The Voices of Outdoor Adventure: An Examination of the Long-Term Meanings and Impacts of Adventure Experiences for New Zealand University Students

<p>The purpose of this study was to explore how past participants of a New Zealand-based university outdoor adventure programme have perceived the meanings and impacts of former adventure experiences over time. This study employed a phenomenological case-study design which used in-depth, semi-structured interviews with former participants of a New-Zealand university outdoor adventure programme called the Mountains-to-Sea expedition. Six participants, former physical education students who had gone on the expedition between four and five years ago, were chosen to gain retrospective insight. The results from this study generated detailed narratives which revealed that the perceived meanings and impacts of participants‟ experiences were generally positive but there were subtleties and nuances to these perceptions which changed over time. Individuals made meaning in finely distinctive ways and impacts tended to dissipate in perceived intensity over time, though there were some exceptions. The participants embodied a very unique culture which impacted their understanding of outdoor adventure education philosophy. These findings have far-reaching implications on the future of outdoor learning and warrant greater attention from practitioners and researchers. The results bolster an argument for more qualitative research into the long-term meaning and impact of adventure experiences, particularly for the New Zealand context.</p>

The Voices of Outdoor Adventure: An Examination of the Long-Term Meanings and Impacts of Adventure Experiences for New Zealand University Students

<p>The purpose of this study was to explore how past participants of a New Zealand-based university outdoor adventure programme have perceived the meanings and impacts of former adventure experiences over time. This study employed a phenomenological case-study design which used in-depth, semi-structured interviews with former participants of a New-Zealand university outdoor adventure programme called the Mountains-to-Sea expedition. Six participants, former physical education students who had gone on the expedition between four and five years ago, were chosen to gain retrospective insight. The results from this study generated detailed narratives which revealed that the perceived meanings and impacts of participants‟ experiences were generally positive but there were subtleties and nuances to these perceptions which changed over time. Individuals made meaning in finely distinctive ways and impacts tended to dissipate in perceived intensity over time, though there were some exceptions. The participants embodied a very unique culture which impacted their understanding of outdoor adventure education philosophy. These findings have far-reaching implications on the future of outdoor learning and warrant greater attention from practitioners and researchers. The results bolster an argument for more qualitative research into the long-term meaning and impact of adventure experiences, particularly for the New Zealand context.</p>

Compassion through Asceticism: Contemplating the Caveats and Socio-Environmental Values Related to a Backcountry Fast

Given the socio-environmental crises we face, educators might advisably look for means to address them. Within US outdoor adventure education (OAE), the moral educational potential of the “backcountry fast” is one such curricular area. However, little is written on this field-based tradition. This absence is concerning since fasts raise questions of risk and social-ethical appropriateness (e.g. food-scarcity). After acknowledging these social-ethical caveats, this paper, which draws from philosophical and monastic sources, provides a moral rationale for the backcountry fast. An act of asceticism, fasting practices can cultivate discipline, promote self-revelation, and awaken empathetic compassion (a-suffering-with) through identification with the involuntary suffering of others (human, more-than-human, and the planet itself). Although fasting’s full value is realized in a justice-seeking practice, highlighting the limits of one-off OAE programming, the article affirms its continued use within OAE, and counsels that fasts be educationally framed regarding their purpose(s) and potential as a post-program discipline.

Adolescents’ Experiences of a Developmental Coaching and Outdoor Adventure Education Program: Using Constructive-Developmental Theory to Investigate Individual Differences in Adolescent Meaning-Making and Developmental Growth

Using interpretative phenomenological analysis and Robert Kegan’s constructive-developmental theory, this study investigated how developmental stage shaped the subjective experiences of 13 adolescents ( Mage = 15.92 years, 54% females) in a developmental coaching and outdoor adventure education program. Participants were drawn from socioeconomically disadvantaged schools in Sydney, Australia, and represented Asian, Middle Eastern, and European ethnicities. A single, semi-structured interview was conducted with participants postprogram, following protocols approved by an institutional ethics committee. Interview data were used to investigate participants’ meaning-making structures as evidence of constructive-developmental stage both at the time of interview and program participation. We found that, despite being similar ages at program commencement, participants displayed a range of constructive-developmental stages. The data demonstrate how participants at different stages of meaning-making experienced the same activities differently, including what they experienced as challenging and supportive. Furthermore, our findings suggest that there is a valuable role for developmental coaching in scaffolding program challenges to stimulate constructive-developmental growth. Constructive-developmental theory provides a novel framework for understanding the different ways in which adolescents make meaning of developmental programs. We hope the findings from this study will help those who design and implement these programs to appreciate constructive-developmental differences in their participants to better target interventions aimed at facilitating developmental growth.

Outdoor Adventure Education: Trends and New Directions—Introduction to a Special Collection of Research

This special issue on “outdoor adventure education” contains seven articles focused on varied topics in outdoor adventure education (OAE) from the impact of COVID-19, creating a mobile App and girls outdoors to urban programming, systems of privilege and more [...]

Unpacking Systems of Privilege: The Opportunity of Critical Reflection in Outdoor Adventure Education

Outdoor adventure education has an extensive history of considering how its students should wrestle with privilege. Recent events have brought issues of privilege to the forefront, which raises the question of whether outdoor adventure education can play a role in learning to see and affect systems of privilege. This paper examines several elements of outdoor adventure education that make it an ideal environment for teaching about systems of privilege, and makes the argument that Jack Mezirow’s critical reflection, wherein people question the principles that underlie their ideas, should be a key element of outdoor adventure education curriculum in the 21st century. The authors’ perspectives are grounded in critical theory and the assumption that power dynamics need to be examined in order to be changed. By combining critical reflection with the unique characteristics of outdoor adventure education, outdoor adventure educators may be able to successfully teach participants to recognize and impact systems that operate around them.