College outdoor program leaders are often paraprofessionals, who may have less training than professional outdoor educators, yet must deal with the same types of problems on the trail. This paper describes the Outdoor Action (OA) Program at Princeton University, and outlines the training assessment and development model used to train OA program…

This manual is designed as a tool for teaching and administering the Outdoor Living Skills (OLS) program in a camp and for training program leaders. Introductory sections address the following: (1) program overview and program materials; (2) people and their environment (physiological and psychological concerns of children and youth, understanding…

One of the exciting and sometimes frustrating elements of participating in the field of outdoor wilderness education and recreation involves not only the issue of ensuring that practicing professionals function with competence, safety and prudence, but that they have knowledge and skills gained from many disciplines and a variety of life…

Equitable outdoor leadership responsive to social justice issues has historically been absent in the field of adventure education. The call for social justice in the field has been hampered by lack of information, negligible programmatic support, personal conditioning and bias, resistance to reform from those in power, and firmly established…

To implement its mission of increasing participation in fishing and boating and the stewardship of related resources, the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation solicited input from 11 experts in related fields. They identified 10 principles for education programs and recommended best practices in four educational areas: program planning,…

A degree in adventure education is not a prerequisite for employment in the profession. Furthermore, since degree requirements cannot provide experience, a degree is insufficient. Nevertheless, a degree offers a theoretical foundation not readily learned as a practitioner, and it offers the opportunity for developing more effective professionals.…

The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) is an internationally recognized outdoor school with five branch schools located in Wyoming, Alaska, Kenya, Mexico, and Washington. The philosophy of NOLS is to develop judgment and leadership skills in its students. Three priorities guide this school: (1) safety and care of the individual; (2) safety…

Outdoor adventure educators need a solid foundation in theoretical knowledge that will influence and guide equally important practical skills. A strong sense of professional practice should be instilled in new outdoor adventure educators to prevent them from becoming insulated in their ideas and practices. Philosophical underpinnings and good…

Describes outdoor leadership training program for disadvantaged children at Holiday Home Camp, Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Describes program objectives, progress levels, training courses, and activities. Describes grade-level training process. Program designed to help inner-city youth find sense of pride and self-esteem while improving life skills.…

Examines need for realignment of outdoor experience into non-competitive mode, suggesting similar changes in outdoor leadership training. Develops training model from experts' ideas of important components of outdoor leadership training. Applies model to four-year North American university program. Recommends program model for scrutiny and…

This research study used the Delphi technique to determine the ideal content of a college-level outdoor leadership course for land-based outdoor pursuits in the Pacific Northwest. Topics were generated and value-rated by 61 Pacific Northwest outdoor leaders using a Likert-type scale in three separate questionnaires. Thirty-five topics were…

All providers of outdoor leadership training must cooperate in introducing race, gender, and class issues in their programs. Recommendations include using experiential methodologies, offering social justice training in all training venues, developing outdoor leadership texts that cover social justice topics, and making social justice training a…

Examines traditional outdoor education leadership training, emphasizing value of "soft" or "people" skills. Describes how Experiential Leadership Education, a systematic approach to teaching outdoor leadership, uses three teaching and group dynamics models. Examines Experiential Leadership Education applications. Suggests…

Outdoor leaders need counseling skills to deal with interpersonal conflicts that arise within a group and to facilitate participant growth and change. Person-centered counseling, reality therapy counseling, and behavioral counseling are discussed, as well as how various techniques from each can be used to the benefit of the leader and the group.…

Too much excitement leads to anxiety, resulting in the impetus to reduce stimuli. Adventure experience leaders, in their enthusiasm for challenge and self-discovery through adventure, may ignore those clients who exist in a state of anxiety. This warning is particularly salient in regards to captive populations, such as a school group in a…