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doi: 10.1177/105382590903200202pmid: N/A
Throughout time and across cultures, the relationship between Homo sapiens and the natural environment has played a central role in identifying and defining aspects of the realm of spirituality, wherein humans seek to make sense of the universe and find meaning in their own existence. Within outdoor recreation and experiential education (OREE) programs—implicitly or explicitly—the natural environment is a distinctive component of both leadership development and participation outcomes. Relationships among people, whether as individuals or within societies, exhibit myriad dichotomies, such as violent/peaceful or cruel/loving, that are more accurately arrayed as continuums ranging from predation through partnership and nullification through affirmation. Leadership philosophies mirror that arrangement. In similar fashion, the natural environment can be conceptualized in terms of its sacredness, ranging from primal (Nature, capitalized) through modern (nature, lower-case), while the realm of spirituality reflects cultural and personal attributes derived from the degree of sacredness. This paper integrates an existing model of societal/personal relationships and leadership philosophies within an overarching conception of Nature's sacredness and human spirituality, providing OREE professionals with a conceptually based but practical framework for self-assessing the level of congruence existing between the model's moral/ethical implications and the actual outcomes derived from their own organizations' philosophical positions and programmatic choices.
Eason, Allen; Colmant, Stephen; Winterowd, Carrie
doi: 10.1177/105382590903200203pmid: N/A
The purpose of this article is to examine the potential application of sweat rituals to group counseling, adventure therapy, and other forms of group work by describing a theoretical model for how sweat rituals work and presenting the results of a randomized comparative outcome study on the efficacy of sweat therapy. The theoretical model proposes five factors that reciprocally interact to produce the positive effects of sweat rituals: cultural priming, exercise, self-regulation, metaphorical and contextual elements, and interpersonal factors. To investigate efficacy, 85 university students were randomly assigned to either a sweat condition (group counseling in a sauna), or a non-sweat condition (group counseling in a standard office setting) for six weekly sessions. Measures included the Critical Incidents Questionnaire, Therapeutic Factor Inventory, Exercise Induced Feeling Inventory, and the Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale. Results indicated that participants in the sweat condition perceived a greater availability of therapeutic factors, especially for group cohesion and interpersonal learning, and had better attendance, less attrition, and reported sessions to be more useful. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
doi: 10.1177/105382590903200204pmid: N/A
This study is a qualitative analysis of student learning outcomes from an experiential multicultural education class at a public university. The class brought together students from diverse backgrounds and used adventure education methods to achieve multicultural education goals. The class combined adventure-based experiences from ropes courses or wilderness trips with community exploration assignments, papers, and class discussions on diversity issues. Students (n = 134) wrote a final reflective essay on the learning experiences from the class. The essays were analyzed using content analysis to assess key learning events and learning outcome themes. Results show positive outcomes in personal identity, group experience, diversity awareness, and prejudice reduction. Students also indicated transfer of learning to nonclassroom contexts. The study reports statistically significant relationships between specific experiential learning events and diversity outcomes.
Bonk, Robert J.; Simons, Lori N.; Scepansky, Timothy M.; Blank, Nancy B.; Berman, Elisa B.
doi: 10.1177/105382590903200205pmid: N/A
Because service-learning challenges participants to widen perspectives on social issues, we designed and assessed a multi-semester, multidisciplinary project with both academic and service objectives. In this project, undergraduate students developed a script and video centered on a board game designed to educate high-school students about their community, Chester, Pennsylvania. The script and video featured undergraduate students playing Chesteropoly, with deeded properties reflecting Chester's current community agencies, as well as business, educational, entertainment, and government groups from past and present days. Next, students enrolled in an educational-psychology independent-study class developed a content-knowledge test; this test, along with assessments of social skills and self-concept, was administered to local high-school students from this disadvantaged community. Undergraduate participants assessed experiences through reflection journals, surveys, and focus-group interviews. Overall, the types of outcomes that we observed for our high-school and undergraduate participants reflected development of civic values, improvement of academic learning, and self-motivation.
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