A Deweyian Framework for Youth Development in Experiential Education: Perspectives from Sail Training and Sailing Instruction

Abstract

In this piece, we put forth a Deweyian framework for youth development activities in outdoor and adventure education programs, and we show how such a framework may be exemplified by activities in sail training and sailing instruction. The paper begins with a discussion of the theoretical features of Deweyian educational experiences and makes connections between these ideas and positive youth development. We then, by reference to the educational activities aboard vessels large and small, provide concrete illustrations of these theoretical features. The goal of the paper is to propose a framework that educators in outdoor and adventure programs—and in youth development programs generally—can employ to bring Dewey's ideas to bear on program design and assessment.

The Substance Beneath the Labels of Experiential Learning: The Importance of John Dewey for Outdoor Educators

“…We argue for the importance of Dewey, as did Wojcikiewicz and Mural (2010) in relation to sail training and instruction. However our aim is to give the reader a fuller and more detailed understanding of the Deweyian foundations of experiential learning and explore the implications for outdoor education as a whole.…”

The Youth Adventure Programming Model

“…It has been most comprehensively described by David Kolb, who drew together the theoretical perspectives of John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, and Jean Piaget (Kolb, 1984). Experiential learning highlights the importance of giving personal meaning to abstract concepts (Luckner & Nadler, 1997) by grounding lessons in reality (Hirsch, 1999;Wojcikiewicz & Mural, 2010) and making clear the connections between current actions and future consequences (Wojcikiewicz & Mural, 2010). Kolb (1984) argued that experiential learning is holistic.…”

The Great Outdoors

“…In his classic work on the connection between education and experience, John Dewey (1938) claimed that intellectual growth and development happens especially well when the learning environment is purposefully designed to be “educative.” The role of experience in leadership education and development has long been emphasized (DeRue & Wellman, 2009; Kolb, 1984; Shooter, Paisley, & Sibthorp, 2010). The learning environment for leader development provided by outdoor adventure education programs may well be paradigmatic of the educative experience Dewey had in mind (McKenzie, 2000; Wojcikiewicz & Mural, 2010). Well-designed outdoor adventure-based leader development programs demand that students deal adequately with uncertainty, risk, failure, and interpersonal conflict.…”