This research examines the characteristics of adults that girls and adult OST facilitators consider most important for supporting positive youth development experiences in the outdoors. Three factors are identified: Emotional support, challenge support, and outdoor preparedness. While Emotional Support is rated most important by both girls and…

The Wilderness Education Association (WEA) helps people enjoy and protect the nation's most precious resource: the wilderness areas. The WEA has been training and certifying outdoor leaders around the world for nearly 30 years, teaching students safely and effectively to lead groups in the outdoors without harming the environment. This document…

The Union Internationale des Associations des Guides de Montagne's (UIAGM) rope handling techniques are intended to form the standard for guiding ropework worldwide. These techniques have become the legal standard for instructional institutions and commercial guiding organizations in UIAGM member countries: Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Great…

This paper discusses leadership styles and the stages of development of a group. Situational leadership is based on the amount of direction (task behavior) and the amount of socio-emotional support (relationship behavior) the leader must provide given the situation and level of maturity or readiness of the followers. Having gauged the maturity…

A study investigated the personality type preferences of people who voluntarily chose to participate in a structured, field-based, outdoor education program. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was administered to 87 participants prior to beginning a 10-day Wilderness Education Association outdoor leadership trip. Participants were 18-46 years…

Outdoor leaders model their values, and their ethical frameworks and moral development help shape their influence on others. Outdoor leaders face many obstacles as they seek to define ethical standards, including the challenge of defining common ethics, lack of professional certifications, the limits of professional ethics, and issues of power and…

This paper outlines management guidelines for outdoor adventure pursuits based on analysis of accident case studies in the literature. Managing risk, to a large degree, involves managing human errors related to natural environmental hazards. The knowledge needed to manage risk may be gained through personal experience (the most dangerous way),…

Group processing after an outdoor experience provides feedback and the opportunity for critical reflection, which can enhance the benefits of the experience. This paper outlines some common problems in processing and suggestions to help outdoor leaders improve their facilitation skills. Common pitfalls that hinder effective processing include…

Integrated adventure programs are those in which persons with and without disabilities participate together in planned adventure activities. A study sought to identify the leadership competencies necessary for leaders of integrated outdoor adventure programs and to measure the effectiveness of a staff training addressing one of these competencies.…

This article describes instructor criteria in three outdoor organizations: Outward Bound (OB), the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), and the Wilderness Education Association (WEA). Common requirements for outdoor leadership programs are outdoor experience and skills, advanced first aid, CPR, and a minimum age requirement. Traditionally…

The study identified land-based outdoor leadership competencies deemed necessary by outdoor leaders in the western United States. Using resources such as outdoor leadership literature, competency-based teacher education manuals, consultation with outdoor leadership specialists in educational, private, and governmental agencies, and personal…

This paper focuses on group dynamics and introduces the use of initiative activities as a means of facilitating a more cohesive group experience in outdoor programs. Specific topics addressed and defined include: (1) curative factors of groups (universality, didactic learning, altruism, socialization, peer learning, group cohesiveness); (2) stages…

Intuition is knowledge of something without the conscious use of reasoning. The question of where intuitive knowledge comes from may be addressed from neurophysiological, spiritual, or philosophical perspectives. In some cases, hunches may be traced to the unconscious processing of immediate sensory input with previous knowledge. In other cases,…

Tacit knowledge is a generally unarticulated, preconscious form of knowledge that forms a basis for human judgment and decision making. Tacit knowledge is acquired primarily through experience, usually observation of and working with "qualified" teachers or mentors. Tacit knowledge may also be described as "practical," that is,…

This paper examines academic degree programs that train outdoor leaders. A review of previous studies of outdoor leadership noted 12 critical core competencies of an effective outdoor leader. A survey of college outdoor programs identified 15 four-year academic degree programs in outdoor leadership at U.S. colleges and universities. The programs…