Learning leadership in outdoor education: Effects of feedback

There is paucity of knowledge regarding learning outcomes from outdoor leadership training courses. The aim of this pilot study was to examine progress in perceived leadership skills after a six-month outdoor education course, and to examine the effect of systematic feedback from fellow students. Seventeen students were randomized into intervention and control groups and participated in six outdoor excursions during which they took leader roles. The intervention consisted of systematic use of feedback from fellow students. To assess the progress in students’ perceived outdoor leadership skills, the students answered a questionnaire covering four categories of leadership both before and after the course. Significant progress in perceived outdoor leadership was found for all students after the six-month course. Systematic feedback from fellow students did not seem to enhance students’ perceived outdoor leadership skills. The reasons could be that the feedback was not given in the actual situations or that the student feedback was not valued. Feedback from teachers and from nature (self-experience) were found to be important for strengthening perceived leadership skills.

Navigating Tensions Associated with Smartphone Use in Outdoor Recreation Settings

Smartphones are increasingly appearing in outdoor recreation settings despite controversy surrounding their appropriateness. This study examined the perceptions of eight instructors of an outdoor leadership development program regarding appropriate and inappropriate smartphone use, tensions and boundaries that arise during outdoor activities, and how those tensions are navigated. Results indicate that instructors often welcomed smartphones for photography, navigation, and limited communication. In addition to travel and down time, instructors allowed those who participated in program activities to use smartphones during main activities so long as it did not interfere with program goals, distract others, or present safety concerns, even in high-risk and back-country areas. When uses were deemed inappropriate, reminders of established policies, increased communication, and social policing by other group members often resolved concerns.

The Back-to-Nature Crowd

By the 1960s and 1970s, generational dynamics and modern environmentalism fostered new camping experiences that led away from amenity-rich and resource-heavy family campgrounds. Youth who came of age in this era shaped new forms of camping to support interests in self-discovery, countercultural values, and environmental awareness. Organizers and participants of the National Outdoor Leadership School, launched in 1965, began to link backcountry camping with countercultural mindsets, personal freedom, and connection with nature. In so doing they experimented with new social contracts in microcosm, and after 1970 increasingly began to align their mission with environmentalist agendas. Echoing the popular belief that the personal is political, many began to embrace specific forms of camping like backpacking as a way of expressing their identity and viewpoints. The new popularity of minimum-impact forms of camping in turn generated a growing market for high-tech outdoor gear intended to enhance experience and advance conservation.

School leaders' perceptions of Missouri's outdoor leadership experience

Training school administrators to be more effective leaders through Missouri's Outdoor Leadership Experience is a unique concept that has been in place since 1987. Many other fields have used outdoor experiences for leadership training. This qualitative study discusses participants' perceptions of their experience and how it has impacted their leadership moving forward. Analysis of data was based upon Mezirow's Transformative Learning Theory and recommendations for future design of the program were made.

Rethinking Research Sites as Wilderness Activity Sites

ABSTRACTField research requires careful preparation so as to protect the integrity of archaeological studies and ensure the health and wellness of our students and field crews. In this special issue, we hope to lay a foundation for securing health and wellness as elements of the ethical practice of archaeology fieldwork through discussions of common hazards and tools to prevent, prepare for, and address safety incidents in the field. Even as archaeology and other field sciences grapple with serious safety concerns such as sexual harassment and mental health, it can be tempting to view field sites as extensions of the classroom or office. But field research can be a high-risk endeavor where we are exposed to a range of hazards not typically encountered in a traditional learning or work environment. We reach across disciplinary boundaries toward outdoor leadership and backcountry medicine to introduce the concept of wilderness context to describe the remote—and not-so-remote—locations and conditions common to archaeology field research. These are places where small or unanticipated problems can quickly become serious incidents. By rethinking research sites as wilderness activity sites, we highlight how methodical preparation can help us craft more robust and ethical health and safety practices for all members of our teams.

Women's adventure guiding experiences: challenges and opportunities.

This chapter builds on the outdoor leadership and adventure tourism literature by exploring recent empirical findings regarding the psychological experiences of women adventure tourism guides. These findings are then discussed with a particular focus on the challenges and implications for tour operators. To support this discussion, case studies are provided to illustrate how operators can adopt a wellbeing lens to harness tourism's potential to advance gender equality and women's empowerment.