Analyzes present trends in accidents occurring among groups engaged in outdoor or environmental education in England and Wales. Assesses the causes of the accidents and the qualifications of the group leaders. Provides statistics and examples of several incidents. Emphasizes the need for expert leadership to avoid hazards. Contains several tables…

Reviews theories of leadership development relevant to the design of outdoor adventure programs for corporate executives and managers. Summarizes likely objectives and methods of outdoor development programs and their theoretical basis. Presents a framework for program comparison that correlates leadership outcomes with learning methods at…

Summarizes theories of group development encompassing the stages of orientation, conflict, integration, achievement, and breakup. Relates group development stages to leadership styles and the leader's relative concern for dimensions of task and relationship. Applies the five-stage model of group development to the progress of groups involved in…

Discusses the need for women-only outdoor programs as an alternative to mixed programs, socialization and stereotyping of gender roles and behavior in society, and barriers to outdoor participation for women. Describes some women-only outdoor programs and their benefits and disadvantages. Provides recommendations concerning program design and…

Outdoor leaders with sound judgment can gather many specific experiences, induce them into a collection of general concepts, store these as memory maps in the mind, later recall the general concepts as needed, and deduce a specific prediction from them. Proposes that evaluative reflection after a judgment is made is the component missing from most…

Outdoor leaders need counseling skills to deal with interpersonal conflicts that arise within a group and to facilitate participant growth and change. Person-centered counseling, reality therapy counseling, and behavioral counseling are discussed, as well as how various techniques from each can be used to the benefit of the leader and the group.…

Too much excitement leads to anxiety, resulting in the impetus to reduce stimuli. Adventure experience leaders, in their enthusiasm for challenge and self-discovery through adventure, may ignore those clients who exist in a state of anxiety. This warning is particularly salient in regards to captive populations, such as a school group in a…

Making errors can be a salutary learning experience. The problem in outdoor adventure education is to protect the error makers from real harm, which requires careful structuring of the learning situation. Discusses error limits, how much error correction is appropriate, involving participants in decision making, video playback and debriefing…

Discusses issues in informal outdoor education offered by youth programs and social agencies: redefining the outdoors, need for follow-up and continuity, need for interpersonal skills and knowledge of group dynamics as well as technical training, benefits of a team approach, and benefits of engaging in other activities with clients. Contains 29…

Teaching novice kayakers only the biomechanics of a roll and other "closed" (nonadaptable) skills does not create opportunities for flexible skill development. A wider approach teaches support strokes and rolls by focusing on "open" skills that can be transferred or adapted to any situation, including emergency decision making,…

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.…

A British project found that appropriate training in map skills enabled children and adults with mild mental retardation to complete a white color-coded orienteering course with minimal assistance but that persons with moderate mental retardation required more assistance and instruction time to complete course objectives. Describes approaches to…

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…

Overviews philosophies related to the principles of adventure education and stresses the need to create a theory of adventure education in which concepts such as enchantment, happiness, awareness, and the mystical are central; the natural world is included; concepts are created that stay true to the essence of adventure education; and thought and…

Uses statements in adventure education brochures to indicate assumptions in the field of adventure education. Points out discrepancies between these assumptions and actual practice. Examines assumptions that adventure education promotes personal growth, that learning from adventure experiences transfers to other areas, and that adventure education…