Advocates focusing on personal and social education in outdoor education, before addressing subjects in the National Curriculum in Britain. Discusses the development of professionalism in outdoor educators. Provides an assessment of progress scale for the goals related to professionalism. Proposes that outdoor education may be more secure as part…

Describes an outdoor adventure and environmental program for young people in Cumbria (England) that aims to raise social and environmental awareness through ecological, artistic, and adventurous activities. Non-hierarchical, learner-centered residential and nonresidential projects empower young people to become interested in their local…

An adventure education program combines environmental education, character education, and service learning with ropes courses, orienteering, and rock climbing to offer Romanian youth opportunities for trust building and reconciliation in the wake of the economic, environmental, and moral devastation left by the Communist dictator. An ecotourism…

The Camping Out experiential education program in Ontario (Canada) helps prepare youths (age 14-21) to deal with issues of sexual orientation and to practice building healthy, open connections that acknowledge the diversity of gay, lesbian, and bisexual communities. The camp offers a year-round followup support program. (SAS)

To determine the role that physical aspects of corporate adventure training played in the acquisition of trust, 75 employees from a New Zealand computer company were assigned to one of two groups with varying levels of physical activity or to a control group. Trust was enhanced in the two experimental groups but more so in the more active group.…

Aspects of outdoor adventure education such as sport and risk are increasingly commercialized, whereas the core value of connection--to community, the environment, or other people--is being lost. A shift from providing challenge to encouraging exploration may enable programs emphasizing connection to find a home in the "third sector"…

Outward Bound Czech Republic offers a personal development program for international participants that goes beyond the physical outdoor activities traditionally associated with adventure education. Dramaturgy uses "scenarios" in course design, allowing instructors to integrate a range of social, physical, creative, and reflection…

This paper describes a developing outdoor adventure program for at-risk adolescents in Cheltenham and Gloucester City (England). The program builds on a partnership between Youth Service, the schools, and other agencies, and aims to make contact with young people aged 13-17 at risk of drifting into crime; to provide appropriate experiences,…

This paper describes the development of an adventure therapy qualification, the Certificate in Social Work (Activity Based), at Waiariki Polytechnic, New Zealand. New Zealand has an extensive range of outdoor opportunities, and a large percentage of the population is involved in outdoor activities. Although many therapeutic programs involve young…

In 1981, 12 under-achieving boys (average age 15 years) from a Sydney (Australia) inner-city Catholic school with a predominantly low socio-economic and high ethnic population were exposed to a 6-week long residential Outward Bound Bridging Course Remedial Programme. The aim of the programme was to produce significant gains in the cognitive…

Corrymeela, a Christian community in Northern Ireland, uses a variety of activities, one of which is outdoor education, to tackle the challenges of living within a contested society and to model new possibilities. Structured peace-building experiences focus on the relational aspect of those people, groups, and communities who experience conflict.…

This proceedings contains 21 papers and panel summaries from the 1997 International Conference on Outdoor Recreation and Education. Introductory items include conference highlights, history, and schedule overview. Entries are: "Outdoor Leadership 2000" (Simon Priest); "Permits To Operate: Doing What We Do with the Proper…

This paper summarizes research to ascertain the need for university-based courses in adventure therapy in Australia. Three main sources of data were examined: questionnaires; a literature review; and anecdotal data such as unstructured interviews, personal conversations, and e-mail. Questionnaires were completed by 25 persons: 19 Australians and 6…

Significant increases in global self-esteem and the four subdomains of physical self-worth were measured in 66 males and 60 females with a mean age of 15.1 years who participated in a (British) Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme expedition, indicating that adventure education can be a vehicle for personal and social development. Contains 21…

At a European conference in Finland, various outdoor education organizations drafted a statement of intent for the newly created European Institute for Outdoor Adventure Education. Their common view of outdoor education is that it strives to stimulate personal and social development experientially through some experience of the outdoors. Discusses…