Adventure education: Theory and applications

Abstract

Prouty, D., Panicucci, J., & Collinson, R. (Eds.). (2007). Adventure education: Theory and applications. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. 255 pages. ISBN-10: 0-7360-6179-7. I've never been a big fan of text books and I really only picked this one up because it does not look like one. I confess to having a soft spot for colour covers adorned with adventure photos. With the name Dick Prouty and Project Adventure jumping from the cover at me, I was looking forward to an informative, enjoyable walk through the world of adventure education. In this respect the book delivers. Adventure Education: Theory and Applications is a concise overview of some of the basic components that form the foundations of outdoor and experiential education. It is set out in three easy to digest sections. Part one explains the theories, philosophy and cornerstones of adventure education. Part two explores the skills, competencies and responsibilities of adventure practitioners. The third section of the book deals with core Project Adventure business such as portable 'groupies,' low and high ropes courses, leader training, teaching strategies and programming. The book is aimed at the North American college audience studying outdoor education, recreation and experiential education courses at an introductory level. Some attempt has been made to make the publication more global in its outlook with one page biographical reviews from adventure education workers from Scotland, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia. However, references to Kurt Hahn and the early development of Outward Bound in the UK is where the international flavour ends. There are review questions and student learning activities to help students relate their own experiences and thoughts to the content being presented. Some web links are interspersed throughout the text providing readers with external links and references. The introductory chapter on the history and definition of Adventure Education: Theory and Applications was confusing. The terms experiential education, outdoor education and adventure education are used interchangeably. Grappling with these definitions however, has long been an issue for writers in this field. Prouty defines outdoor recreation as "a rapidly evolving field of adventure education that uses many mediums and has an outcome of personal and spiritual growth" (p. 13) The lack of reference to other published material in supporting this and other definitions, is a weakness of the text. Chapter five explores some of the outcomes that can be achieved through adventure education programmes. The authors, Stiehl and Parker, provide a solid review of how to develop programmes to achieve specific educational goals. They also identify the need to quantify programme outcomes and benefits, yet they provide no tools or resources to assist practitioners in this task. The chapter on 'Risk and Safety in Adventure Programming' by Charles Gregg is quite a good overview of a modern approach to risk management. Gregg summarises this chapter by saying, "the primary concern for an adventure program is not legal liability, but the development and maintenance of a quality program - one that reasonably manages the risks to participants and achieves the goals of the program and participants" (p. 60). The content in this chapter resonates with the discussions and presentations made during the 15th National Outdoor Education Conference in Ballarat, this year. …