Outdoor Education as Value-Creating (Soka) Education

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, the founder of Soka education, had a firm conviction that education’s utmost purpose should be children’s life-long happiness. His journey, which led to the invention of value-creating education, had been inspired by the ideas of many historical figures, among them being John Dewey (1859–1952), one of the most influential American educators. There is an emerging branch of education that shares similar origins with Soka education: outdoor education.

Dr. Anders Szczepanski, who leads the field of outdoor education internationally, defines the field as “an approach aiming towards interaction learning between experiences and reflection based on actual experiences in authentic situations” (National Center of Outdoor Education, University of Linköping). Szczepanski also affirms that Dewey’s “learning by doing” pedagogy has been an important inspiration for outdoor pedagogues in Scandinavia.

Outdoor education and Soka education share similar roots in their respective histories. For more than a century, outdoor education has been developed and advocated by both philosophical and educational leaders, including Dewey (Richard 2005: 203) who influenced such education in both Sweden and Denmark (Joyce (2012); Bentsen et al. 2018).

Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, founder of Soka University of America, has confirmed Dewey’s influence on Makiguchi who developed the system of Soka education:

“Tsunesaburo Makiguchi . . . referenced with great respect the writings and ideas of Dewey in his 1930 work, The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy. . . . There are many areas of commonality in the thinking of Makiguchi and Dewey . . . They shared an immovable conviction in the need for new modes of people-centered education.” (Ikeda 2018)

During out Learning Cluster, we were able to see many connections and similarities between outdoor education and Soka education: the reorientation of education’s purpose to a child’s growth/happiness, the emphasis on experience/direct observation, and the important role of teachers. Further, we found the potential contribution of outdoor education to the development of the three tenets of global citizenship proposed by Dr. Ikeda.

First, outdoor education and Soka education share a similar student-centered philosophy, one that regards people’s happiness as the ultimate goal of education. Dr. Anders writes the goal of outdoor education is “creating life-long learning” (Dahlgren & Szczepanski, 2005). In our journey, we learned that outdoor education in both Sweden and Denmark was started and fostered by ordinary mothers (“I Ur och Skur” or “Rain or Shine School” by Siw Linde in Sweden and “Skovbørnehave” or “Walking Kindergarten” by Ella Flatau in Denmark) (Joyce 2012). In other words, outdoor education is the result of the unconditional love and hope that mothers have for their children. In addition, outdoor education is strongly concerned with the health and development of a child, and the most recent systematic review on outdoor education by Adams and Savahl (2017) confirms that such education provides “a range of cognitive, physical, affective, and moral developmental benefits.”

These features are consistent with the fundamental premise of Soka education: the purpose of education as children’s life-long happiness. Makiguchi, the founder, developed an educational philosophy for children’s happiness in the midst of wartime when education only served to indoctrinate blind nationalism in children and prepare them as soldiers and workers at the expense of their individual happiness.

Both outdoor and Soka education also emphasize the importance of learning that starts with children’s own experiences for the realization of their life-long learning and happiness. During our trip, we saw how children gain practical knowledge and understanding about the world (e.g., math, language, arts, history, technologies, biology, geology, cooking, etc.) by using all their senses outdoors and working with people in the community. Dewey and Makiguchi shared a belief in experience-based, “learning by doing” pedagogy. Outdoor education sees children as “competent knowledge producers,” or “thinkers” and “doers” who can create “knowledge about their environments and lives” (Prince 2016), seeing the concept of “childhood” as a social construct that should be reimagined.

Makiguchi had a similar attitude toward the capacity of children. Jason & Andrew (2009) write, “At the heart of Makiguchi’s educational philosophy is a profound faith in people’s capacity for knowing, their ability to derive valid knowledge from experience.” The idea of experimentalism calls for children’s direct observation of phenomena both in natural and cultural settings, which enables them to understand the interconnectedness and interdependence of the world, thus cultivating a sense of appreciation and respect for nature, people, and the world.

Lastly, a great focus is put on the teachers’ role in guiding a child’s learning both in outdoor and Soka education. During our trip, we often encountered teachers interacting and co-exploring with their pupils as “friends.” Prince (2016) argues in his research for the significance of the so-called “Aristotelian habituation” where children learn from teachers’ behaviors and internalize good qualities, such as “empathy, confidence, patience and tolerance.” The research concludes, “Outdoor educators are in key positions to be role models and mentors for others and can frame positive behavioral change in the people they work with.” One of the core principles of Soka education is the teacher-disciple interaction as Dr. Ikeda comments:

“The relationship between teacher and pupil can be a vital link through which new horizons are opened and life develops. To me, the essence of education is this process whereby one person's character inspires another.” (Ikeda 2018)

Moving forward, outdoor education, despite its focus on nature and communities, can help children grow into well-rounded individuals who can contribute to others on the world scale, or, in short, global citizens as Makiguchi and Dr. Ikeda state:

“The community, in short, is the world in miniature. If we encourage children to observe directly the complex relations between people and the land, between nature and society, they will grasp the realities of their homes, their school, the town, village or city, and will be able to understand the wider world.” (Makiguchi 1903)

“To be meaningful, education for global citizenship should be undertaken as an integral part of daily life in our local communities.” (Ikeda 2018)

This can be better understood by using the concept of ecological literacy and the three attributes of global citizenship proposed by Dr. Ikeda. Ecological literacy, according to Hammarsten, et al. (2018), consists of “knowing, caring and practical competence,” each corresponding to wisdom, compassion, and courage that form global citizenship. In short, direct experience in nature and community enables children to comprehend interrelation (wisdom) as well as the interdependence of the things in the world (compassion), resulting in the motivation and confidence of children to take action (courage).

First of all, outdoor education can help children gain “the wisdom to perceive the interconnectedness of all life and living” with its experiential approach. Our trip to Scandinavia helped us confirm the possibility of outdoor education in giving children an understanding of both ecological and social relations (i.e., sustainability). This is consistent with the claim by Hammarsten, et al. that outdoor education can foster a “clear sense of the connection between themselves, natural processes and other aspects of the natural world.”

This kind of comprehension is likely to lead to the next attribute of global citizenship: compassion. The trip gave us an opportunity to see this happen first-hand. For example, we saw children naming trees “mother/father trees,” doing pretend play, or playing with animals, and children were listening to and cooperating with each other more outside, implying that they started “re-personalizing” non-human beings and having a sense of “caring” for both nature and humans.

Finally, outdoor education is effective in nurturing courage in children. We were surprised to see how much responsibility and freedom children are given in outdoor activities such as lighting bonfires, tree-climbing, farming, and animal raising, activities that are often seen as dangerous but, in truth, less dangerous than indoor activities. Such “risky” opportunities cultivate self-confidence and courage in children.

To conclude, given many overlapping characteristics between the two educational traditions, outdoor education can be a form of Soka education as well as global citizenship education in action that can lead children to their full potential and happiness.

Outdoor education and value-creating (Soka) education share similar attitudes toward:

• the purpose of education
• experience-based education
• the teachers' role

In addition, outdoor education can help us develop attributes of global citizenship such as:

• Wisdom
• Courage
• Compassion

References

Adams, S., & Savahl, S. (2017). Nature as childrens space: A systematic review. The Journal of Environmental Education, 48(5), 291–321. doi: 10.1080/00958964.2017.1366160

Bentsen, P., Stevenson , M. P., Mygind, E., & Barfod, K. S. (2018). Udeskole: education outside the classroomin a Danish context. In M. T. Huang, & Y. C. Jade Ho (Eds.), The Budding and Blooming of Outdoor Educationin Diverse Global Contexts (pp. 81-114). (Outdoor Education Research Office Book Series 3). Taiwan: NationalAcademy for Educational Research)

Dahlgren, L. O., & Szczepanski, A. (2005). Outdoor education: literary education and sensory experience: an attempt at defining the identity of outdoor education. Linköping: Linköping University.

Hammarsten, M., Askerlund, P., Almers, E., Avery, H., & Samuelsson, T. (2018). Developing ecological literacy in a forest garden: children’s perspectives. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 19(3), 227–241. doi: 10.1080/14729679.2018.1517371

Ikeda Daisaku (2018). Soka Education: for the happiness of the individual. Place of publication not identified: READHOWYOUWANT COM LTD.

Jason Goulah & Andrew Gebert (2009) Tsunesaburo Makiguchi: Introduction to the Man, His deas, and the Special Issue, EDUCATIONAL STUDIES, 45:2, 115-132, DOI:10.1080/00131940902762144

Joyce, R. (2012). Outdoor learning: past and present. Maidenhead: Open Univ Press.

Louv, R. (2005). Last child in the woods: why children need nature, how it was taken from them, and how to get it back. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

Makiguchi Tsunesaburō, & Bethel, D. M. (1903; 2002). A geography of human life. San Francisco: Caddo Gap Press.

Prince, H. E. (2016). Outdoor experiences and sustainability. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 17(2), 161–171. doi: 10.1080/14729679.2016.1244645