Summary DEVELOPING A PROPOSAL FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ADVENTURE EDUCATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

CHAPTER I PROJECT OVERVIEW One of the most thorough descriptions of a current Adventure Education program comes from Plymouth State University as it describes introducing children, adults and atrisk populations to challenging adventures, personal growth, and self-discovery. Typical Adventure Education programs include in-class work, internships and field experiences to explore the theories, philosophy, history, ethics, and risk management strategies to prepare for careers and life after college. Graduates are qualified to pursue careers in outdoor/adventure leadership, group facilitation, outdoor/adventure education, state and national park office positions, therapeutic adventure, and environmental education (Plymouth State University, 2018). If this description sounds familiar, it should. The themes of Adventure Education can be seen in part at many different institutions as "Outdoor Education," "Wilderness Education," "Adventure Education," "Outdoor Recreation," and "Therapeutic Adventure Recreation," which all contain components of an Adventure Education program. However, being as fractured (read: versatile) as it is, there is no singular description of what an Adventure Education program should look like. Given the lack of established standards and curricula, better information on Adventure Program benefits and best practices in programming is needed. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to develop an evidence-based proposal and implementation 2 guide for an Adventure Education program using existing programs and currents practices as a success strategy. Background Literature Of more than 3,000 four-year, degree-granting institutions in the United States, fewer than 20 have an Outdoor Education program. Still fewer specifically offer an Adventure Education major, minor, or concentration (, 2017). However, several universities offer programs such as Wilderness Education, Outdoor Education, Outdoor Experiential Education, or Outdoor Leadership with similar curricula and purpose. As more adventure activity opportunities arise, there is a need for professionals who can navigate the technical aspects of these activities safely to help individuals and groups develop positive life skills. The experiential-style of learning in Adventure Education has many cognitive benefits, promotes healthy physical activity levels, and the intangible outcomes of character development are important for personal and lifelong growth (Estes, 2004). This research project is significant because the resulting findings can be used to substantially improve the ability of universities to access and implement a comprehensive, evidence-based, and effective Adventure Education program. Trends in Adventure Education An undergraduate degree in Adventure Education prepares students to effectively use the outdoors to expose children, adults and at-risk populations to challenging adventures, personal growth and group facilitation. The need for professionals in the field of Adventure Education grows every year. In 2013, it was reported that nearly half of all Americans participated in some type of outdoor activity (nearly 142 million people). The 3 activities, their prevalence, and participation has been steadily increasing in popular culture. Among adults who took outdoor education courses at some point in their lifetime 75% still remain active in outdoor activities (Nguyen, 2014). This sets an impressive precedent of keeping people active and engaged in outdoor activities. As with many academic programs the main focus is on life-skills after graduation (Ewert, Sibthorp, & Sibthorp, 2014). Adventure Education degrees prepare students not only for a variety of careers, but for developing the positive character traits that are invaluable to any profession as the following literature review illustrates. Adventure Education students exhibited three main areas of preparation that stand out among the rest of the college students when examined by professional career recruiters: experience, interview skills, and job awareness (D’Eloia & Fulthorp, 2016). In Adventure Education moving is essential to the curriculum. In this way it actively promotes experiencing the material education hands-on and aids in keeping students as active as possible. This is important because there are growing concerns over college students’ need for more physical activity. In a 2005 study, researchers discovered that 40-50% of college students were inactive and not meeting American Health Association’s recommended guidelines for activity (Keating, Guan, Piñero, & Bridges, 2005). Adventure Education addresses the concerns of keeping college students physically active as much as possible by employing experiential learning teaching techniques. Simultaneously, Adventure Education also teaches intangible qualities in self-confidence, self-respect, integrity, and humility (Mortlock, 1994). Each of these is important for improving quality of life after graduation. 4 An empirical review of literature pertaining to Adventure Education revealed a major focus on the psychology of Adventure Education, but also revealed no two Adventure Education programs are the same (Moote & Wodarski, 1997). The differences in program setting, population, curriculum components, leadership involvement, and use of framing techniques across the 19 studies made it extremely difficult to compare one program to another. This has made evaluation and comparing outcomes across programs nearly impossible. It was therefore important to identify critical components of the Adventure Education curriculum before beginning to compare program outcomes. As more program proposals are being considered, my intent is to create a chart of this information for existing Adventure Education programs which will be vital to synchronizing the field of Adventure Education. Adventure Education Program Model Priest and Gass (2005) provide the most comprehensive description of how Adventure Education works from foundational theories in Sociology, Psychology, and History, up through Technical Skills, then on to Instructional and Communication Skills, and finally peaking at Facilitation Skills and Decision-making Skills. The model can be taken one step further by aligning Adventure Education with the mission of a university by creating several co-curricular courses (especially in the early stages with Sociology, Psychology, and History). This model provides an outline for the implementation of Adventure Education course work into the curriculum by identifying the basic, foundational courses and how-to phase-in the upper-level courses. 5 The review of current literature provides a framework for this study by offering a compelling rationale (background) for the many benefits of an Adventure Education program. The literature supports the health and mental benefits such as engaging in physical activity, reducing stress, developing positive character traits, and learning career skills. However, there is no literature to guide the development and implementation of an Adventure Education program. Thus, the benefits of this study extend beyond my institution, by providing a guiding framework and consistent processes for developing Adventure Education programs that reach a greater student population, and lead to a lifetime of positive change. Purpose Statement The purpose of this project was to develop a proposal and implementation guide for an Adventure Education program. The expected outcome is an implementation guide that provides consistency and accessibility to administrators, and outlines the benefits for students and the curricular offerings. Specific Aim #1: Identify the scope and sequence of common curriculum components across existing programs in Adventure Education. Specific Aim #2: Identify the need, demand and feasibility of implementation of Adventure Education at Home University. Methods To address the purpose and aims, a mixed methods approach was used. This included research into existing literature for the rationale; data collection from existing Adventure Education programs; a survey of current students’ attitudes towards Adventure 6 Education; interviews of Home University administrators; and a survey of Adventure Education program administrators. Participants Existing Adventure Education Programs. Institutions offering Adventure Education were identified using public websites. Fifteen schools were identified and included in the program chart used to describe current Adventure Education curricula. My objective was to use this information to develop a comprehensive outline of the current state of Adventure Ed. in the U.S. by providing an overview of current schools. Information was gathered from publicly available aggregation websites such as The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and CollegeB as well as the individual school's public website and combined into a comprehensive report. Six schools were <1000 students, six were , three were >5000. The Program information (courses, travel requirements, internships, service-learning) also was available to the general public. Students. Survey participants were undergraduate students at Home University across a variety of majors, enrolled in PE 101 Personal Health and Wellness (n = 211). PE 101 was chosen because it is primarily Freshman (62%) and gender is mixed. Students represented a variety of majors as PE 101 is a university requirement regardless of major. The students also represent a cross-section of Home University Students from all areas of the United States (75% North Carolina residents) and a variety of ethnic backgrounds (34% minority). Ten courses of 25 students each were surveyed to receive the 211 responses (94%). The sample was more than 60% freshman and 67% females