This study explored the short- and long-term ability of a university affiliated challenge course program to provide a lasting, quality experience for college participants aligning with the university's Learning Goals for Graduates (LGGs). The Challenge Course Experience Questionnaire (CCEQ), a newly created assessment tool, was administered to 375 participants in 16 different groups. Participants completed a four to six hour program, consisting of low- and high-course elements. Participants were assessed before, immediately after, and three months following their program. A significant increase in both CCEQ variables and LGGs immediately following the challenge course program was observed; however, a three-month follow-up revealed the majority of measured concepts had significantly decreased below or back to initial levels. These findings have implications for practitioners in terms of perceived challenge course benefits and long-term learning outcome retention. Suggestions for challenge course professionals and future research considerations are given.
Avoidance of injury and death on the fireline may depend on firefighters voicing their concerns, but often this does not occur. Reasons for employee reticence identified in the literature include a perception of various personal costs or a belief that raising concerns is futile. Additionally, the social context may play a significant role. In a qualitative study using in‐depth interviews with 36 wildland firefighters in the US, we explored reasons firefighters do or do not voice concerns. Findings revealed two primary themes related to initiating voice (limits to environmental perception and social influence) that vary considerably depending on a firefighter’s career stage. Additionally, the tactics that firefighters use similarly vary with career stage. Rookies (novice firefighters) often lack the ability to discern and interpret environmental cues, rely on others to ensure safety, fear being stigmatised if they voice worries, and may believe no one will listen to them. Veteran firefighters – both mid‐career experienced firefighters and expert veterans in high‐experience leadership roles – are better able than rookies to perceive and describe risky situations and feel more confident to raise concerns. However, experienced firefighters still face social pressures that may lead them to remain silent. Expert veterans face fewer social pressures, but their roles can put them in situations where they are either complacent or distracted. Implications of these findings for firefighter training and fire leadership are discussed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.