Doing the right thing, in the right place, with the right people, at the right time; a study of the development of judgment and decision making in mid-career outdoor instructors

Expertise in Coach Development: The Need for Clarity

“…This study found that coaches were often guided by ideological conceptions of coaching practice, driven through top down expectation, which rarely played out in the realities of their coaching. However, these findings from team sports differ from those of Mees et al [39], who demonstrated that the attraction for outdoor instructors working within organisations was the alignment of philosophy and practice. Therefore, these studies suggest that whether the perspective is bottom-up or top-down, it is the environment that plays a key role.…”

Instructor Perspectives on Mobile Technologies and Social Media in Practice: Findings From the United Kingdom's Outward Bound Trust

“…While the findings from the interviews align with previous empirical work, the reasoning behind instructor preferences may be found in the philosophical approach which underpins The Outward Bound Trust's work. As Mees and Collins (2022) describe, The Outward Bound Trust is underpinned by a Hahnian approach to development which recognizes “that people are capable of more than they know, and by pushing beyond perceived limits and reflecting on that, they can be brought to realize it” (p. 2). It is reasonable to put forward here that this Hahnian philosophical approach may be extended to now include considerations around mobile technologies and how they are considered to generate “fake” spaces for interaction and engagement.…”

A small-scale evaluation of instructional approaches and perspectives on the benefits of adventurous education for young people

“…In order for full affective benefits to be realised, the literature suggests that OAA content must consider several factors. Further, OAA instruction is often underpinned by complexity and contextspecific decisions (Mees & Collins, 2022), it is therefore challenging to pinpoint specific pedagogies that may be employed through so-called drag and drop approaches. However, guided by Metzler's (2017) design specification for models-based approaches, Wainwright and Williams (2016b) identified four non-negotiable features of OAA for maximum student benefit, these are: mainly outdoors; challenge by choice; experiential learning; and managed risk.…”

“…Further, Williams (2016a, 2016b) and Thomas (2019) consider how models-based approaches and strategies often aim to enhance adventure pedagogy, demonstrating some of the relationships between contemporary theory and practice. This was built on recently by Mees and Collins (2022) who demonstrated how Outward Bound instructors draw on Hahnian approaches to participant development. They also captured some of the complexity that comes with working toward the development of young people in the outdoors, showing how context, situational awareness, and appropriate strategies are drawn from practical wisdom (Mees & Collins, 2022).…”

“…This was built on recently by Mees and Collins (2022) who demonstrated how Outward Bound instructors draw on Hahnian approaches to participant development. They also captured some of the complexity that comes with working toward the development of young people in the outdoors, showing how context, situational awareness, and appropriate strategies are drawn from practical wisdom (Mees & Collins, 2022).…”