Stacy Taniguchi

Attributes of Meaningful Learning Experiences in an Outdoor Education Program.

Abstract This phenomenological study sought to identify the attributes of meaningful learning experiences as found in an outdoor education program. Thirteen students in the Wilderness Writing Program at Brigham Young University were the sample of this study. Their participation in outdoor recreational activities and their reflections about their experiences were analyzed. Through written journal entries, group discussions, observations, and writing assignments, a qualitative analysis identified attributes that occurred in their meaningful learning experiences. Meaningful learning was defined as a realization of a persons weaknesses, strengths, and potentials. This realization came through experiences with attributes of a degree of perceived risk, which led to a feeling of awkwardness, followed by a purifying process, or sublimation. A reflective period allowed for reconstruction of a persons view of himself or herself and this was closely tied with feedback from others in the group.

Identity negotiating: redefining stigmatized identities through adaptive sports and recreation participation among individuals with a disability.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the meanings and outcomes of adaptive sport and recreation participation among individuals with disabilities. In-depth open-ended interviews were conducted with 17 individuals. Analysis of the data followed qualitative data analysis and classical grounded theory utilizing line by line coding, identification of emergent themes, and identification of a core category grounded in the data. Results indicated that participants felt stigmatized and stereotyped, but their adaptive sports and recreation participation provided them with opportunities to build social networks, experience freedom and success, positively compare themselves with others without disabilities, and feel a sense of normalcy. The core variable identified adaptive sports and recreation participation as an opportunity structure that facilitated the identity negotiating process.

Adventures in Identity Development: The Impact of Adventure Recreation on Adolescent Identity Development

This study examined the effect of an adventure recreation program on adolescent identity development. Participants included 43 males and 45 females, ages 11 to 15 (M = 13.33, SD = .86). Twenty-two males and 23 females participated in the program, and the remaining youth served as members of a comparison group. Participants completed a two-week adventure program that included such activities as backpacking, mountain biking, white-water rafting, environmental education, and leadership training. The Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory was used to measure levels of identity, intimacy, and generativity, and the Identity Styles Inventory was used to assess informational, normative, and diffuse/avoidant approaches to identity formation. Results indicated that program participants experienced significant identity development when contrasted with the comparison group.

Antecedents of Identity Development in a Structured Recreation Setting: A Qualitative Inquiry.

Identity research has focused primarily on outcomes associated with identity formation. Far less attention, however, has been given to understanding the facilitating contextual elements of this process. This qualitative study examined a context, a 2-week adventure recreation program for youth, quantitatively shown in previous research to have promoted identity development. The program took place in Idaho’s Salmon-Challis National Forest and involved rafting, backpacking, mountain biking, and a variety of other outdoor activities. Data were gathered from 23 female and 22 male participants, ages 11 to 15 (M = 13.2, SD = .89). Seven distinct categories emerged from the analysis related to participants’ perceptions of the program experience including: (a) new experiences, (b) challenge, (c) supportive relationships, (d) acquisition of new skills and knowledge, (e) increased self-confidence, (f) fun, and (g) new self-perceptions. A preliminary framework incorporating the identified elements is proposed. The findings add to the understanding of identity formation antecedents and provide guidance regarding the intentional design of contexts to promote identity development.

Outdoor Education and Meaningful Learning: Finding the attributes of meaningful learning experiences in an outdoor education program

OUTDOOR EDUCATION AND MEANINGFUL LEARNING: FINDING THE ATTRIBUTES OF MEANINGFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCES IN AN OUTDOOR EDUCATION PROGRAM Stacy T. Taniguchi Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations Doctor of Philosophy This phenomenological study sought to identify the common attributes of meaningful learning experiences as found in an outdoor education program. The pragmatic educational philosophy of John Dewey provides the rationale for the essence of meaningful learning in our schools and this research identifies the attributes of educative reflective experiences that are also meaningful learning experiences. Thirteen students enrolled in the Wilderness Writing Program, offered during the fall semester of 2003 at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, made up the focus group of this study. Their participation in four outdoor recreational activities and their reflections about their experiences became the basis of this research. Through written journal entries, focus group discussions, observations, and writing assignments, this study took a qualitative approach to identifying patterns of attributes that appeared to occur in meaningful learning experiences. This study found that meaningful learning experiences were identified by participants who experienced a period of awkwardness followed by a purifying process, or sublimation. A reflective period allowed for reconstruction of a person’s view of himself or herself and this was closely tied with feedback from others in the group. The findings of this study can give educators specific components that appear to be crucial ingredients to meaningful learning experiences.

Fortifying Leisure Adolescent Perspectives of Family Leisure in Uganda

This study examined family leisure patterns and meanings of family leisure from the perspective of adolescents living in the Mukono District of Uganda. Sixty-eight secondary students were interviewed. Results indicate Ugandan adolescent definitions of leisure reflect leisure as free time and leisure as a means to an end. Students mentioned three primary family leisure outcomes (enjoyment/fun, personal development, and family development) that point toward a core theme. Fortifying describes the importance Ugandan youth place upon family leisure outcomes that strengthen the individual to overcome inevitable challenges they will face throughout their lives and enable them to succeed, especially through family socializing activities, such as discussion and storytelling.

Leisure defined by perceiving choice: perspectives of Ugandan women

ABSTRACT The purpose of this phenomenological study was to expand the predominantly ethnocentric definitions of leisure by exploring the meaning of leisure among women in the developing East African nation of Uganda. Semi-structured interviews were used to understand the perspectives of 38 Ugandan women, and main themes were developed from the data using the constant comparative method. Our analysis revealed the core variable of perceiving choice emerging from themes including fortifying, restoring, and enjoying. Ugandan women used leisure to enhance their sense of identity, improve their health, build relationships and network, enhance their professional skills, strengthen family and community, refresh from daily work, and enjoy life. While leisure was often co-occurring with emotional and physical labour, women considered activities to be leisure when they perceived participation was freely chosen. The findings challenge the dichotomous relationship between work and leisure.

The School-Based Family: Teachers as Parental Figures for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Ugandan Schools

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the possible formation of surrogate families within Ugandan schools, especially among orphans who lack positive development opportunities typically provided by parents. This qualitative study sample of 66 Ugandan secondary school students were selected from eight schools in the Mukono district of Uganda. Findings suggest a potentially widespread family formation pattern between students and their teachers. More than 75% of students interviewed self-identified their teacher as family. Some teachers were able to offer orphans and vulnerable children positive developmental assets and were, therefore, identified as family.

Self-Efficacy of Risk Taking in Outdoor Recreation as a Predictor of the Self-Efficacy of Risk Taking in Essay Writing.

During two decades of teaching, we have observed that writing students seem more emotionally honest when their writing class is accompanied by an outdoor recreation component. The ability to take perceived risks is important to both outdoor recreation and writing; thus, we postulated that confidence gained in taking risks in outdoor experiences might affect students’ confidence in taking risks in their reflective writing. In this study, we applied Bandura’s (1997) self-efficacy theory to two classes of writing students, one that included outdoor experience and one that did not. We examined whether participating in outdoor activities would increase the self-efficacy of risk taking in the experimental group and whether this growth of self-efficacy in outdoor contexts would be accompanied by increased self-efficacy of risk taking in writing personal essays. Findings indicated significantly more growth of self-efficacy scores pertaining to risk taking in the writing of students in the experimental group versus those in the control group. Subscribe to JOREL