Applying elements of outdoor education in teacher education innovation

Abstract

This paper attempts to deal with the issue of developing soft skills among trainee teachers by applying the elements of outdoor education in teacher training programs. It is known that there are elements of outdoor education which were already included in the teacher training curriculum in Malaysia's Teacher Training Institutions. However, outdoor education is not a compulsory activity or subject for trainee teachers in Malaysia's universities except for those majoring in sports and recreation or physical education. However, due to the declining economic conditions, outdoor education programs at Teacher Training Institutions were the first program that was scaled down. This article attempts to identify the elements of soft skills that can be applied through a well-planned outdoor education activities. The study was conducted involving 671 samples from teacher training institutions and universities using the Life Effectiveness Questionnaire. This article focuses on four elements of soft skills namely team work, leadership ability, self-esteem and time management. The results of this study showed that outdoor education improves students' soft skills in the elements studied.