne-mountainsafety/gardiens-custodial

Passmore, J. (1972). Outdoor education in Canada–1972. Canadian Education Association.

Purc-Stephenson, R., Hutchinson, M., Kemp, H., & Asfeldt, M. (2019). We are wilderness explorers: A qualitative review of outdoor education research in Canada. Journal of Experiential Education, 42(4), 364-381.

R. v. Mills, 2021 ONSC 6492 (CanLII). https://canlii.ca/t/jjgg6

Raffan, J. (2002). Deep waters: Courage, character, and the Lake Timiskaming canoeing tragedy. HarperCollins.

Ritchie, S., Priest, S., & Jackson, J. (in review). An environmental scan of fatalities in Canada involving minors in custodial groups engaged in outdoor learning activities.

Ritchie, S. D., Wabano, M. J., Corbiere, R. G., Restoule, B. M., Russell, K. C., & Young, N. L. (2015). Connecting to the Good Life through outdoor adventure leadership experiences designed for Indigenous youth. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 15(4), 350-370.

Salmon, P. M., Goode, N., Taylor, N., Lenné, M. G., Dallat, C. E., & Finch, C. F. (2017). Rasmussen's legacy in the great outdoors: A new incident reporting and learning system for led outdoor activities. Applied Ergonomics, 59, 637-648. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2015.07.017

Salmon, P. M., Hulme, A., Walker, G. H., Waterson, P., Berber, E., & Stanton, N. A. (2020). The big picture on accident causation: A review, synthesis and meta-analysis of Accimap studies. Safety Science, 126, 104650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2020.104650

Sorenson, S. (1999). Kipawa River chronicles. Cerulean.

Toronto District School Board. (2018, July 26). Statement re: criminal charge in death of Jeremiah Perry. https://www.tdsb.on.ca/News/Article-Details/ArtMID/474/ArticleID/1228/Statement-Re-Criminal-Charge-in-Death-of-Jeremiah-Perry

Téléchargements

Publié-e

2023-05-08

Numéro

Rubrique

Articles