The outward bound bridging course for low-achieving high school males: Effect on academic achievement and multidimensional self-concepts

Abstract

The Outward Bound Bridging Course is a six-& residential program daigned to improve academic achievement and selfconcepts in low-achieving high school males. In the period 1980-1984 five courses were conducted for 66 high school males chosen on the basis of poor academic performance, an ap arcnt potenfial to perfom better and strong parental su port. coupled with parental involvement as an academic intervention for low-achieving high school maks on both academic achievement and academic selfconce t; and (b) the validity of multidimensional selfconapt responses to the Self Dcscri tion &cstionnaire in relation to short multiple time-senes design, the specificity of the effects to academic outcomes and the generality of the effects across academk selfconapt and achievement make implausible many possible internal and external threats to the validity of the interpretations.The findings provide support P or: (a) the effective-of the Outward Bound Bridging ( ! o u m academic perfonnana and in relation to the impact of an e 8 &in academic intervention. The The Outward Bound Program Richards (1977) stated that the purpose of Outward Bound courses is to provide a setting for "the person to recognise and understand his own weaknesses, strengths and resources and thus find within himself the wherewithall to master the difficult and unfamiliar"(p. 69). The Outward Bound standard course is a 2May residential program for 17-25 year olds that comprises physically and mentally demanding outdoor activities. Marsh, Richards and Barnes (1986~ 1986b) demonstrated that participation in this standard course had a significant effect on the non-academic dimensions of selfconcept most related to the course goals and produced a more internal locus of control (see Ewart, 1983; Godfrey, 1974; Richards, 1977; Shore, 1977 for reviews of other Outward Bound march). The Bridging Course was subsequently developed by Outward Bound for low-achieving high school males. According to Richards and Richards (198 I): The authors would like to thank Jennifer Bane, Raymond Debus and Margarct Myen for their helpful cornmenu on earlier drafts of this paper, to acknowledge financial support from the Outward Bound Foundation; and to acknowledge the assistance of the Outward Bound R q u a t s for reprints should be sent to D r Herbert W. Marsh, Faculty of Education, University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Austnlia Comspondeacc specifically related to the Outward Bound program and the Bridging Course should be sent to Garry Richards, Director, Outward Bound Australin, P.O. Thaws, A.C.T. 2620, Australia Inquiries about the purchase or usc of the SDQ s e l f a n a p t instnUmnts should be sent to the Psycholopal Corporation, 555 Academic Court, San Antonio, Texas 282042498. USA. staff in conduaing this study. A&& J o d Of PIychdoy VO~. 40, NO. 3,1988 pp. 281-298

A multidimensional, hierarchical model of self-concept: Theoretical and empirical justification

“…Coopersmith in particular did not present the details of his factor analyses. Subsequent factor analyses of responses to the Coopersmith instrument (Marsh and Richards, 1988;Marsh and Smith, 1982; also see Shavelson et al, 1976) suggested that its factor structure is multidimensional. The empirical factors, however, were not easily interpreted, were not replicable, and did not match those that the instrument was intended to infer.…”

“…Because self-concept and academic achievement are not amenable readily to experimental manipulations (however, see Brookover and Erikson, 1975;Byrne, 1984;Marsh and Richards, 1988;Scheirer and Kraut, 1979) most research has relied on longitudinal panel data in which both self-concept and achievement are measured on at least two occasions (i.e., a 2-wave 2-variable [2W2V] design). Recently there have been important developments in the application of structural equation models (SEM) using statistical packages such as LISREL (Joreskog and Sorbom, 1988;Rogosa, 1979) for the analysis of these longitudinal panel designs.…”

The effect of the Ontario Ranger Programme on the participants' self-esteem and self-concept levels

“…The respondents attended one of five Outward Bound Bridging Courses which were six weeks long. As a result of the Outward Bound Bridging Course, the respondents' academic performance improved, academic self-concept increased, and global self-concept increased (Marsh & Richards, 1988).…”

“…Peers, family, friends, and society affect an individual's self-concept. The enhancement of self-concept is considered a desirable goal educationally and recreationally (Marsh & Richards, 1988). Due to the multidimensional theory of self-concept and development of multidimensional measures Social Psychological Impacts 23 of self-concept, it has become easier for researchers to demonstrate connections between sections of an individual's self-concept and specific life experiences.…”

“…Students were selected for the study if they were achieving low academic scores but appeared to have the potential for improved performance. In addition, the students' parents had to demonstrate support and commitment to assisting their children and the programme's goals (Marsh & Richards, 1988). The respondents attended one of five Outward Bound Bridging Courses which were six weeks long.…”