Abstract
As the AEE initiates the process to find a new team of editors to commence duties in 2017, the current editorial team has been reflecting on the developments for JEE during our tenure. There are a number of challenges that persist, which will require ongoing attention. The largest issue remains the lack of clarity about the status of the journal. To attract high quality papers from good authors that will advance the field of experiential education the JEE management team are currently focusing on the journal’s rankings and status. There is a constant pressure for academics to publish in high-ranking journals and if we don’t continue to help JEE establish a strong ranking good authors will submit their work elsewhere. Consequently, with the help of SAGE we have started the process to formally recognize the quality of JEE using recognised tools like the Scopus Index and Thomson Reuter’s Impact Factor. These tools provide a measure of a journal’s esteem, however, they favour large journals in the science disciplines and tend to ignore journals publishing in small fields like experiential education. It will be an uphill battle, but we will keep you posted.
The JEE management team also continue to wrestle with the optimal foci of the journal, and making sure that the papers we publish are also of interest to the large number of subscribers who are practitioners in the broader experiential education field. We are confident that the next team of editors will capably continue these journeys to establish and advance the quality of the JEE.
In this issue, we are proud to publish seven papers across a range of topics with both new and familiar authors. The first paper by Blenkinsop, Nolan, Hunt, Stonehouse, and Telford prompts readers to consider the true nature of experiential education by considering if and how a lecture may be considered a form of experiential education. For those of you who lecture, your teaching may not be the same after reading this paper. The next paper by Australian team, Lovat and Clement, explores the place of values education and pedagogy with the service-learning context.
The third paper in this issue by Blair presents the findings of research that investigated the nature of professional development programs for classroom teachers delivered at historic sites. Next in the issue is a paper by another Australian team: Bennett, Sunderland, Bartleet and Power. Their paper describes the challenges encountered in arts-based service learning initiatives with Indigenous communities. They give their view on tactics that can be used in organisations to advance important, yet marginalised, service learning projects.
Davidson, Ewert and Chang authored the fifth paper in this issue, which presents the findings of research that investigated strategies to measure the impacts of participation in high adventure activities. They identify five themes as important constructs for outdoor adventure education participants and the researchers that study them. In the sixth paper, Collins, Sibthorp and Gookins conducted research on the ability of students to solve ill-structured problems (ISPs). They compared the improvements in students’ abilities to solve ISPs for those participating in wilderness education programs verses those in traditional classrooms.
Finally, in this issue Schumann and Sibthorp report on research that explored the impact of metacognitive monitoring interventions on the accuracy of self-efficacy beliefs of emerging outdoor educators. We trust that you will find something in this issue to inspire, challenge, and motivate your engagement in experiential education. As this will be my last ‘Letter from the Editors’ it has been a pleasure to serve, thank you for the opportunity.