Adventure Education and Resilience Enhancement

Abstract

This study assessed the effect of an experiential, adventure-based program on levels of resilience in fifth-grade Latino students. A mixed methods, quasi-experimental design was used to measure the impact of the Santa Fe Mountain Center's Anti-Bullying Initiative on internal assets commonly associated with resilient individuals. Results indicated this adventure education program positively affected certain resilience traits, although concerns with research methodology are raised. Female students demonstrated greater gains than male students. Suggestions for practitioners include the following: clearly defining intended outcomes, developing a safe and supportive learning environment, establishing tools and strategies that students can use in a variety of settings, and connecting the adventure experience to the school or home setting. Future research could use a more recent and reliable survey, look at varying outcomes based on gender, and assess how levels of resilience correlate with improved educational and social outcomes.

Pilot evaluation of a resilience training program for people with multiple sclerosis.

“…Resilience. The 15-item Resilience Scale (RS-15; Neill & Dias, 2001) was used to assess resilience. Each positively-phrased item is scored on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = "disagree" to 7 = "agree") and asks participants about their ability to manage stressors (e.g., I usually take things in my stride).…”

“…Item scores are summed, with higher scores indicating higher resilience. The RS-15 is a short version of the original 25-item scale (Wagnild & Young, 1993), is a widely used measure of resilience (Windle et al, 2011), and has demonstrated good psychometric properties (Neill & Dias, 2001).…”

The Youth Adventure Programming Model

“…Gender is another important social dimension, and studies on this have shown mixed results (McKenzie, ; Sibthorp, ). While some studies have found females report better outcomes (Beightol, Jevertson, Carter, Gray, & Gass, ; McKenzie, ), others have found no gender differences (Ewert & Heywood, ; Glass & Benshoff, ). Importantly too, Hattie et al.…”

Connecting Social and Natural Ecologies Through a Curriculum of Giving for Student Wellbeing and Engagement

“…These and other positive psychology findings have provided inspiration for several school initiatives worldwide (Slemp et al, 2017), alhough a focus of many has often been on individual signature strengths (e.g., VIA Institute on Character, 2017), rather than, for example, on the underlying social concern or giving elements of these attributes. For example, promoting student strengths and positive emotions related to ‘strategic thinking’, ‘executing’, ‘influencing’ and ‘relationship building’ has been explored in outdoor adventure education (Passarelli, Hall, & Anderson, 2010), wisdom in service learning (Bailey & Russell, 2010), and resilience in anti-bullying initiatives and outdoor adventure (Beightol, Jevertson, Carter, Gray, & Gass, 2012; Overholt & Ewert, 2015).…”