History helps educators more clearly describe the role of outdoor education in improving society by fostering awareness of human-nature interconnections. Five branches have shaped outdoor education in Ontario: (1) agricultural education; (2) environmental education; (3) outdoor adventure education; (4) ecological education; and (5) climate change…

The author started her training in adventure education around 1986 when Mike Laurence introduced the concept to Brock University. At the time, she was employed by Niagara College working in its Futures Program. To her the theory behind adventure-based programs seemed a coalescence of her yen for sociology, psychology, existential philosophy and…

Recent empirical research on outdoor education programs describes adjustment symptoms that instructors suffer from after the programs have come to an end. Post-course effects are also documented for students, but those are normally scientifically coded in measured changes in "skills" or "learning effects." In this paper, the…

Facilitated discussion before, during and after experiences is widely accepted practice in the field of outdoor adventure education. Much of the literature appears to house the assumption that individual learning may be considerably restricted if participants' experiences are not processed with the help of an external facilitator, as they may not…

In the light of recent challenges facing the field of outdoor adventure education in higher education, this exploratory study sought to identify some of the underlying political and institutional factors and societal influences on an international level that have led to the success of some programmes and the closure of others. Thirty-eight outdoor…

Connecting through outdoor adventure is a process that may or may not seem obvious. The word "connecting" resonates with a powerful and extensive implied meaning that the authors feel compelled to share. A recent collaborative research project between leaders from the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve and researchers from Laurentian…

About 20 years ago, a number of Yukon schools took a different approach to outdoor education and outdoor pursuits. During the 1970s and 1980s, most Yukon high schools and junior high schools offered a course called Outdoor Education. These courses fit into the conventional blocks in a school timetable. Outdoor activities longer than these blocks…

What exactly is an "outdoor orientation program?" First offered in the United States in the 1930s by Dartmouth College, outdoor orientation programs (OOPs) use adventure programming to help incoming students adjust to university or college. Typically, these programs are conducted in a wilderness or backcountry setting, are several days…

This article describes a four-credit semester program at Elliot Lake Secondary School in the late 1990s. This New Trails program is based around physical education and leadership, geography, Native studies, and English credits. The students are outside much of the time. The students become certified in the use of GPS and in map and compass work,…

A study of outdoor adventure risk management education was conducted in the fall of 2003 following the devastating avalanche season of winter 2002-2003, which took close to 50 lives in North America. The study was guided by the desire to better understand effective risk management training of outdoor adventure leaders in postsecondary…

Graduating with a Bachelor of Physical and Health Education (BPHE) degree with a specialty in Outdoor Adventure Leadership (ADVL) is a unique reality in Canada offered by Sudbury's Laurentian University. Developed over 20 years ago, the ADVL program has been one of Laurentian's six landmark Human Kinetics programs. From a scholastic perspective…

"Coming of Age" brings together a group of articles arising from the third International Adventure Therapy Conference held in Victoria, British Columbia, in April 2003. Together, they offer an overview of the field of Adventure Therapy in the new millennium, boasting a strong collection from the field's leading international figures:…

In Grade 9, Upper Canada College (UCC) students participate in a week-long outdoor education program in Halton Region, west of Toronto. This week is the culmination of over 60 days of total outdoor education programming between Senior Kindergarten and Grade 9. Activities during the expedition include moving water canoeing, mountain biking, hiking,…

The Adventure Based Learning Experience (ABLE) program is designed for students who require a non-traditional approach to learning with varied program delivery options or need a flexible learning landscape. This unique experiential learning program provides students from Mississauga and Brampton the opportunity to "learn from doing" in…

From its beginnings as a bush camp for hard-core juvenile delinquents, Project DARE has expanded to provide programs to a variety of troubled youth in Ontario, Canada. Programs include residential schools, remote wilderness adventure programs, and community-based experiential learning and recreational opportunities. (SV)