Research
Adventure and social media; technology and friluftsliv; equality, diversity and the outdoors; learning outside the classroom; social theory; adventuring sustainably; mental health and the outdoors.
Teaching
Culture, society and friluftsliv; Friluftsliv, learning and skill development; Winter travel
Short biography
Simon Beames is Professor of Outdoor Studies in NIH´s Department for Teacher Education and Outdoor Studies. He came to NIH in 2019 after 14 years at the University of Edinburgh. In Edinburgh, Simon created and developed the Outdoor Journeys programme, which is a pupil-driven approach to facilitating local, cross-curricular outdoor learning.
Before getting into academia in 2001, Simon worked for 10 years as an outdoor instructor with young people, both leading expeditions and teaching skills courses in Canada, the US, and southeast Asia. His university studies include a Bachelor of Physical Education at McMaster University, a Master of Science in Experiential Education at Minnesota State University, and a PhD on Overseas Youth Expeditions at the University of Chichester.
Simon has published six books: Understanding educational expeditions, Learning outside the classroom, Outdoor adventure and social theory, Adventurous learning, Adventure & society, and Outdoor learning across the curriculum. His forthcoming co-edited book, the Routledge handbook of mobile technology and social media, will be published in the summer of 2024.
His knowledge exchange with practitioners continues through sharing teaching resources on the Outdoor Journeys and Adventurous Learning websites; NIH’s Outdoor Studies Forum initiative; and the Outdoor Journeys app, which facilitates learning outside the classroom using mobile phones and tablets.
Simon is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Experiential Education and the Journal of Outdoor Environmental Education.
Past and current PhD students include: Jerry Tracey, Clare Nugent, Sharifah Abdullah, Sho Shimoyamada, Rebekah Tauritz, John Pierce, Ethan Lewis, Suzy Paulus, Jack Reed, and Imre van Kraalingen.
Simon loves teaching outdoors in wild and remote settings, as well as in nearby urban ones!