This essay presents a theoretical model for the heretofore hidden processes associated with mechanisms of change in adventurous outdoor learning. After summarizing the few researchers who have investigated the components and pathways that bring participant change, four strands of influence are discussed: exercise activity, nature immersion,…

Adventure-based teaching can foster social and personal growth yet can scare and cause long-lasting anxiety in some group members. This study examined the effects of a simple distraction to lower stress levels during an approaching scary event. Forty-eight males (M = 20.2 years) were randomly assigned to one of four groups. The stressor involved…

This article considers the epistemological chain in adventure sports coaching through personal experiences of undergraduate adventure students using semi-structured interviews and qualitative thematic analysis. Findings showed many observable practices utilised by adventure sport coaches were epistemologically sophisticated. This included…

This paper is a duoethnography--a dialogic exploration of a person with a disability seeking to participate in outdoor adventure activities and that of an outdoor instructor helping to facilitate such learning experiences. Using dialogue, narrative, and photo elicitation, the authors discuss equitable and inclusive access to nature and outdoor…

We analyze how gender intersects with risk processes and practices in outdoor adventure education. Language, binary logic, and societal norms work together to gender risk and offer three ways that risk may be gendered in the context of outdoor adventure education courses with youth. First, hierarchical language and the gendering practices of…

This research is an autoethnographic account of teaching and learning during outdoor education experiences in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE). Through the process of writing as a method of inquiry, I use a framework of outdoor experiences that went wrong, to identify the symbiotic relationship between teaching and learning in outdoor…

Growth in the adventure sector has increased the demands on adventure sport professionals. Satisfying a diverse range of participatory motivations, however, requires an adaptable and flexible workforce. In this discursive paper, we suggested that a narrowing of service skills caused by commodification and sportification are compounded by general…

Today, outdoor therapies are practiced in many nations around the world, with a broad diversity of philosophies, theories, methods, functions, and formats (Norton et al., 2015). The field of therapy within the outdoors has been much discussed and debated within the experiential profession (Itin, 1998). The disputes and deliberations have centred…

Given the socio-environmental crises we face, educators might advisably look for means to address them. Within U.S. outdoor adventure education (OAE), the moral educational potential of the "backcountry fast" is one such curricular area. However, little is written on this field-based tradition. This absence is concerning since fasts…

Sea kayaking may be best understood through the insights and knowledge of people whose ancestors kayaked for survival. Greenland Camp, held over several days in late summer, is a kayaking event that draws paddlers from around the world to reconnect with one another and learn age-old and advanced skills of the Arctic's Inuit. Greenland Camp is a…

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between dominant brain areas, alexithymia and risk-taking behavior levels of nature and adventure recreation participants. The study was carried out on 652 outdoor adventure recreation participants in different categories (air, land, water) between the years 2016--2017. After meeting…

Adventurous activities are established as an integral aspect of The National Curriculum for 5-16-year-olds. Securing a place in the curriculum provides adventurous activities with an unparalleled opportunity to reach more pupils than any other form of delivery during these formative years. However, little consideration has been given to…

Adventure has outgrown its use as a metaphor and motive for educational journeys into the cultural outdoors. Self-reliance cannot counter the mechanisation of everyday life. "Adventure" is produced and serviced by the very people who felt its worth to their own individualisation and now advance its professionalisation for their own…

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…

Research on individuals' experiences engaging in outdoor education programs suggests participants are impacted in a number of ways. This study investigated the impact of participation in a wilderness education course on undergraduates' experiences with public service. This study asked the research question, what is the impact of an Outward Bound…