The most recent figures place the number of juvenile arrests in the United States at 2.11 million. (OJJDP, 2009). In some states, children as young as 10 years old are incarcerated for violent offenses. Crowded juvenile facilities are often unable to meet the needs of these large numbers of youth. The cost to treat offenders within long-term…

What exactly is an "outdoor orientation program?" First offered in the United States in the 1930s by Dartmouth College, outdoor orientation programs (OOPs) use adventure programming to help incoming students adjust to university or college. Typically, these programs are conducted in a wilderness or backcountry setting, are several days…

There is considerable international interest in the value of residential fieldwork for school students. In the UK, pressures on curriculum time, rising costs and heightened concern over students' safety are curtailing residential experiences. Collaboration between several key fieldwork providers across the UK created an extensive programme of…

Adventure therapy (AT) and the use of activities and outdoor experiences for educational and therapeutic purposes have a long and rich history. In recent years, the popularity and use of adventure programs in schools, clinical treatment facilities, and various other settings has increased. This increased use of AT in a therapeutic context has…

This study reports the results of a meta-analysis of 44 studies that examined the impacts of participation in challenge (ropes) course activities. Overall, a medium standardized mean difference effect size was found (d = 0.43). Effect sizes were calculated for various study characteristics, including demographics and outcome. Higher effects were…

Outdoor education has been shaped historically and culturally by many influences. Physically challenging activities out of doors have been appropriated by a number of traditions. These include militaristic, educational and developmental ideologies. Arguably, central to these ideologies are heterosexual, white middle class values. While women have…

The purpose of this study was to explore a new framework for understanding group dynamics during a challenge course experience. Traditional views of group dynamics emphasize sequential stages of development, but these frameworks tend to neglect the emotional aspect of group dynamics. The group process usually includes an emotional experience, and…

This study examined the effects of an adventure orientation program on the student development behaviors of incoming first-year students at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. Student development was measured by a condensed version of the Student Development Task Inventory-2 (CSDTI-2; Gass, 1986; Winston, Miller, & Prince, 1979). Data…

There are a variety of curricular approaches in physical education, any one of which can provide a framework and scheme that is the foundation of a physical education unit of study. This article will discuss the use of an adventure model to teach about diversity, multi-cultural understanding and tolerance. Teaching children diversity and tolerance…

The GoNorth! Adventure Learning (AL) Series delivered educational programs about global climate change and sustainability from 2006 to 2010 via a hybrid-learning environment that included a curriculum designed with activities that worked in conjunction with the travels of Team GoNorth! as they dog sledded throughout the circumpolar Arctic. This…

This study explored the response of 28, second year undergraduate students to an innovative approach to a five-day solo. Periods of solitude are more likely to lead to positive outcomes when they are freely chosen than when they are programmed as part of a course. The extent to which a programmed solo can be "freely chosen" by the…

This article describes a four-credit semester program at Elliot Lake Secondary School in the late 1990s. This New Trails program is based around physical education and leadership, geography, Native studies, and English credits. The students are outside much of the time. The students become certified in the use of GPS and in map and compass work,…

The purpose of this article is to present the development of inclusive experiential education courses in the Czech Republic. The inclusion of people with disabilities (PWD) in recreation, sport, and education has become more prevalent in Czech society. This article describes the conceptual meaning of the term inclusion from both a historical and…

Supervision of therapeutic practice is one of the central professional elements of mental health practitioners. Supervision provides growth for therapists in their respective professional fields, more effective therapy for clients, and some measure of ethical protection for the welfare of clients and the public at large. However, therapists who…

Children have much to learn from the natural environment and from working in partnership with each other. This article explores the real-life challenges of encouraging creative adventurous play within the perceived confines of the primary curriculum. The author shares the story of a whole-school learning adventure and aims to remind us of the…