Staff burnout is a major hazard in outdoor wilderness education programs. Most susceptible are younger, first-time, idealistic, highly educated, overcommitted individuals who find difficulty in separating work from their private lives. Symptoms of burnout include decreasing concern, commitment, and enthusiasm; minimizing physical involvement with…

A Winter Weekend experiential learning seminar was organized in 1980 by 13 graduate assistants at the Northern Illinois University Taft Campus, for college outdoor education students to learn winter activities (sleigh rides, cross-country skiing, snow shoeing and snow shoe making, winter animal track and habitat identification, igloo building,…

Past recidivism studies on adventure/wilderness programs for delinquent youth have suffered from several problems: lack of uniform definition and interpretation of recidivism; varying lengths of study time; different follow-up periods; provincial or state variance in returns to Training School or incarceration in an adult system and in the process…

This proceedings contains 36 papers presented at the 25th Annual Conference of the Association for Experiential Education. Papers are: "The Woods and the Trees: Interpreting Experiential Education for Schools and a Greater Audience" (Joanna Allen, John Hutchinson); "Adventure Programming & Prevention of Adolescent Problem…

This book aims to introduce teachers and other educational practitioners to the concepts, operating principles, and teaching strategies of the adventure in the classroom (AITC) model. Adventure involves more than equipment, risk taking, or the outdoors. Adventure is a matter of significance, support, stimulation, and satisfaction--characteristics…

This conference proceedings includes 24 papers about outdoor educational and recreational programs, program planning, instructional techniques, educational strategies, leadership skills, and program outcomes. Entries are: (1) Opening Session: "Out of Our Corsets and into the Woods: A Fun Look at the History of Women Adventurers" (Denise…

Urges an adventure filled, experientially based systems approach to environmental education. Says cannot afford linear, piecemeal approaches to either the processes of life or the processes of living, that the challenge is to see the whole system and to learn to act in ways that maintain that wholeness. (Author)

Reviews research on outcomes of Outdoor Management Development (OMD). Presents the first part of a study in which 12 managers and consultants in OMD programs in large British and Australian companies were interviewed to determine how OMD works. Three broad themes were identified: learning environment, personal insights and outcomes, and emotional…

Describes overt and latent gender conflicts in an adventure education program at a small southwestern college. Analyzes dynamics within the program, drawing on feminist application of social construction theory, the theory of gender differences in moral development, and a feminist critique of dualistic hierarchical thinking. Discusses implications…

Case study of implementation of the Project Adventure curriculum in the physical education programs at two urban alternative elementary schools focuses on perceptions of two physical education teachers. Discusses teachers' goals and practices related to developing student self-esteem, social skills, responsibility, enjoyment of learning, cognitive…

A study examined an adventure education program's impact on college students' learning and overall university experience. Focus groups conducted with 14 college freshmen in a learning community program indicated that the adventure education program enhanced connections between students, faculty, and the university; promoted experiential learning…

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.…

Reviews research related to the impact of outdoor adventure programs designed to reduce the criminal behavior of young persons. Suggests that a lack of specific cognitive skills predispose individuals to engage in criminal behavior and that a rational for adventure-based interventions should address such deficits as lack of interpersonal…

For 30 years, Project Adventure (PA) has created adventure education programs that help participants face their fears, understand how others feel, and build creative group process. School-based PA programs help students take responsibility for their own behavior, while PA techniques are widely used in adventure programs for at-risk and adjudicated…

Describes four exemplary rural youth programs that succeed despite the common lack of transportation and leadership in rural areas. An Alabama church-based program, a Nevada program on an American Indian reservation, and a school-based network in Vermont all offer summer and after-school programs for elementary and secondary students. Texas…