Guidelines

Growing Beyond Gender: Practices for Outdoor Educators

This practical guide is designed to help educators construct, deconstruct, reflect, create, innovate, and unlearn. Readers are encouraged to use the material that resonates with their context, adapt what does not, and share their experiences with others.

Gender inclusion is not about erasing differences. It is about ensuring that all children, regardless of their gender identity or expression, have equal opportunities to explore, learn, and fully develop.

In nature-based pedagogy, the openness of outdoor play offers a valuable setting to observe and question gender stereotypes. However, without conscious observation and intentional pedagogical intervention, unconscious biases may continue to shape interactions, expectations, and opportunities.

This guide provides extensive material and references to support work on gender inclusion at multiple levels — personal, team, and institutional — helping educators reflect on and adjust their practices.

In collaboration with:

Kweebus, Belgium
KWEEBUS
Edunat, Spain
Edunat Cooperativa
Canalescuola, Italy
CanaleScuola
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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

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