A monograph examines the role of risk and risk management in experiential education, particularly stress/challenge programming. Definitions of risk are presented. The importance of risk and stress in experiential education is emphasized. Implications of subjective versus objective risk assessment in adventure education are discussed, with…

Data from five outdoor education programs in the United States and Australia indicate relatively low injury and illness rates and suggest a need to focus on hygiene practices and the prevention of athletic injuries. Documenting and analyzing injuries, illnesses, and "near misses" can enhance the safety of outdoor education programs.…

This chapter examines questions about the nature of experiential learning and how the experiential process can be applied in the classroom. Experiential learning may be viewed as a continuum that ranges from passive students receiving transmitted knowledge to active students deeply involved in generating knowledge from their own experiences. The…

Focusing on the Outdoor Leader Basic Training Program, a major component of the Wilderness Encounter Training and Certification Project developed in Virginia to serve adjudicated youth, this document outlines the Leadership Certification process for Wilderness Encounter Programs. First is an overview of wilderness programing and the need for a…

Adventure education seeks to promote individual growth and development through the purposeful planning and implementation of educational processes that include risk in some way. This book introduces major topics in the broad literature of adventure education by bringing together 53 writings of adventure education practitioners. The writings are…

A college student orientation program is described which incorporates outdoor adventure activities. The purpose of the program is to challenge the participants and encourage cooperation between individuals. The two general categories of adventure activities used in this program are low risk (initiative games, nature walks, camping, and nature…

In adventure education, risk is important to achieving program objectives. An increased concern with legal liability and the concentration of media attention on negative outcomes have contributed to an increased social aversion to risk. Adventure education must establish that risk leads to personal growth and can be managed constructively in the…

The major resource for instructors in training for the Earlham College Wilderness Program, this manual covers the philosophy, academics, teaching methodology, and logistics of the program. It is designed as a field manual for the month-long programs (either mountaineering or canoeing) offered to Earlham students and contains information most…

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…

Six tests were given to the entire sophomore class (120 males, 104 females) at a suburban school north of Boston before and after particiaption in the Project Adventure physical education program, some goals of which were the development of students' self confidence, improved self-concepts, ability to take physical, emotional, and social risks,…

For the second year of Project Adventure, an Outward Bound-type physical education program based at Hamilton-Wenham Regional School north of Boston, a battery of 6 tests was administered to the entire sophomore class (123 males and 108 females) before and after the program. Second year results indicated significant, positive changes in…

Reports a study of third- and fifth-grade students' perceptions of their physical education programs at two urban alternative schools. The students highlighted goals such as cooperating with others, challenging themselves, and taking risks. They reported several success factors, especially trusting each other, problem solving, attitudes toward…

The Colorado Outward Bound School (COBS) provides successful adjunct programs for special populations undergoing therapy at the Adventure Home (Boulder, CO), the Juvenile Justice Program and the St. Luke's Hospital Alcoholism Recovery Unit (Denver, CO), and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Department of Psychiatry (Hanover, NH). The goals of…

Adventure is the most dynamic form of education currently available and as such should move from its peripheral position in British education to become a part of the core curriculum. This move will require that school administrators better understand the philosophy and content of Adventure Education and that staff receive more rigorous training…