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…

Responds to a letter from a camp leader who experienced difficulty with an adolescent girl during a 3-day hike and disapproved of a staff member's response. Offers advice on handling such a problem, addressing the staff member's intervention without undermining his credibility, revisiting the situation with the group, and exploiting the…

Single-sex adventure education programs for adolescent women give them space to challenge traditional feminine roles, relate to other women without the pressures of mixed-sex groups, and examine issues such as personal relationships and health within a safe environment. If there are insufficient women facilitators, male staff should have awareness…

Presents an overview of leadership principles for girls and women in outdoor recreation, offering basic information about gender roles and gender identity and suggestions for effective outdoor leadership. The article discusses transformational leadership, which emphasizes human relations and task functions; it presents ideas for implementation.…