The Outdoor Pursuit Center at Miami University, Ohio, has provided an outdoor orientation experience for incoming first-year students since 1995. The experience provides an environment that is effective in easing the transition into higher education settings. Student trip coordinators, student facilitators, faculty, and professional staff use…

Adventure education seeks to promote individual growth and development through the purposeful planning and implementation of educational processes that include risk in some way. This book introduces major topics in the broad literature of adventure education by bringing together 53 writings of adventure education practitioners. The writings are…

This report describes and evaluates the TAMARACK integrated curriculum package implemented in a high school classroom in Ontario (Canada). The program integrates environmental science, physical education, and English through experiential instruction. The highlights of the program were producing a magazine of oral history, wilderness trips in…

People are steadily being deprived of decision making opportunities. However, the freedom and sense of adventure to be found in the outdoors can help renew feelings of self-direction in our lives. Many theories about the nature of self have been evolved since Aristotle's time. Social benefits, self conceptualization and self assessment may all…

The challenge of the Australian lifestyle has historically led bushmen on journeys of arduous adventure which actively developed unfettered spirits and extraordinary endurance. These qualities have contributed to the development of the Australian psyche. As a way of passing on the qualities and values of Australian bushmen of years ago, an…

Describes a teacher development model that enables teachers to learn, internalize, test, and practice experiential teaching methods, and to create support systems that can sustain educational innovation in schools. Phases of a teacher training workshop include immersion, skill building, skill demonstration, and skill application. Includes 10…

This practicum addressed the attitudes and behaviors of 10 adolescents with severe behavioral and emotional problems participating in a cooperative job training program. The intervention used an adventure approach to help the students replace aggression and misconduct with job-related social skills. A needs assessment was conducted to identify…

This issue of "Perceptions" contains an introductory article by guest editor Herbert Foster--"A Variety of Programs"--and seven articles describing programs for educating emotionally disturbed children in New York. "A Very Special Place" (Susan Kosberg and Bernie Kosberg) describes a therapeutic camping milieu located…

Joshua Miner recounts his 30 years' experience with people and places significant to the history of Adventure-Based Education and Outward Bound in the United States. Fourteen Outward Bound schools visited or assisted by Miner are described in chapters recording events such as the school's inception, daily activities, individuals enrolled, and…

Designed to observe changes in biracial student behavior brought about by Project BACSTOP (a series of structured experiences in a variety of wilderness settings meant to bring students of different races together in stressful adventure activities geared to promote interaction, communication, and cooperation), this evaluation studied five…

Six tests were given to the entire sophomore class (120 males, 104 females) at a suburban school north of Boston before and after particiaption in the Project Adventure physical education program, some goals of which were the development of students' self confidence, improved self-concepts, ability to take physical, emotional, and social risks,…

Created in 1974, the Connecticut Wilderness School is a successful program for breaking patterns of failure due to negative self-image and instilling positive values of confidence and responsibility in order to develop constructive attitudes and behaviors in young people aged 15 to 20 who have run into trouble with the law. The wilderness program…

Few learning experiences give students immediate feedback on ethical and unethical behaviors and provide opportunities to repeatedly practice effective behaviors. This article describes how the authors have used challenge course activities to stimulate students to observe their own and others' ethical and unethical behaviors. Specifically, these…

For the second year of Project Adventure, an Outward Bound-type physical education program based at Hamilton-Wenham Regional School north of Boston, a battery of 6 tests was administered to the entire sophomore class (123 males and 108 females) before and after the program. Second year results indicated significant, positive changes in…

This publication features profiles of 25 outstanding school reform programs at Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. These innovative schools have captured various aspects of school reform that encompass more challenging, real world curricula; school-to-work transitions; new ways of assessing student achievement; higher order thinking and…