Title: The Effects of Adventure Education on AtRisk Populations and Group Cohesion
1The Effects of Adventure Education on At-Risk
Populations and Group Cohesion
- By Dave Lueck
- ESS 777
- Fall 2008
2Introduction
This project aimed to research the effects of
Adventure Education and similar programs on the
behavior of at-risk populations, as well as on
group cohesion. To that end, 10 Adventure
Education/at-risk articles and 3 Adventure
Education/group cohesion research articles were
reviewed. The following slides provide
definitions, results, limitations, conclusions,
suggestions for future research, and a
bibliography.
3Definitions
4Adventure education
- A variety of self-initiated activities utilizing
an interaction with the natural environment, that
contain elements of real or apparent danger, in
which the outcome, while uncertain, can be
influenced by the participant and the
circumstance. (Gilbertson, Bates, McLaughlin, and
Ewert 2006)
5Adventure education
- The branch of outdoor education concerned
primarily with interpersonal and intrapersonal
relationships uses activities that provide a
group or an individual with compelling tasks to
accomplish. These tasks often involve group
problem solving and personal challenge. (Priest
and Gass, 2005) - Direct, active, and engaging learning experiences
that involve the whole person and have real
consequences. (Prouty, Panicucci, and Collinson,
2007)
6Outdoor pursuits
- Activities which entail moving across natural
land and/or water resources by non-mechanized
means of travel. (Ford and Blanchard, 1993)
7At-Risk Youth
- Youth who, for various reasons, are not fitting
in with school or society. (They) live in a
negative environment and/or lack the skills and
values that help them become responsible members
of society. (Cross, 2002) - A group of individuals who are likely to need
intervention to avert potentially dangerous
circumstances. (Stumbo, 1999)
8Definitions (continued)
- Locus of Control Based on the theory that
suggests there are two poles of thought regarding
social expectancy. Internally oriented people
tend to believe that the choices they make will
have a impact on the outcome of a given
situation. Externally oriented people tend to
believe that the outcome of a given situation is
generally out of their control. (Lindsay and
Newberry, 2000) - Recidivism Repeated or habitual relapse, as
into crime. (Flexner and Hauck, 1996)
9Definitions (continued)
- Resiliency The capacity of those who are
exposed to identifiable risk factors to overcome
such risks and avoid negative outcomes such as
delinquency and behavioral problems,
psychological maladjustment, academic
difficulties, and physical complications.
(Bloemhoff, 2006) - Cohesion A dynamic process that is reflected in
the tendency for a group to stick together and
remain united in pursuit of its instrumental
objectives and/or for the satisfaction of member
affective needs. (Weinberg and Gould, 2007)
10Results
- Lindsay and Newberry (2000) found that low
elements challenge courses significantly
increased internal locus of control of youth from
residential care for at least three months. - Bloemhoff (2006) reported that at-risk adolescent
boys increased in resilience after completing a
high elements ropes course. - Cross (2002) found that a rock climbing program
decreased alienation and increased sense of
control in at-risk adolescents.
11Results (continued)
- Conley, Caldarella, and Young (2007) indicate
that at-risk middle and junior high school
students with internalizing behaviors improved
significantly in involvement, but less than half
of the students felt that they could take what
they learned back to the classroom. - Lipsey and Wilson (2000) reveal in a
meta-analysis that wilderness challenge programs
involving intense physical activity and
therapeutic enhancements reduce antisocial and
delinquent behavior.
12Results (continued)
- Autry (2001) found that a ropes course/hiking
program brought about positive gains for at-risk
adolescent girls in the areas of trust awareness,
sense of empowerment, teamwork, and recognition
of personal values. However, an inability to
take those values back to everyday life was
noted. - In a review of studies, Crompton and West (2001)
report that outdoor adventure programs enhance
self-concept and reduce recidivism in at-risk
youth.
13Results (continued)
- Edwards and Houghton (1998), after reviewing
literature concerning intentional change in
at-risk adolescents, conclude that many of them
participate in negative behaviors to establish
non-conforming reputations, which are often set
by fifth grade. Furthermore, they resist change
if it threatens there reputations. Outdoor and
adventure education can present such populations
with the appropriate time to effect change and
achieve goals in pro-social ways.
14Results (continued)
- Neill (2001) noted that an Outward Bound
Australia program led to enhanced personal
confidence, and improved social and leadership
skills in disadvantaged youth. - Bensoff and Glass (2002), Hatch and McCarthy
(2005), and Kugath (1997) all found that
adventure programs improve group cohesion for
adolescents, college student organizations, and
family groups.
15Limitations
- Crompton and West (2001) warn that many study
designs are weak, and studies are more likely to
be published if positive changes took place.
Therefore, individual studies may not be
representative of all research, and should be
viewed with caution. - Neill (2001) cautions that while the participants
in his study were disadvantaged, they were
actively involved in efforts to improve their
lives. Therefore, the programs capitalized on
their pre-set drive to improve their lives.
16Conclusions
- Adventure education and similar programs
positively affect various aspects of the lives of
at-risk youth, as evidenced by the
studies/meta-analyses of Autry (2001), Bloemhoff
(2006), Conley, Caldarella, and Young (2007),
Crompton and West (2001), Cross (2002), Lipsey
and Wilson (2000), Neill (2001), Lindsay and
Newberry (2000). - Adventure programs improve group cohesion,
according to Bensoff and Glass (2002), Hatch and
McCarthy (2005), and Kugath (1997).
17Conclusions
- Various types of programs, to include ropes
courses, low elements, Outward Bound, and outdoor
pursuits challenges produce significant results,
as shown by Autry (2001), Bloemhoff (2006), Cross
(2002), Lindsay and Newberry (2000), Lipsey and
Wilson (2000), and Neill (2001).
18Future research
- Because transfer of gains is an issue, study of
transfer methodology would be useful. - Study of the effects of different types of
follow-up intervention programs would help
practitioners foster long-term progress in the
behaviors of at-risk youth. - There appears to be a need for research that
examines ideas for extending the longevity of
challenge course gains in cohesion.
19Bibliography
Autry, C. E. (2001). Adventure therapy with
girls at-risk responses to outdoor experiential
activities. Therapeutic Recreation Journal,
35(4), 289-306. Attah, E.B. and Fischer, R.L.
(2001). City kids in the wilderness a
pilot-test of outward bound for foster care
group-home youth. The Journal of Experiential
Education, 24 (2), 109-117. Benshoff, J. and
Glass, J. (2002) Facilitating group cohesion
among adolescents through challenge course
experiences. The Journal of Experiential
Education, 25 (2), 268-277. Bloemhoff, H.J.
(2006) The effect of an adventure-based
recreation programme (ropes course) on the
development of resiliency in at-risk adolescent
boys confined to a rehabilitation centre. South
African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical
Education and Recreation, 28 (1), 1-11. Conley,
L., Caldarella, P., and Young, E. (2007).
Evaluation of a ropes course experience for
at-risk secondary school students. Journal of
Experiential Education, 30 (1), 21-35. Crompton,
J. and West, S. (2001) A review of the impact
of adventure programs on at-risk youth. Journal
of Park and Recreation Administration, 19 (2),
113-140. Cross, R. (2002). The effects of an
adventure education program on perceptions of
alienation and personal control among at-risk
adolescents. The Journal of Experiential
Education, 25(1), 247-254.
20Bibliography (continued)
Edwards, J., Gordon, S., and Houghton, S.
(1998). Effecting intentional change in
adventure programming for at-risk adolescents.
Perth, Australia Proceedings of the
International Adventure Therapy Conference.
(ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 424
068) Ford, P. and Blanchard, J. (1993) The
leadership and administration of outdoor
pursuits. USA Venture. Flexner, S. and Hauck,
L. (Eds.). (1996) Random house unabridged
dictionary. (2nd ed.) New York Random
House. Gilbertson, K., Bates, T., McLaughlin, T.,
and Ewert, A. (2006) Outdoor education
methods and strategies. Champaign, IL Human
Kinetics. Hatch, K.D. and McCarthy, C.J. (2005).
Exploration of challenge courses long-term
effects on members of college student
organizations. Journal of Experiential
Education, 27 (3), 245-264. Kugath, S. (1997)
The effects of family participation in an outdoor
adventure program. Proceedings of the
International Conference on Outdoor Recreation
and Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction
Service No. ED 417 050) Lindsay, J.F., Jr. and
Newberry, E.H. (2000) The impact of social
skills training and challenge course training on
locus of control of youth from residential care.
The Journal of Experiential Education, 23 (1),
39-42.
21Bibliography (continued)
- Lipsey, M.and Wilson, S. (2000). Wilderness
challenge programs for delinquent youth a
meta-analysis of outcome evaluations. Evaluation
and Program Planning, 23 (2000), 1-12. - Neill, J. (2001). The impact of outward bound
challenge courses on disadvantaged youth.
Colonial Foundation, 1-23. - Priest, S. and Gass, M. (2005) Effective
leadership in adventure programming. Champaign,
IL Human Kinetics. - Prouty, D., Panicucci, J., and Collinson, R.
(Eds.) (2007) Adventure education theory and
applications. Champaign, IL Human Kinetics. - Stumbo, N. (1999) Intervention activities for
at-risk youth. State College, PA Venture. - Weinberg, R. and Gould, D. (2007) Foundations
of sport and exercise psychology. Champaign, IL
Human Kinetics.