Pitfalls to Avoid in Adventure Education Outcome Research

There has been much consensus that adventure education needs more theory building and theory testing, yet the meth­odological problems associated with much of the empirical and quantitative research are making this a daunting task. Future . research endeavors should (a) make com­parisons t}lat make sense, (b) use random assignment to experimental and con­trol/comparison groups, (c) use and report appropriate statistical procedures, ( d) take care to assess validity of research instru­ments for populations under study, (e) be willing to openly discuss project biases and limitations

Developing Life Skills Through Adventure Education: A Qualitative Study

In an attempt to understand the process of learning during a longer duration adventure edu­cation program, students in Broadreach were interviewed after participating in a three week long sail and dive-training program. In addition to sail and dive training, the Broadreach pro­gram focuses on leadership and personal devel­opment through experiential methodology

Promising Practices for Creating More Diverse, Equitable, Inclusive, and Racially Just Summertime Programs and Camps

LGBTQ+, racial/ethnic minorities, youth from low-income contexts, and youth with cognitive and/or physical disabilities often face constraints to access and participation based on social and structural inequality. Understanding access and inclusion in summertime recreation program and camp settings for LGBTQ+, racial/ethnic minorities, individuals from low-income contexts, and individuals with disabilities begins with examining promising practices and policies already applied in some of these settings. The purpose of this study is to compile current promising practices implemented by youth-serving summertime recreation programs and camps recognized for their work in diversity, equity, inclusion, and racial justice (DEIRJ). Representatives from both national organizations and more localized summertime programs and camps were interviewed to compile current promising practices implemented in programs recognized for their work with DEIRJ. The results include general recommendations as well as recommendations aimed at populations of interest

The Effects of Intentional Recreation Programming on Internalization of Type 1 Diabetes Management among Adolescents

This study, with the help of the Utah Association of Diabetes Educators, attempted to determine the effectiveness of using self-determination theory (SDT) at an adolescent diabetes camp to increase internalization of diabetes management. Existing evidence indicates that adolescents manage less than 20% of their diabetes, far less than needed (Anderson, 1985). Failure to manage and internalize behavior for regulating glycemic levels can lead to a number of very significant problems (Bryden, Peveler, Stein, Neil, Mayou & Dunger, 2001). This limited internalized behavior·may be explained by SDT. Self determination theory provides a basis for creating an autonomy supportive. environment while fostering competence; autonomy, and relatedness (Deci & Ryan, 2000)

Evaluating Short Term and Long Term Retention of Experiences Associated with an Interpretive School Field Trip

The strong evidence that an interpre­tive experience can promote initial knowl­edge retention sets up a more difficult ques­tion: how long do these students hold on to . this information? More precisely, what do the students remember one month or more after the initial treatment? Are these memo­ries associated with interpreter-derived pro­gram objectives or tertiary variables such as social or environmental factors? Can the memories from this experience impact a stu­dent\u27s attitude toward the resource site? These are questions that are looked at through this pilot study evaluating short term and long term retention of experiences associated with an interpretive school field trip

Predictors of Autonomy Support at Diabetes Summer Camp: A Self-Determination Theory Approach

Diabetes is considered to be one of the most psychologically and behaviorally demanding chronic illnesses facing adolescents (Cox & Gonder-Fredrick, 1992). To control the disease more effectively, adolescents must learn to undertake the management of their diabetes themselves (Mensing, et al., 2000; Ruggiero, et al., 1997). Self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) was used as a foundation to explore the mechanisms, within a summer camp, that led to increased perceptions of autonomy support. Research shows autonomy support to be a critical prerequisite for increased autonomous behavior. With over 350 specialty camps serving youth with diabetes (Diabetes Education and Camping Association, 2005), summer camp has long been considered an effective modality for youth with medical related issues to learn, grow, and deal with their illnesses (Winfree, Williams, & Powell, 2002). By using the active camping environment, diabetes camps, specifically, are an invaluable way for children with diabetes to gain skills in managing their disease ... (ADA, 2004, p. 131). However, little empirical evidence has been able to demonstrate how and why these benefits occur in camp settings. Data were collected from 66 campers participating in a 6-day diabetes summer camp located in the Sawtooth mountains of Idaho during 2004. An eight item researcher created instrument, The Activity Specific Autonomy Support Questionnaire (ASASQ), was created to provide insight into perceptions of autonomy support upon completion of camp activities. A two-level hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze the data. Level 1 consisted of experience predictors (group size, nature of competition, instructional approach, and activity type) and Level 2 consisted of participant predictors (age, sex, and diabetes duration). Finally, an exploratory analysis was conducted to determine possible cross-level interactions between experience and participant predictors

The Youth Relatedness Scale: Development of a New Evaluation Tool for Youth Programs

This paper examines a study to develop a reliable measure of relatedness that utilizes language appropriate for youth, is simple for staff to administer in a field-based setting, and is consistent with the Youth Outcomes Battery. Pilot instruments were distributed to three residential summer camps serving female and male campers between the ages 10-17. The results of this study indicate that the Youth Relatedness Scale is an easy-to-use measure that exhibits good evidence of internal consistency and shows good criterion evidence of validity for this population of youth. This study was a positive step towards providing a theoretically grounded, simple, and versatile measure that captures youth perceptions of relatedness and that youth program administrators can employ to evaluate their programs

The Importance of Trust in Outdoor Education: Exploring the Relationship between Trust in Outdoor Leaders and Developmental Outcomes

Recent studies have acknowledged the influence of the leader in the outdoor education process and have illuminated the need for strong interpersonal relationships between participants and leaders. Developing interpersonal trust is one among many ways that leaders can promote such positive interpersonal relationships between themselves and participants. Transdisciplinary literature suggests that trust in a leader can predict outcomes that are important to outdoor education. This study found a positive relationship between trust in outdoor leaders and the course outcomes of leadership development and outdoor skills development among students of National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) courses. Implications for program implementation and theory development are discussed

Predictors of Perceived Development on Courses from the National Outdoor Leadership School

The purpose of this study was to examine some of the potential mechanistic variables related to participant growth and development on courses at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). The NOLS Outcome Instrument (NOI) was a retrospective pretest posttest created to measure perceived gains in six universal course outcomes targeted by NOLS courses: Communication Skills, Leadership, Expedition Behavior, Judgment in the Outdoors, Outdoor Skills, and Environmental Awareness. Participant level predictors included age, sex, previous expedition experience, and sense of personal empowerment. Course level predictors included were course length, challenge level of the course terrain, group\u27s level of functioning, and the instructors\u27 rapport with the group. Data were analyzed using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM 6.0)

Factors Influencing Particpants\u27 Trust in Outdoor Organizations and Outdoor Leaders

Trust plays a critical role in the field of outdoor education. The building of trust among participants is a common goal of outdoor educators (Honchalk, 1982; Smith, Roland, Hanes, & Hoyt, 1992; Fox & Mick, 1996) and 1s believed to influence learning outcomes (Rotter, 1967). The absence of trust in one\u27s leader may result in unrealized goals and lack of productivity (Kramer & Cook, 2004 ). The purpose of the current study was to explore, through action research, how trust is established between consumers and outdoor organizations and between participants in outdoor programs and their outdoor leaders. The identification of possible determinants of trust benefits both practitioner and organization by providing a list of positive and negative behaviors that may influence both interpersonal and organizational trust development and retention