According to Hattie et al (1997) self esteem outcomes on outdoor education courses exceeded all other education programmes. Other research does challenge this belief. Burton (1981) reviewed a large number of studies and concluded that there was a balance between positive outcomes and negative outcomes from the outdoor programmes. It is also fair to mention that Hattie’s research was based on lengthy courses in Australia; in the UK we very seldom run such long programmes. However Hattie’s substantial and overwhelming research needs to be considered and taken into account when designing and delivering outdoor programmes.
Theory towards practice
Being involved in designing, managing and facilitating programmes for many years, I now feel that after the related readings I may have over engineered such programmes and almost ensured success and manufactured outcomes. Kimbal and Bacon (1993) state many outdoor programmes are structured and focused towards success.
So what if we allow a much more open approach to optimising self esteem in our programmes?
As facilitators we need to be able to be intuitive towards individuals and have many avenues to go down to ensure we are not gambling and exposing our clients to such demanding conditions that we destroy their self esteem. Our clients are already in a dilemma, taking a leap in enhancing their self worth but at the same time they could easily fail and have drastic effects on their self esteem.
Moving towards a more synergy task rather than a competition would be suitable. Hopkins and Putnam (1993) identified that matching students to an activity that suits them would work well.
We need to develop our understanding of the triggers and the mechanisms that individuals put in place for protection. Thompson (1993) characterised self worth protection and its implications by making excuses to deny low ability levels.
Every day when coaching I observe these traits and actions taking place. Covington and Omelich (1991) recognised that some individuals have a defence so strong to protect themselves from failure; they will not even take part.
Ensuring that our participants understand the importance of failure and how this can be used to their advantage is an important and hard concept to introduce and manage.
Another aspect to consider is how we as facilitators evaluate the effectiveness of our programmes. I am sceptical that asking clients at the end of a programme has much validity or reliability. Conrad and Hedin (1981) promoted the importance of understanding of what enhances self esteem, they outlined the use of others in building self esteem. They stated that developing relationships with others improved both personal and social development.
Maybe as facilitators this information can be useful in promoting an individual’s self esteem. By identifying our clients significant others, we can develop relationships and use this within our reviews and reflection stages to optimise enhancement in their self esteem.
References
Branden, N (1971). The psychology of self esteem: Bantham Books.
Burton, L. M. (1981). A critical analysis and review of the research on Outward
Bound and related programs: University of New Jersey.
Conrad, D., & Hedin, D. (1981). National assessment of experiential education: Summary and implications. Journal of Experiential Education.Covington, M and Omelich, C. (1979). The Double-Edged Sword in School Achievement: Journal of Educational Psychology, 71
Hattie, J., Marsh, H. W., Neill, J. T., & Richards, G. E. (1997). Out-of-class experiences that make a lasting difference Review of Educational Research 67.Hopkins, D., & Putnam, R. (1993). Personal growth through adventure. London, England: David Fulton Publishers.
Kimball, R. O., & Bacon, S. B. (1993). The wilderness challenge model. In M. A. Gass (Ed.), Adventure therapy: Therapeutic applications of adventure programming (pp. 11-41). Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing