Given continued underrepresentation of nondominant populations in outdoor adventure education, there is a clear need to create more welcoming environments, increase equity in programs, and empower all participants to become agents of change. Many of the current practices used to create equitable outdoor adventure education experiences are specific…

Background: Working in an outdoor career with extensive travel and long hours away from home can pose challenges for practitioners. For women, motherhood can create constraints and impact one's career trajectory. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of motherhood on the career trajectory of women working in Adventure…

In 2003, the University of Utah and the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) completed a study that developed a risk management taxonomy in the outdoor adventure industry and assessed how different outdoor expeditionary programs (OEPs) managed risk (Szolosi, Sibthorp, Paisley, & Gookin, 2003). By unifying the language around risk, the…

Outdoor recreation and adventure tourism are overlapping industries serving similar clientele. While descriptive marketing research exists for both industries (George Washington University School of Business [GW], Adventure Travel Trade Association [ATTA], & Xola Consulting [XC], 2010; Outdoor Foundation [OF], 2014), there is no clear…

This article discusses the meanings of adventure and its role in learning. An analysis of literature from the fields of education, recreation and tourism suggests that definitions of adventure are constantly undergoing reinterpretation. We highlight how "narrow" views of adventure, which appeal to notions of risk and danger, are…

Background: One of the core environmental studies learning objectives at NOLS is for students to develop a "sense of place" by experiencing wilderness and exploring relationships with their surroundings. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore how students report developing a sense of place after completing a course based out…

This article focuses on the development of an educational outdoor adventure mobile app while presenting findings that were derived from various case studies that we conducted using it. The mobile application, called RouteQuizer, is complemented by a web application and a database, forming a system that enables teachers to create educational…

In an attempt to counter what the author perceived as a loss of student-led learning experiences, she began looking for examples of where play--kids tinkering and experimenting with materials and content or engaging in other hands-on, experiential learning opportunities freely--was still encouraged in schools. During that search, she learned that…

Background: Adventure experiences offer opportunities to improve resilience by exposure to controlled challenging situations. While previous studies have shown improvements in resilience, they have often lacked matched control groups, relied on a single measure of resilience, and had limited longitudinal follow-up. Purpose: This research assessed…

This paper aims to contribute to on-going discussion about the teaching and learning strategies used in effective outdoor education programmes. A naturalistic inquiry was conducted with two schools that participated in 28-day outdoor education programmes facilitated by the same outdoor provider in Australia. Data were collected through five…

Introduction: Many studies in physical education (PE) have sought to identify and categorize the modes of student interaction in order to gain greater insight into the nature of cooperative activity. More others recent studies have examined how modes of interaction evolve on the basis of the modes of collective activity that they generate. These…

This article explores the influential role of planning on recognition-primed decision-making. Considerable prior thinking occurs and there is a need to trace and account for the cognitive processes that precede and guide decisions in dynamic outdoor environments. Seven expert leaders from four countries were interviewed about memorable decisions…

Evidence-based programming and the importance of research has gained attention among outdoor and adventure-based programs in recent years (Sibthorp, 2009) regardless of the challenges that often accompany this type of investigation (Bialeschki, Henderson, Hickerson, & Browne, 2012). Programs must often develop their own evaluation instruments,…

Background: Physical education has a long association with teaching outdoor and/or adventure education (OAE). As physical education teacher educators, with a special interest in teaching OAE, we wanted to examine perceptions of models based practices in physical education/teacher education. Purpose: This manuscript; explores and critiques a range…

Outdoor adventure education programs often feature common elements, such as backcountry settings, small group sizes, and different levels of challenges. A mandatory outdoor experience program (MOEP), offered at a Canadian university for nearly 50 years, involved a three- to four-day wilderness canoe excursion. Research related to outdoor…