Are you interested in HE Bushcraft Qualifications?

[lisa]

Dear All, I hope it's ok to post this here.


I am conducting a very brief 2-minute survey to ask whether there would be interest from the international bushcraft (and related) communities in postgraduate level academic qualification in ‘Bushcraft Studies’. This includes a Postgraduate Certificate (PgC), or a Master of Arts degree (M.A.) in ‘Bushcraft Studies’, which could also lead on to PhD and research possibilities. Access routes/ entry requirements would NOT require prior degree qualifications, but rather, would require a good level of practical experience, such as the completion of weeklong and specialist bushcraft courses at foundation and preferably intermediate level and/or NCFEs in bushcraft, for example, but essentially be able to demonstrate a good and competent level of bushcraft knowledge. I would be very keen to gauge interest from potential international students, as well as the UK outdoors and bushcraft community. Attendance would be required for several 5-day module blocks spread over a 1-2 year period.
If this is something you feel might be a good thing for you, and something you think you might consider in the future, and thus would like to see brought into the world, please show your interest and support by answering 6 quick questions in this survey. As always, thank you so much for your time and response. I have a very short survey time period of a few days, so please let me know what you think by Wednesdays 13th May (next week!). As always, thank you for your time, interest and response!! Lisa Fenton - Woodsmoke.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GMQF593

 

[Toddy]

Do you meant something along the lines of Forest School ?

I'll do your survey in a minute though

M

 

[Toddy]

Ehm, Lisa, the link's not working. It takes me to a Facebook page.

atb,
M

 

[lisa]

Thank you Toddy ! Hope you are well!

 

[Goatboy]

Hello Lisa,

The link worked for me. Have filled out your survey, I'd be interested, coming from a forestry background and formerly pretty much living outdoors it sounds like a great idea. My only reservation is that being in my 40's would it be fiscally viable to do the course. If it were in Scotland fee's may be paid, but things like houses and bills may put me off.

Good to see someone thinking about it though as I sometimes wonder about some "experts" that get doled out into the media to talk on things.

Cheers,
GB.

 

[GGTBod]

Hi Lisa just filled in your survey, fiscal issues was my concern too, living in Tory England fee's will not be paid but bills must be, well unless i was just to pack in my home sell all my clutter and live outdoors for the 2 years of the course before reinventing my life with my bushcraft PhD

 

[lisa]

...sounds like a fine plan! Thanks guys!

 

[Yorkshirewanderer]

Hi Lisa, Just filled in your survey. I think this would be a great idea but as others have said the financial burden is always going to be an issue. Something like what Bushcraft USA do but with a qualification at the end would be of interest.

 

[janso]

One word - cost. Also, what are the progression paths and who validates the 'qualification'?


Sent from my hidey hole using Tapatalk... sssh!

 

[bowji john]

I've been involved in a similar (European) program trying to create academic quals for practical subjects - in my case a series of qualifications for water safety practitioners (undergraduate to PhD).

I remain unconvinced that the academic route is the right pathway for such subjects - An alternative route (for the UK) is the NVQ program. It offers (IMO) a training platform more suited to the delivery of the practical skills associated with the bush/field craft world.

There is already an NVQ level 4 qualification which is conducted over a year in 5 day slots - one slot each month - http://www.woodcraftschool.co.uk/co...ate-in-bushcraft-leadership-ncfe-level-4.html

I have no business interest or links with these folk, but offer the link as an example. I'm sure there are others.

J

 

[Disco1]

Lisa filled in the survey would be interested to know more about it.

 

[lisa]

Thanks guys and thanks Bowji John. I agree with you, but NVQ development is not my area of expertise, although John Rhyder is a close and valued colleague and his courses are excellent. We worked together in the trenches many years ago when we both worked for Ray Mears for several years, and have had close professional ties ever since. As I say I do agree and this only one side of the coin, and John has created a fantastic NCFE award system. Its simply comes down to whether you would like to contextualise your practical learning with broader theory. And, coming from 18 years of practice, I value both very much !!

 

[Tengu]

Its a great idea.

NVQs are just so say practical, in my limited experience with them, Chimpanzees are herded into an exam room, they are taken though a past paper, discussing the answers, and then sit a multiple choice question test which gives the chimps the equivalent to an A level...Hardly expert inspiring.

 

[British Red]

To what end would such an examination be aimed? Bushcraft is a hobby, not an exam syllabus. It is a practical subject, not one requiring any oversight from academia. Ones ability to make fire by friction, a shelter or find food does not require a syllabus, peer reviewing or papers. This seems like imposing exams on a subject that is blessed by being entirely free of such nonsense.

 

[Wayland]

There seems to be a huge difficulty in even defining "Bushcraft" so what on Earth qualifies one person to be a "bushcrafter" and says another is not?

I have to agree with Red on this one. I know many people that I think of as "bushcrafters" but they are all as different as chalk and cheese. Different skillsets, different attitudes, different approaches. Even the professional instructors are very different.

I think any attempt to qualify and quantify such things is essentially like trying to plait fog.

 

[John Fenna]

There seems to be a huge difficulty in even defining "Bushcraft" so what on Earth qualifies one person to be a "bushcrafter" and says another is not?

I have to agree with Red on this one. I know many people that I think of as "bushcrafters" but they are all as different as chalk and cheese. Different skillsets, different attitudes, different approaches. Even the professional instructors are very different.

I think any attempt to qualify and quantify such things is essentially like trying to plait fog.

Well put!
As someone who earns a little of his yearly income from teaching bushcraft, and who has seen some mighty weird examples of "bushcraft instruction" at various outdoor holiday places, I can see the benefits of some sort of regulation of the bushcraft instruction ... but cannot see how it can be done without putting it a straight jacket .... which would defeat the object of it all...

 

[Dave]

I like it when I receive a certificate at the end of a course. Thats really all this is, isnt it?

It would depend on cost though.

I'd probably be less enthusiastic if the suggestion wasnt coming from someone with Lisa's background and experience.

 

[Wayland]

When I was younger, I decided that the only way to become a better photographer was to get some qualifications.

I spent a year part time and two years full time to do it but despite getting some bits of paper, it didn't improve my pictures one bit.

I did learn how to talk BS about my pictures but if anything my pictures actually got worse and it took a long time for me to realise that the pictures I was now making, were rubbish.

In the end, my pictures got better when I went out to take more pictures and stopped just talking about them.

Sometimes, there is a very long way between academia and the real world...

 

[Dave]

I wondered, if you wanted a career change later in life, if this would help open doors?

[In various other jobs, not just bushcraft instruction or guiding]

Or wouldnt it be specific enough? I dont know......

I guess that would be a question for Lisa.

 

[lisa]

Hi Dave, apologies but I dont have much time to respond fully right now, but just to say that I will, just as soon as I can.

Wayland, thats great that your pictures improved once you felt you stopped talking BS about them, but not sure that this reflects the whole of the academic experience .. I understand what you are getting at, and I personally think that attempting to bridge the gap between academia and practice is a very good thing. I mean, Outdoor Education is very firmly rooted in the academy, yet also relatively recent. This doesn't mean, however, that those with degree or post-grad qualifications in Outdoor Ed only know how to talk about it, it means they have learned to be reflective within their practice (not to suggest this only possible in the academy of course!). Also, who said anything about 'defining' bushcraft, but we have to call it something just as this forum is indeed called 'Bushcraft UK', without claiming to defining what it is?

Anyway...a rushed response/ thoughts...

Best!
Lisa