Adventure Education and SelfEsteem, Concept, Efficacy

1
Adventure Education and Self-Esteem, Concept,
Efficacy

• The Development of Self-Esteem, Concept, and
  Efficacy Through Adventure
• KHYL SIRCY
• ESS 777
• December 15, 2008

2
Introduction

• The importance of Self-Esteem
• The importance of Self-Efficacy
• The importance of Self-Concept
• The relationship of Adventure Education, and the
  above 3 areas of SELF

3
Important questions to ask

• Are schools responsible for improving areas of
  SELF in their students?
• Does participation in Adventure Education affect
  self-esteem?
• Does participation in Adventure Education affect
  self-concept?
• Does participation in Adventure Education affect
  self-efficacy?
• If so, how can we maximize these benefits?
• If not, should we continue to put money into
  these programs?

4
Key Definitions

• Adventure Education
• A group being put in a unique or novel setting,
  creating a sense of disequilibrium. Teaching the
  group in these situations about responsibility
  and decision making through movement. Students
  are held responsible for the decisions and
  outcomes of that group.
• Includes 7 stages of development
• 1. Acquaintance Activities 5. Trust Activities
• 2. Deinhibitizers 6. Low Rope Elements
• 3. Communication Activities 7. High Rope
  Elements
• 4. Problem-Solving Activities

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Key Definitions

• Outdoor Education
• Knowledge and skills associated with traveling
  through the natural environment without motorized
  transport. In addition, activities are usually
  non-competitive in nature. Can be on the face of
  a rock, under or over water, or through the air.

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Key Definitions

• Outdoor Pursuits
• Traveling through a natural environment with out
  motorized transport. Can be on the face of a
  rock, under or over water or through the air.

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Key Definitions

• Self-Esteem
• Refers to general feelings of self-worth and
  self-value.
• Self-Efficacy
• Belief in ones capacity to succeed at tasks.
• Self-Concept
• The nature and organization of beliefs about
  ones self.

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Adventure Education and Self-Esteem, Concept,
Efficacy

• Figuring out Self
• Self Awareness
• Self Discovery
• Self Knowledge
• Self Confrontation
• Evaluation of Self
• Self confidence
• Self assurance
• Self esteem
• Self respect
• Self worth
• Development of Self
• Self development
• personal development
• character training
• character building
• character development

• Current trends in Adventure Education include
  enhancing self-esteem, self-concept, and
  self-efficacy.
• Affective objectives associated with Adventure
  include the three main areas to the right

9
Research Studies

• Adventure Training Its Effect on
  Self-Actualization and Self-Perception of
  Personal Change
• The results of the POI, which measures the
  concept of self-actualization, reflected a
  significant increase as a result of the Project
  USE training.
• Data indicated that the Project USE courses
  resulted in high self-perception of personal
  change scores both statistically and
  descriptively.
• The participants themselves actually reported
  during the actual Project USE training that their
  self-perception of personal change had occurred
  and had a huge effect on their lives.

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Research Studies

• Self-Esteem Change and Mandatory Experiential
  Education
• The results indicate that the treatment groups
  had a positive effect of the self-esteem of the
  subjects, as well as males showing greater chance
  then females.
• The analysis of the dependent variable resulted
  in a finding of significant differences for all
  variables except the anxiety cluster.
• This study shows the obviousness of the overall
  self-esteem of the participants increased as well
  as the personal perception of physical self and
  popularity.

11
Research Studies

• Panacea or Poison? Building Self-Esteem through
  Adventure Experiences
• The objective of this adventure learning
  experience was to bring out greater personal
  awareness, the ability to allow group adventure
  learning as part of development in self-concept
  and self-esteem.
• Subjects automatically categorized themselves
  into observable subgroups these subgroups
  reported insecurity and feeling uncertain about
  their future.
• The results backup the belief that many adventure
  or outdoor educators share in the fact that the
  experience they provide improves self-esteem.

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Research Studies

• Team Building through Physical Challenges
• Variables such as honesty, general-self, and
  physical ability showed notably more improvement
  than other educational based variable such as
  academic ability, and mathematical ability which
  are much less related to the outcome and program
  goals.
• These results provide support for the notion of
  domain-specific self-concept and the design of an
  intervention that focused on particular aspects
  of self-concept.
• These results continue to prove the importance of
  Team Building, adventure education and outdoor
  pursuits as one will commonly run into different
  physical challenges throughout.

13
Research Studies

• Building Self-Esteem of Children and Adolescence
  through Adventure-Based Counseling
• Adventure based concepts are a viable method for
  promoting self-esteem as evident in this
  research.
• This process allowed students to increase their
  number of success experiences in life which is
  directly associated with higher levels of
  self-esteem and lower levels of anxiety.
• Results prove the success experiences facilitated
  by such activities can serve to enhance
  self-esteem through both prevention and
  intervention efforts for children and
  adolescents.

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Advantages of Adventure Education in relation to
Self-Esteem, Efficacy, and Concept

• Wilderness programs are designed to attack
  helplessness, passivity, and feelings of low
  worth (Miles, Kimball Bacon, 1993)
• Both males and females report increases in
  self-esteem through participation in adventure
  programs.
• Programs greatly benefited youths with various
  kinds of emotional, psychological, and behavioral
  problems (Davis Berman Berman, 1994)
• Positive increases in self concept of
  participants who had completed and outdoor
  adventure program (Gibson, 1979)
• Adventure Education can increase the self-esteem
  of elementary, middle, and high school students.
• Positive increases in self-esteem and personal
  self. (Wright, 1983)

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disadvantages of Adventure Education in relation
to Self-Esteem, Efficacy, and Concept

• Some Adventure Education can have high costs
• attached, unless awarded a grant most
  schools
• would not have the resources to fund such
  programs.
• Adventure Education is not well understood by all
  educators and can have negative effects if
  implemented incorrectly.
• Training for proper facilitation and instructions
  takes a lot of time and is very costly as well.
• LOOKING AT THE RESEARCH SIDE OF DISADVANTAGES
• Reliability and validity of studies researched
• Continual research and studies need to be in
  place to move forward with the continual change
  and advancement of education.

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References

• Denti, L. Liderbach-Vega, J. (1992). Bridging
  the Gap Between Regular and Special Education
  Adventure Based Counseling for students with
  Emotional Disturbances in Public Schools. (ERIC
  Documentation Reproduction Service No. 365083)
  Retrieved November 21, 2008, from ERIC database.
• Fines, L . Nichols, D. (1995, Spring).
  Self-concept, Attitude and Satisfaction Benefits
  of Outdoor Adventure Activities The Case for
  Recreational Kayaking. Volume 22, 2. Journal of
  Leisurability. Retrieved December 3, 2008, from
  ERIC database.
• Gibbons, L. (1999, May) Team Building Through
  Physical Challenges. (ERIC Documentation
  Reproduction Service No. 442616) Retrieved
  November 21, 2008.
• Kemp, T. (1998, January 1). Panacea or Poison?
  Building Self-Esteem through Adventure
  Experiences. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service
  No. ED424053) Retrieved November 2, 2008, from
  ERIC database.
• Kolb, D. (1988, January 1). Self-Esteem Change
  and Mandatory Experiential Education. Journal of
  Experiential Education, 11(3), 31. (ERIC Document
  Reproduction Service No. EJ387725) Retrieved
  November 7, 2009, from ERIC database.
• McRoberts, M. (1994, January 1). Self-Esteem in
  Young Offenders. Journal of Adventure Education
  and Outdoor Leadership, 11(4), 9. (ERIC Document
  Reproduction Service No. EJ505538) Retrieved
  November 24, 2008, from ERIC database.
• Nassar-McMillan, S., Cashwell, C. (1997,
  December). Building self-esteem of children and
  adolescents through adventure-based counseling.
  Journal of Humanistic Education Development,
  36(2), 59. Retrieved November 4, 2008, from
  Academic Search Premier database.

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References

• OConnell, T. (2001). Self-concept A Study of
  outdoor adventure education with adolescents.
  Unpublished doctoral dissertation, New York
  University.
• Swarbrick, N., Tutton, K. (2004, August).
  Self-esteem and successful interaction as part of
  the forest school project. Support for Learning,
  19(3), 142-146. Retrieved November 4, 2008, from
  EJS E-Journals database.
• Wick, D., Wick, J., Peterson, N. (1997,
  October). Improving Self-Esteem with Adlerian
  Adventure Therapy. Professional School
  Counseling, 1(1), 53-56. Retrieved October 18,
  2007, from Academic Search Premier database.
• Wright, A. (1982) The Effects of High Adventure
  Activities on Adolescent Self-Concept A
  Comparison of Situationally Specific Self-Concept
  Measurements. (ERIC Documentation Reproduction
  Service No. 021543) Retrieved November 25, 2008,
  From ERIC database.
• Wright, A. (1996) The Permanency of a Specific
  Self-Concept. (ERIC Documentation Reproduction
  Service No. 413131) Retrieved November 25, 2008,
  From ERIC database.
• Vogel, R. (1989, January 1). Adventure Training
  Its Effect on Self-Actualization and
  Self-Perception of Personal Change. Journal of
  Outdoor Education, 23, 20. (ERIC Document
  Reproduction Service No. EJ398221) Retrieved
  November 7, 2008, from ERIC database.