EXTENDED EFFECTS OF PARTICIPATION IN A SEMESTER-LONG OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM

Abstract

While many adventure programs offer opportunities to develop technical and outdoor skills such as orienteering, rope management, and backpacking skills (Shooter, Sibthorp, & Paisley, 2009) research has demonstrated that participating in an adventure program often results in the development of interpersonal skills such as communication, decision-making, and problem solving (McKenzie, 2003; Raiola, 2003; Sibthorp, Paisley, & Gookin, 2007). Interpersonal skills are beneficial to both personal and professional development and can translate into success in the classroom and the workplace (Gass, Garvey, & Sugerman, 2003; Shooter, Sibthorp, & Paisley, 2009). However, the long-term retention of technical and interpersonal skills as a result of participating in an adventure program has received limited research attention. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of participation in the CORE program at IU through a longitudinal analysis. Specifically, the aim of this study was to analyze the retention of technical and interpersonal skills, and attitudes of past CORE program participants and identify the impact these skills have on areas such as personal and professional development. The CORE Program is a unique outdoor adventure and education program that blends classroom learning and fieldwork to provide its participants with a broad range of experiential learning opportunities. The past research done on the CORE program has typically examined the effects of the program immediately after its conclusion. This study adopted a self-administered retrospective pre-post questionnaire that asked CORE alumni to reflect and rate their skill level on a 5-point Likert scale on three time points: before participation in CORE, right after completion of the CORE program and their current level of skills. Skills examined included technical skills such as knots, climbing, and orienteering and interpersonal skills such as problem solving, group management, and decision-making. The results of this study contributed to a better understanding the impacts and outcomes of the CORE program.