“I love being in the outdoors”: A qualitative descriptive study of outdoor adventure education program components for adolescent wellbeing

Abstract

Background This qualitative descriptive study gauged the perceptions of adolescent focus group participants and outdoor adventure education teachers on their preferred program components to improve adolescent wellbeing during a secondary school outdoor adventure education program. Methods Five student focus groups (N = 29) and four key informant interviews were conducted. Manual clustering of transcripts and template thematic analysis involving the development of a priori codes from interview questions resulted in an initial deductive code frame, followed by an inductive coding process. Findings Six themes were developed, namely perceptions of the outdoors, motivators for participation, barriers to participation, staff traits, and ideal program components. The main findings were that self‐efficacy, resilience, and individual empowerment opportunities were highly valued. Students also valued autonomy and independence, which presented a challenge for teachers managing the risks of their programs. Social connections and relationships were also held in high regard. Contribution Whilst adrenalin‐fuelled adventurous activities such as white water canoeing or rock climbing were popular with students and staff, the most valued aspects of outdoor adventure education were the opportunities to develop relationships, build social connections, self‐efficacy, resilience, and a sense of individual empowerment. Greater access to this style of education for adolescent students from lower socio‐economic areas would be beneficial due to the extant “opportunity gap” for this population.

e‐Delphi in the outdoors: Stakeholder contributions to the development of a wellbeing‐focused outdoor adventure education intervention program

“…43 So-called 'safe' risktaking has also been linked with psychosocial outcomes such as wellbeing and resilience for OAE participants. 17 In the current study, which aimed to gain consensus on OAE program elements to impact adolescent wellbeing, results indicated that so-called adventurous experiences (those perceived as high risk for participants) were less likely to impact wellbeing when compared with experiences that foster relationships due to the level of focus that Peak Adventure demands. As Bolick et al 44 note, no one is immune to risk-taking in OAE, with a spectrum of tasks or activities ranging from sleeping outdoors, sharing personal information with others, or rock climbing that may result in frustration, failure, or success depending on the individual.…”

“…14 Panellists were emailed a link to each survey round and were allowed a minimum 2-week period to complete each survey. 15 Prior research in the form of a systematic review, 16 a series of focus groups with adolescents, and key informant semistructured interviews with OAE teachers 17,18 was undertaken to identify the key elements of an OAE program that could impact wellbeing. This formative work led to the development of the Round One survey, which comprised broad, open-ended questions requiring qualitative responses with no word limit, as detailed in Supplementary Material S2.…”