Explorers for Life: The Long-Term Benefits of a Community Outdoor Education Program
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- There is increasing agreement among researchers and educators about the importance of outdoor experiences for youth. However, due to urbanization, technology, standardized testing, and lack of funding, outdoor education continues to be limited in accessibility nationwide. Research and evaluation are key to better understanding the benefits and long-term implications of this kind of programming, yet there continues to be a lack of longitudinal investigations in the field. In an effort to address both of these needs, this qualitative participant-perspective study worked with former members of Explorers Club, a program within Wild Whatcom, a community outdoor education organization located in Bellingham, Washington. I sought to answer the question: what are the perceived long-term benefits of an outdoor education program by former participants? I interviewed 23 Explorers Club members following a semi-structured protocol, five to ten years post-engagement. Findings revealed that participants believed the program provided them with cognitive skills in the form of ecological and technical knowledge, a personal connection with nature, and non-cognitive skills related to self- and social esteem. Furthermore, the responses suggested that these benefits were cyclical in nature such that the cognitive knowledge participants formed, facilitated a personal connection to nature as well as enhanced non-cognitive skills, and that together these two improvements have driven further engagement with the outdoors through enhanced pro-environmental attitudes, daily habits and practices, and overall life choices, effectively perpetuating the cycle. Specifically, participants emphasized the program provided them with elaborate plant identification and survival skills, contributing to greater comfort in nature and a sense of self-efficacy, which has motivated continual interaction with the environment through participants’ leisure activities, place of residence, and college/major of choice. These findings provide additional evidence for the contribution of community outdoor education to traditional schooling and suggest that this form of programming provides students with the early experiences necessary to become not only more socio-scientifically informed citizens, but also explorers for life.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | June 2021 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Clark, Emma J.M. |
|---|---|
| Author | Willinsky, John |
| Author | Smith, Daniel S. |
| Primary advisor | Ardoin, Nicole M. |
| Advisor | Kelman, Ari Y. |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Graduate School of Education |
Subjects
| Subject | Graduate School of Education |
|---|---|
| Subject | Outdoor Education |
| Subject | Long-Term |
| Subject | Benefits |
| Subject | Youth |
| Subject | Community |
| Subject | Qualitative Interviews |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (CC BY).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Clark, Emma J.M.. (2021). Explorers for Life: The Long-Term Benefits of a Community Outdoor Education Program. Unpublished Honors Thesis. Stanford University, Stanford CA.
Collection
Undergraduate Honors Theses, Graduate School of Education
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- Contact
- clarkemmajm@gmail.com
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