The History of Adventure Education
Adventure education uses outdoor experiences to help a person learn about himself and his relationship to others and nature. There are many types of adventure education programs.
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Beginnings
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There is no definite beginning of informal adventure education. According to researcher and psychologist James Neill, formal outdoor education began when humans began living in enclosed, more permanent locations. Previously, almost all education was outdoor survival education.
Formal
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As industrialization expanded, programs were developed to provide outdoor adventure education. Short-term residential camping programs began in the United States in 1930. The first Outward Bound program began in Wales in 1941 and expanded to other areas through the 1950's.
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United States
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An Outward Bound program began in 1961 in Colorado, the first major adventure education program in the United States. According to Neill, Project Adventure began in 1971 and the National Outdoor Leadership School began in 1974.
Expansion
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Adventure education may use outdoor experiences to learn teamwork. Adventure education began formally focusing on youth. It began to expand to other areas such as employee relationship-building and confidence and skill-building for handicapped participants through mountain climbing.
Organizations
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The Coalition for Education in the Outdoors is a network of groups involved in outdoor education and research. College degrees are available in many schools, including Prescott College in Arizona and Plymouth State University in New Hampshire.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit camping fire in the forest image by Galina Barskaya from Fotolia.com rock climbing in packthread image by Petro Feketa from Fotolia.com
