Discusses the forces driving increasing environmental problems, why these problems defy easy solution, and the role of experiential education in natural resource management issues. Discusses adaptations of experiential programming to lessen impacts on natural environments and to promote proenvironmental behaviors through awareness building,…

Forty Australian physical education student teachers participated in a weekend adventure education course that placed them outside their comfort zones and made them understand how less confident, lower-skilled students feel in physical education classes. Reflective writing exercises revealed participants' awareness of supportive environment, peer…

Relates a teacher's 1989 experiences at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center, using ropes courses as part of the Bon Tot volunteer program to prepare young Amerasian refugees for life in the United States. Describes the funding of basic needs, the camp site, personnel, and activities. Explains processing of activities and debriefings in terms…

A model of facilitating outdoor adventure groups that include people with and without disabilities is presented. Steps include developing a resource base, addressing personal attitudes and using appropriate language, obtaining information specific to client disabilities, designing individualized adaptations, implementing the program, and…

Educational programs that teach agricultural practices, health care, or technology in developing nations can be complemented by adventure education. Adventure education can foster the social skills that enable people to cooperate, take initiative, and solve problems, and thereby contribute to their country's development. Arguments against the…

The Youth Sport Trust developed a package of activities to support the teaching of outdoor and adventurous activities, integrated into the British national curriculum through physical education programs for preschool through secondary school age. Activity categories are physical challenges, trails, and orienteering. Teaching resources and their…

Much of the literature on experiential education tends to focus on adventure-based education, which is of limited use to school teachers. This article examines the dichotomy of traditional and experiential education as a launching point to discuss the roles of trust and risk in educational processes. We examine perspectives of student, educator,…

The facilitation of experiences through group discussion is well documented in adventure education literature. Using an ethnomethodological approach this article draws attention to how the leader in these facilitation sessions structures the discussions. It is argued that the current practice of facilitation based on verbal discussions conducted…

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…

The purpose of this study was to investigate participants' perceptions of an organized solo within a wilderness experience program and the influence that the instructors have on their perception of the solo. More specifically, this research project focused on the role of the instructor in the solo as perceived by the participants while still on…

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…

Historically, land-grant university research stations focused on demonstrating successful farming methods. The land-grant mission and the principles at its foundation have broad applicability, and we believe the land-grant principles can be successfully applied in urban settings to a university's work with youth and families. In this article we…

Based on techniques of experiential learning, outdoor education, and group counseling, adventure-based counseling aims to improve the self-concept of participants by enhancing trust in others and confidence in self. Groups move through a sequence of carefully orchestrated activities, including trust exercises, games, problem-solving exercises,…

This directory lists organizations actively involved in outdoor experiential education. Outdoor experiential education includes some or all of the following elements: (1) active involvement in solving outdoor problems; (2) verbal reflection following the experience; (3) introduction of a level of stress or challenge in completing the outdoor…

Out Doors Inc. is a community-managed mental health organization in Victoria (Australia) that provides psychosocial rehabilitation to adults with mental health needs through outdoor adventure and other recreation experiences. This paper focuses on Out Door Inc.'s Going Places Program. The program, which ranges from 1 day to 4 months, is based on…