This article describes a wilderness education program that uses a rope challenge course to foster group cooperation and individual self-confidence in deaf and hard-of-hearing high school students. (DB)

Discusses the search for gender identity in the midst of conflicting messages from modern society and reviews the American tradition of looking to outdoor adventure as a means of affirming gender-based community. Urges experiential educators to be sensitive to gender-related anxiety and aware of the benefits of same-sex groups. (JHZ)

A three-day summer program for gifted junior high school students to develop leadership skills consisted of consideration of specific skills (self confidence, personal responsibility, communication, and team building) and use of these skills in an outdoor challenge course. (DB)

"Learning by doing" was the theme at the 1981 Institute on Innovations in Camping and Outdoor Education with Persons Who Are Disabled and was represented in the eleven papers presented. The papers describe the use of various outdoor-oriented media for involving persons with disabilities in participatory activities. Topics consisted of…

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.…

The paper explains why outdoor adventure education programs have been successful in enhancing the self-esteem of special needs students. Such an approach features physically or psychologically demanding outdoor pursuits to provide meaningful challenges through self-discovery and personal growth. Ways in which the program fosters five prerequisites…

Abstracts are presented of twelve presentations made at the March 1982 National Convention of the American Camping Association: (1) the operations and environment of a summer residential camp serving individuals with disabilities, and the relationships among staff members' perceptions of the organizational climate, acceptance of self, acceptance…

Designed to provide information for teachers wanting to use adventure activities with students and to help teachers in developing programs with clear objectives, solid logistic support, and safe policies and procedures, this teaching guide focuses on the goal of having a permanent impact on the self-concepts, behaviors, and attitudes of troubled…

Research was conducted at Camp ASCCA (Alabama's Special Camp for Children and Adults) to investigate the effects of an 11-week outdoor residential camp experience with handicapped campers on their self-esteem, attitude toward handicapped individuals, and locus of control scores of first year counselors with no previous experience. Self-esteem was…

This meta-analysis examines the effects of adventure programs on diverse outcomes such as self-concept, locus of control, and leadership. Analysis of 1,728 effect sizes from 96 studies shows that effect sizes varied substantially and improved as the length of the program and ages of the participants increased. (SLD)

Ten papers were selected for inclusion in this proceedings based on each paper's ability to examine critical ethical issues within the field of experiential education and to challenge readers to analyze and justify the stances they support. John Miles examines user impact on wilderness areas and the responsibilities of educational uses of the…

Twenty abstracts represent papers on: an agenda for camping research, use of alternative learning environments in an outdoor setting for emotionally disturbed children and youth, effects of specialized camping program on coronary heart disease risk factors in children, efficacy of physical activity programs for overweight pre-adults at specialized…

A study determines the effect of a six-day wilderness experience on self-concept, knowledge of and attitude toward the environment of twelfth grade students (n=61). Results indicate that changes in self-concept and environmental knowledge can occur from short-term wilderness experiences. (56 references) (MCO)

Information related to selecting, training, and certifying outdoor leaders for high adventure pursuits, is provided by selected experts from five English-speaking nations (Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States). Patterns of differences and similarities among these nations regarding outdoor leadership components and…