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…

Three research abstracts dealt with program outcomes and the factors that affect them. Morgan (2008) dealt with the potential influence of sensation-seeking personality traits on perceived risk and perceived competence in adventure experiences. Two abstracts by Bobilya, Akey, and Mitchell, Jr. (2008) and Austin, Martin, Mittelstaedt, Schanning,…

This paper deals with managing a crisis in a wilderness situation. The terms "crisis" and "turning point" are used to describe what is more traditionally called an accident. Using these terms introduces the idea that crisis events occur as logical consequences of preceding decisions, errors, or omissions, not as the result of…

Leisure bereft of all stress is action without purpose. Maximum motivation and gratification are achieved when a balance is achieved between abilities and responsibilities. Stress is an essential leisure ingredient that provides meaning and clarity to social experience. (CJ)

Discusses the content, rewards, risks, and legal implications of adventure education. (WD)

Contrary to a rule to never teach students to lead climb, an instructor taught several youth to lead climb at a parent's request. These students planned to pursue rock climbing on their own after they left school, and preparing them was deemed a safety precaution. Analysis of this "close call" offers guidelines for introducing students…

Surveys a variety of conflicting philosophies and their underlying values that have influenced the development and direction of outdoor adventure education. Suggests that outdoor adventure education and experiential ways of learning are intrinsically at the margins of pedagogy and demand a generalized framework that incorporates and balances…

Adventure programs attempt to control or limit injuries in high-risk programming. This risk management has concentrated on the physical safety of participants at the expense of emotional and developmental security. In the zeal for accident-free statistics, a highly controlled, directive approach is created that treats individuals according to a…

Outdoor adventure is entering the marketplace and adopting marketplace values, resulting in commodification of the outdoors and commercialization of the adventure experience. This trend is a departure from values of the social movement that gave rise to the field and threatens to disempower participants and dissociate them from their experience of…

Reflects on some persistent models of outdoor adventure that limit the ability to truly address social justice issues. These taken-for-granted assumptions include the valuing of individuality, physical risk, and physical prowess; emphasis on the wilderness experience, despite its high cost; and focus on valuing diversity without deeply examining a…

Describes nature of adventure in spiritual, emotional, and intellectual terms. Examines roles of risk, pain, failure, success, and public recognition in adventure. Emphasizes rewards of excitement, fun, exhilaration, and self-discovery accompanying adventure. Uses numerous quotes about adventure from authors and literary figures. (TES)

Brian Davies, chairman of the British Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres, discusses the effects of licensing on outdoor education, the decline of spontaneity and adventure in outdoor education, private versus public outdoor education centers, what makes a good outdoor education teacher, diversity represented by different outdoor…

A high-profile liability case concerning a fatal ice-climbing accident provides the background for this discussion of liability issues in adventure activities. A brief history of outdoor adventure litigation, emerging trends, and how outdoor guides can protect themselves and their clients is presented. Guides should candidly describe the risks…

Suggests that outdoor pursuits and adventure activities promote Maslow's goal of self-actualization. Identifies the middle-order needs (belonging and self-esteem) trap as an inhibitive barrier to growth and maturation of the personality. Proposes six mechanisms to transcend the trap in the outdoor experience. (KS)

Different aspects of courage are discussed through anecdotes: from the courage required in the outdoors, which most adventure educators have experienced, to observations that courage may be required when it is not anticipated, that it may also involve restraint, that expressing one's needs requires courage, and that courage is also the ability to…