This report presents data collected during 1989-90 for the Adventure Program Incident Reporting Project, a joint project between the Wilderness Risk Managers Committee and the Association for Experiential Education. The project provides a means to educate interested parties about the risk management implications of different adventure activities,…

This proceedings contains 16 papers on recreation and adventure programming, outdoor education, and outdoor leadership training. The papers are: (1) "Beyond Recreation: Our Classroom Is Wild America" (Barry Auskern); (2) "Outward Bound Leadership Model: An Exploratory Study of Leadership Variables" (Natalie L. Bartley); (3)…

Many outdoor educators and adventure therapists share the belief that adventure experiences improve participant self-esteem. Recently, researchers have begun to question this widespread belief, suggesting that a mismatch between the level of physical or psychological risk and the level of client readiness may produce negative outcomes. A study of…

The use of adventure based education is a new and relatively unresearched but apparently successful practice in the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents. Courses offered by schools, state social service systems, juvenile courts, youth service bureaus, and other agencies are generally patterned after the standard Outward Bound course and involve…

Adventure education is filled with "doers," which improves practice but does not necessarily enhance theory. This book addresses that gap by examining the philosophy of adventure education. Chapter 1 examines foundational principles, which have their roots in the ideas of philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, and Dewey, and…

Outdoor adventure education is an experiential method of learning which takes place primarily through sensory involvement with the outdoors. Characteristics of adventure education include uncertain outcomes, risk, inescapable consequences, energetic action, and willingness to participate. Adventure education occurs in a diversity of venues,…

Reviews "Quality Work with Young People" (John Huskins, 1996) and other writings of the 1990s concerned with outdoor adventure education, youth work, "risk," and risk management. Compares these works with those of the 1970s. Criticizes deterministic trends in adventure education "interventions" and the present-day…

In recent years there has been a growing call for introspective examinations to uncover the unquestioned assumptions that ground our areas of study. In this paper, we reflectively examine one area of leisure studies--challenge (ropes) courses. By revealing the assumptions that shape practice and research in this field, we also reveal hidden biases…

Challenge course participation is becoming increasingly recognized as an alternative intervention for improving group functioning. A preliminary investigation of challenge course participation among students who later participated in an experiential training group as part of a graduate-level group counseling course is discussed. Findings indicated…

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…

The School of Physical Education at Chichester Institute (England) has developed an outdoor and adventurous activities (OAA) program that trains teachers to optimize the full potential of the outdoors as classroom. The philosophy underpinning the OAA program challenges the traditional view that exposure to adventure necessarily results in…

A European conference convened 90 participants from 14 countries to consider "other ways of learning," such as experiential methods and aesthetic-sensual perception, which have been marginalized by the overemphasis on instrumental rationality in our societies and schools. This proceedings presents 18 papers and paper abstracts on outdoor…

The Confidence Course is a program of physical activities which seeks to improve individual self-image and to develop initiative and resourcefulness while promoting feelings of trust and good will within a group. General guidelines and procedures include safety considerations as well as common sense in activity selection and a perspective of…

Discusses effective outdoor leadership as the key to successful adventure programs in camping. Emphasizes unique qualities of adventure tripping and required leadership skills and styles: activity/safety skills, organizational skills, instructional skills, group counseling skills, and experience-based judgment. Provides suggestions for selecting…

A study examining the effect of outdoor adventure experience on student self-concept surveyed 30 British secondary students in a 5-day residential outdoor course and a control group of 30 students. Self-concept scores of the experimental group rose during the course and 3 months later, while the control group showed no significant change. (TD)