2 It is now eight years since this review of research was published. What we found was a lot of research activity adding very little to what was already known. We did not come across any other 'big picture' reviews that brought together the 'big questions' such as: 'What is the role and value of outdoor adventure?', 'How does it work?' and 'How well does it work?'

3 But we did more than describe the 'big picture' as we saw it. We also offered new frameworks, advocated priorities for future research and suggested productive ways of conducting research in this holistic field of practice.

4 That was then. How have things changed since 1995? Three changes stand out.

5 Firstly, it is much easier to track down adventure education research and to find researchers with related interests.

6 The advent of the internet is bringing research and researchers from around the world closer together. There are now specialised internet discussion groups in the adventure education field (such as 'outres' based in the UK) and several gateway websites now specialise in indexing and publishing adventure education research. [These websites are easily found by using the search terms: outdoor adventure education research.]

 

7 Secondly, there is more adventure education research being carried out and published, more research at PhD level, and more meetings and conferences.

8 Since 1995, the UK Research Forum (now part of the Institute for Outdoor Learning) regularly brings together a growing number of PhD students; the Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning was launched in 2000; the The European Institute of Outdoor Adventure Education and Experiential Learning is increasingly active and the Biennial International Adventure Therapy Conference is now well established. [Many more journals and conferences can be found via the internet.]

 

9 Thirdly, many new questions are being asked - in addition to the continuing interest in evaluation research that seeks evidence of the value of adventure education.

10 Some of these questions reflect topical interests in the field such as the impact of safety legislation or the career patterns of adventure educators. Other questions look more deeply into values from various perspectives - including historical, critical, philosophical, post-modern, spiritual or analytical. An example of a piece of research that stands out for the question that it asks is Mike Brown's analysis of snippets of conversation between facilitator and students (Brown, 2003). It is an elegant and provocative study that challenges us to examine more closely the differences between what we practice and what we preach.

11 One thing that hasn't changed since 1995 is that despite the shortcomings of 'Why Adventure?' we do not yet know of another 'big picture' overview that attempts to synthesise the findings from the research activity in our field. Meanwhile (we are told) this incomplete survey from 1995, still provides some useful ways of drawing together the various different kinds of research that are relevant to the field of adventure education.

12 But do we now have more answers or more questions? I think we have more of both. We should never run out of questions. But what are we learning in the process of asking these questions?

• 13 What should practitioners and providers now know?
• 14 What should clients and participants and other stakeholders now know?
• 15 What should researchers now know?

16 To answer these questions, you will need to track down research that has been published since 1995. I hope that 'Why Adventure?' will give you a useful starting point. Let's hope that someone somewhere will publish a new synthesis to update 'Why Adventure'. This would create a new reference point for researchers, practitioners and others who wish to see this field develop and progress. Such a reference point would help us to provide all young people with uniquely rich opportunities for learning and development. Let's keep asking 'Why outdoor adventure?', 'How does it work?' and 'How well does it work?' - but together.

17 There are also many other kinds of question we should be asking about outdoor adventure. The quest for measuring the potential power of outdoor adventure leads down just one of many paths. Arguments for making outdoor adventure part of the school curriculum may be very different to arguments for including outdoor adventure as part of a social work programme. Different questions need to be asked. The ways in which outdoor adventure might wean overprotected children away from their cocooned environments may be very different to the ways in which outdoor adventure is used to discourage risk-taking by young people who are 'out of control'. And there are questions to ask about the potential value of outdoor adventure to different social and cultural groups, and to young people at different stages of their development ...

18 Yes, there are many important questions to ask. And all such questions are in line with the Foundation for Outdoor Adventure's aim of working with others to develop models of research and development which will:

• 19 improve young people's experiences in the outdoors
• 20 contribute to the development of practice
• 21 assist in making the case for support for outdoor adventure to funders and policy-makers

22 No single research study will make much difference. No single line of questioning will make much difference. No single style of research will make much difference. The ever growing opportunities for sharing, meeting and co-operating amongst researchers means that together we can make a difference.

23 And the more that researchers know about past and current research and communicate with each other about it, the greater the chances that we (or they) will choose to ask new questions in new ways and add new insights to the growing pool of knowledge about the role and value of outdoor adventure in young people's personal and social development.

Roger Greenaway

May 2003

24 References

25 Why Adventure? Contents, Extracts, Summaries and Bibliography are published online at:

26 Brown, M. (2002) 'The Facilitator as Gatekeeper: A Critical Analysis of Social Order in Facilitation Sessions', Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning 2(2), 101-112

27 Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning

http://www.outdoor-learning.org/journal/journal.htm

28 The Research Special Interest Group of the Institute for Outdoor Learning

29 The European Institute of Outdoor Adventure Education and Experiential Learning