Allowing students a sense of autonomy has long been considered an important pedagogical tool. This paper synthesizes the current literature on student autonomy from the education, youth development, and outdoor adventure fields and explores its value through an analysis of data from the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). The results…

For over 7 years, the Wilderness Education Association (WEA) and three universities have been using a systematic approach to leadership training in the outdoors: the experiential leadership education (ELE) method. The effectiveness of this approach was investigated by an aerospace expert interested in leadership training for isolated groups. A…

More people are participating in adventure programs than ever before. Consequently, the natural resources that support these activities are being compromised, resulting in greater restrictions on land and water use, and implementation of user fees. Trends towards artificial adventure environments, certification and accreditation, litigation and…

Analysis of a case study of a whitewater rafting accident reveals that such accidents tend to result from multiple actions. Many events leading up to such accidents include procedural and process factors, suggesting that hard-skills technical training is an insufficient approach to accident prevention. Contains 26 references. (SAS)