走出門外，與世界共舞：戶外教育本體論與認識論之建構 更多文章

Stepping Out of the Door, Dancing With the World: Constructing an Ontology and Epistemology for Outdoor Education

研究目的

戶外教育雖已取得正式課程合法性，並在臺推動逾10年，但在政策與實務先行下，其研究趨勢與面貌卻難以把握；又，其哲學理論基礎薄弱，無論國內外相關研究都十分稀缺；同時，該領域多聚焦於戶外教育之教學方法，甚或將其定義囿限於一種方法／策略，缺乏使其作為課程自存之理論依據。鑑此，本研究旨在建構戶外教育之本體論與認識論，並從哲學上賦予戶外教育新定義。

主要理論或概念架構

借鑑J. Dewey實用主義與M. Merleau-Ponty現象學，除藉Dewey的「初級經驗與次級經驗」以及Merleau-Ponty的「前反思經驗與反思經驗」以區分戶外教育之「體驗」與「經驗」，更聚焦於前者的做中學、交互作用（transaction）等概念，以及後者的身體（body）、具身（embodiment）和肉身（flesh）等觀點，再概念化戶外教育中「感官體驗」、「整全性」與「戶外」、「真實世界」等用語。

研究設計／方法／對象

採系統性回顧（systematic review），對以「戶外教育」為題之57篇臺灣期刊文獻進行分析，以探究既有文獻之課程概念為何；再基於對分析結果之反思，進一步引入前述哲學思想，以探討如何建構戶外教育之本體論與認識論，並從哲學上賦予戶外教育新定義。最終，提出研究發現、結論與建議。

研究發現或結論

臺灣戶外教育課程正面臨主體性消融危機。戶外教育猶如一把無所不包的大傘，無法分割自身與環境教育、體驗教育、冒險教育等領域的關係，且這把大傘仍在漫無邊際地擴張，將各種場域與活動納入其中，因而使其作為課程自存的面貌更趨模糊。此外，戶外教育常被工具性應用，以致其實質課程內涵之失落，而實踐上的名同實異更顯示出其缺乏課程理念之隱憂。

上述無限擴張趨勢的成因之一，乃戶外教育缺乏本體論與認識論基礎。本研究結合實用主義與現象學發現，可為戶外教育提供堅實之理論基礎。就前者而言，「戶外」乃需要透過交互作用，方可被建構而出的實在；就後者而言，所謂「真實世界」即具身存有與世界共同以肉身交織之完足本體，而「整全性」的「感官體驗」即是具身存有之實踐與展現。

基於前述哲學視角建構的戶外教育課程理論，將戶外教育之重要語彙再概念化，並將戶外教育定義為「一種在處境與自由的張力之間，藉由具身體驗以實踐存有的課程取徑」。

理論或實務創見／貢獻／建議

首次對臺灣戶外教育期刊文獻進行系統性回顧，基此建構本體論與認識論，最終提出戶外教育之全新定義，可提供相關政策制定者、課程發展與設計者以及現場教師作為反思與慎思之方向，即思考課程能否藉整全性的具身體驗，以恢復並深化學生與真實世界之連結，最終幫助學生更好地開展其自身之存有。建議實 務工作者與後續研究者在此基礎上重新審視戶外教育之課程理念與教學實踐，並就相關政策、師資培育以及教學設計之方法論等議題進行後續研究。

Purpose

Although outdoor education (OE) has obtained formal curricular legitimacy and has been promoted in Taiwan for over a decade, its overall contours and research trends remain difficult to grasp as policy and practice have preceded theoretical development. Moreover, its philosophical-theoretical foundations are tenuous, and relevant studies, both domestic and international, are relatively scarce. Concurrently, most research in this field has focused on pedagogical methods and has even confined its definition to mere strategies, lacking a robust theoretical basis for its existence as a distinct curriculum. Against this backdrop, the present study aims to construct both an ontology and an epistemology for OE, and to philosophically articulate a new definition of the field.

Main Theories or Conceptual Frameworks

To achieve the research purposes, this study draws upon the pragmatism of J. Dewey and the phenomenology of M. Merleau-Ponty. In addition to distinguishing “lived experience” from “experience” by drawing upon J. Dewey’s “primary experience” and “secondary experience” as well as Merleau-Ponty’s “pre-reflective experience” and “reflective experience”, this study further places a particular focus on the former’s concepts of “learning by doing” and “transaction”, as well as the latter’s perspectives on the “body”, “embodiment”, and the “flesh”, in order to reconceptualize terms within OE such as “sensory experience”, “holism”, “the outdoors”, and “the real world.”

Research Design/Methods/Participants

This study adopts a systematic review to analyze 57 Taiwanese journal articles on the topic of “outdoor education” to explore the following question: What curriculum concepts are embedded in the existing literature? Based on a critical reflection on these analytical findings, the study further introduces the philosophical perspectives to examine how an ontological and epistemological frameworks of OE might be constructed, and to philosophically formulate a new definition of OE. Finally, the study presents its findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

Research Findings or Conclusions

First, the systematic review reveals that Taiwan’s OE curriculum is facing a crisis of dissolving subjectivity. It functions as an all-encompassing umbrella, conflated with fields such as environmental, experiential, and adventure education. Moreover, research trends indicate that this umbrella is still expanding without clear boundaries, incorporating a wide array of settings and activities, which further obscures its identity as a standalone curriculum. Furthermore, OE is frequently instrumentally applied, leading to the erosion of its substantive curricular essence. The divergence between nomenclature and practice further reveals a latent concern: a fundamental lack of a guiding curricular rationale.

Second, one reason for this unbounded expansion is the lack of ontological and epistemological foundations for OE. This study finds that a synthesis of pragmatism and phenomenology can provide a robust theoretical basis for the field. In the former case, “the outdoors” is a reality that can only be constituted through transaction; in the latter, the so-called “real world” represents a sufficient ontology in which embodied being and the world are intertwined as “the flesh”, and “holistic sensory experience” serves as the praxis and manifestation of this embodied being.”

Third, based on the curriculum theory developed from this philosophical perspective, this study reconceptualizes key terminology in OE and defines OE as “a curricular approach that, within the tension between situatedness and freedom, practices being through embodied experience.”

Theoretical or Practical In-sights/Contributions/Recommendations

This study conducts, for the first time, a systematic review of Taiwanese journal literature on OE and, on this basis, constructs an ontology and an epistemology, ultimately proposing a new definition of OE. These contributions may provide directions for reflection and careful consideration for policymakers, curriculum developers and designers, and teachers on whether the curriculum can, through holistic embodied experiences, restore and deepen the connection between students and the real world, ultimately facilitating a more profound disclosure of their own being. It is recommended that practitioners and future researchers, building on this foundation, re-examine the curricular conceptions and pedagogical practices of OE, and pursue further inquiry into methodological issues related to policy, teacher education, and instructional design.