Brent J. Bell

The Rites of Passage and Outdoor Education: Critical Concerns for Effective Programming:

Rites of passage practices have caught the attention of educators seeking better methods of teaching adolescents. The fascination with the rites of passage model (ROP) is especially strong among outdoor educators. Once Van Gennep (1960) defined the rites of passage, a three-stage system of social transformation mediating role changes in a community, anthropologists were able to observe his social conception throughout all cultures. Outdoor educators have demonstrated interest in framing outdoor programs as rites of passage because of the structural similarities between outdoor programs and Van Genneps first and second stages of a rite of passage. While the ROP model has similarities to outdoor programs, the model is generally ineffective in most contemporary contexts because of challenges associated with the third stage of the ROP model. It is important for outdoor programs to understand these challenges prior to investing effort into using ROP models to achieve expected lasting benefits. Most outdoor adventure programs use a Contemporary Adventure Model to mediate change, a fundamentally different rite of passage from the classic anthropological model. Outdoor educators need to decide among three choices with a ROP: abandon the ROP framework based upon a lack of goal congruence, follow a classic model and answer the many challenges the model brings with it, or follow a contemporary adventure model while cognizant of the models weaknesses.

A Census of Outdoor Orientation Programs at Four-Year Colleges in the United States

Researchers surveyed colleges and universities in the United States to assess the number providing outdoor orientation programs (OOPs). OOPs are defined as college orientation programs that work with small groups (15 or fewer) of first-year students, use adventure experiences, and include at least one overnight in a wilderness setting. This census identified and received survey data from 164 separate OOPs, representing at least 97% of all programs. From the data, researchers ascertained common peer practices describing the current state of OOPs. Although programs differed significantly by age and by size, programs generally shared common practices. With the number of OOPs growing—an average of 10 new OOPs begin each year—the current census was designed to better understand how OOPs operate and how they may be changing.

Student Involvement: Critical Concerns of Outdoor Orientation Programs.

Outdoor orientation programs have been operating in colleges and universities in the United States since 1935, when Dartmouth College ran its first precollege trips for first-year students (Hooke, 1987). Although this program provided an effective transitional experience to Dartmouth, 33 years passed before another college or university, Prescott College, implemented a wilderness orientation program in 1968. The Prescott program was more heavily influenced by Outward Bound (OB) than the Dartmouth trips (Prescott College, 2007). The ensuing 10 years (1968–1978) saw significant growth in outdoor orientation programs, mainly at private colleges and universities across the U.S. These programs developed largely independent of each other, under the leadership of a few key personalities within an institution, rather than out of a national conversation on orientation practices and principles.

The State of Knowledge of Outdoor Orientation Programs Current Practices, Research, and Theory

Outdoor orientation programs represent a prominent area of experiential education with over 25,000 participants annually. More than 191 outdoor orientation programs currently operate in the United States and Canada. The research examining outdoor orientation programs consists of 25 peer-reviewed published studies and 11 dissertations. A new theory explaining the success of these programs has emerged based on research and the belief that students experience a special sense of belongingness promoted by social dynamics found in these programs.

Outdoor orientation program trends at colleges and universities in the United States

Outdoor orientation programs provide an engaging introduction to college life. These programs involve adventure activities and physical challenges for small groups of 15 or fewer students spending at least one night away from campus in a wilderness environment (Bell et. al., 2010). Outdoor orientation programs began to develop (with the exception of Dartmouths beginning in 1935) on college campuses in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and their rate of growth has steadily increased since 1968. In 2006, Bell, Holmes & Williams (published 2010) conducted the first nationwide census of such programs, establishing outdoor orientation programs as a distinctive branch of outdoor education. Findings indicated older, established colleges and universities were most likely to have an outdoor orientation program. For example, all eight Ivy League institutions utilize outdoor orientation programming, as well as some long-established institutions such as Stanford, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and Penn State. Each year these programs provide students with outdoor experiences and leadership training. This study summarizes results from the second outdoor orientation program census in 2012, including current growth, cost, medical training, and evaluation trends.

An Investigation of the Connection between Outdoor Orientation and Thriving.

This study explored the contribution of outdoor orientation experiences to student thriving. Participants included 295 first-year college students from three institutions across North America. A thriving model was tested using structural equation modeling and included the following variables: outdoor orientation, thriving, involvement, spirituality, psychological sense of community, student–faculty interaction, and control variables. Although the predictive importance of outdoor orientation is modest (β = .048), it contributes significantly to a model explaining 72.8% of the variance in thriving levels. Outdoor orientation directly predicted campus involvement (β = .246) and spirituality (β = -.146). Findings indicate that participating in an outdoor orientation may create a propensity for students to become more involved in campus life, which may foster a greater sense of campus community, culminating in thriving. These results suggest that practitioners should enhance both a psychological sense of community among students and the durability of outdoor experiences back on campus. Subscribe to JOREL

Outdoor Orientation Programs: A Critical Review of Program Impacts on Retention and Graduation.

Outdoor orientation programs have a growing literature demonstrating positive impacts with students transitioning to college (Bell, Gass, Nafizer, & Starbuck, 2014). One of the most valued outcomes for colleges and universities is retention of students until successful graduation. This is an outcome few outdoor orientation researchers have studied, but one that many programs claim to influence. This paper provides an overview of the literature of outdoor orientation programs retention studies, with specific attention placed on selection bias. This study used a control group (randomized selection), a convenience group (nonparticipants), and a comparison group (matched by covariates) to assess the differences in retention outcomes. Findings indicate (a) similarities between sampling through random selection and covariate matching, but not by convenience sampling and (b) generally positive retention results for participation in outdoor orientation programs, including small effect sizes for retention (OR = 1.91–2.38) and graduation (OR = 1.07–1.81), but few statistically significant results (p < .05).

Outdoor Orientation Leaders: The Effects of Peer Leadership

In this study, we investigated how student (peer) leaders of college outdoor orientation programs understand the effects of their leadership experience on personal growth and development. We collected data through in-depth interviews of 36 first-time student leaders at four colleges. Findings indicate that the majority of students at all four colleges placed high value on their leadership experiences. Students reported that the experience led to positive changes. The experiences of the leaders are explained in a four-stage model. Student leaders believe the outdoor leadership experience increased confidence to face adversity, increased confidence in exercising one’s voice appropriately, and increased leadership self-efficacy. Students also reported a positive change in interpersonal growth, describing a better ability to work well with others and facilitate social situations. Within faith-based programs, leaders also reported significant spiritual growth. Subscribe to JOREL

Assessing the value of a college degree in outdoor education or recreation: Institutional comparisons using the College Scorecard and surveys of faculty and employers

In this article, we report on research undertaken in 2016 to assess a number of trends influencing the current status of degree-granting outdoor programs in the United States, including factors that bear on the value of degrees. We analyze data provided by the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard and results of a survey comparing 59 programs in the United States by size, geographic region, and public/private status, focusing on cost, postgraduate employment, and select program features tied to alumni employability. Results are discussed in the context of wider trends in higher education, projections for job growth in outdoor areas, and preferred qualifications as reported by employers. Findings are useful for identifying challenges and opportunities for active outdoor fields as a whole and may help individual programs situate themselves among comparators in a way that informs future planning. View Seaman and Bell talking about this article on Facebook. Subscribe to JOREL .