The
Wholeness of Adventure Education
Let this circle represent what we can do together and not by ourselves.
quote from Alcoholics Anonymous
Man longs for wholeness. In our society today, individuals seek wholeness in a number of different ways. Some individuals seek wholeness through money. Some seek wholeness through material objects. Some seek wholeness through God. Some individuals seek wholeness through adventure. As posited by William Quinn (1999), “[adventure] lies deeply within oneself, within the spiritual, emotional, and intellectual spheres of personhood” and “adventure connotes participation and active involvement in life” (p. 149). It is this active involvement in life through the spiritual, emotional, and intellectual spheres that one may perchance find wholeness. It is by this that adventure education augments other educational theories in the areas of peace, extension of our worlds, critical and accurate judgements, bettering of one’s self-concept, and the connection to that which is inherent within us.
The first area in which adventure education augments other educational theories is in the attainment of peace. Peace can be understood as “the state of fulfilling the deepest desire of the soul. . . [and it] comes from confidence gained and the fulfillment of success” (Quinn, 1999, p 150). In other educational theories such as Piaget’s developmental theory, Coleman’s information assimilation versus experiential learning theories, and Bandura’s social learning theory there is no mention of the attainment of peace. Maslow’s self-actualization of the individual suggests a similar concept of what is meant by peace in adventure education. However, most educational models neglect to address the attainment of peace through education. Quinn (1999) notes that peace is obtained through adventure. Csikszentmihalyi echoes Quinn’s thoughts in his explanation of the flow experience. According to Csikszentmihalyi (1999):
a person in flow has no dualistic perspective: there is
awareness of the actions but not of the awareness itself,. . . a feeling of
union with the environment,. . . [and] the components
of the
flow state are so enjoyable and physically rewarding, and
so unlike the drudgery of most of
life, that there is a desire to repeat activities that
produce the flow experience (p. 154-56).
Therefore, adventure education adds to the learning experience. Adventure education allows for the potential attainment of peace through the activities that make up the experience. Furthermore, the outcome of peace through adventure education is closely related to the concept of extension of the world.
Adventure education also provides one with an extension of the world. To extend one’s world is to look beyond one’s self and find meaning in a larger context. According to Quinn (1999) “one must actively seek an adventurous way of life; otherwise there is only a small and narrow world to explore” (p. 151). The extension of one’s world is similar in all educational models. Extending one’s world can be seen simply as hypothesis making and theory testing. However, adventure education goes beyond just testing the world around one’s self. Hunt (1999) recognizes that “the wilderness adventure experience does not stand alone in. . . adventure education,” but “is a mere means to a much loftier end – human virtue” (p. 118). Hunt uses a platonic concept of
virtue to assert that through adventure and risk one finds a greater purpose. Furthermore, an individual reaches their true potential with the attainment of virtue. The attainment of virtue again closely parallels Maslow’s concept of self-actualization. Finally, it is with this ability to extend the world that an individual is better able to make more critical and accurate judgements.
In addition to extending one’s world and creating the possibility for peace, adventure education allows individuals to make more accurate and critical judgments in their decisions. Hunt summarizes an individual’s emergence into the world as, “what will be is never fully predictable. To be is to become. To become means to venture forth” (p. 119). It is through this venturing forth that an individual’s decisions are tested by reality. Traditional models of education use the idea of hypothesis testing or formation of abstract concepts and generalizations to describe this idea. Simon Priest (1999) submits the Adventure Experience Paradigm to describe the process of making accurate and critical judgements. According to Priest:
one goal of adventure education should be to create
astute individuals: people who
correctly perceive the situational risks and their personal
competence, plus seek
adventure experiences where the two variables are matched for a
peak adventure (p. 161).
Therefore, through adventure education, an individual is better able to assess situational factors and make decisions that reflect their own abilities in regards to the risk that is present within their environment. The critical and accurate judgment comes from experience. This judgement leads to a better self-concept for the individual.
Adventure education further augments other educational models by strengthening an individual’s self-concept beyond just rote learning. Klint (1999) defines self-concept as “a generalized term referring to the mental image one creates about one’s self” (p.164). In addition, Klint notes that through adventure education one’s self-concept, sense of achievement and motivation, and stress control can be positively influenced. In traditional educational models, one’s self-concept is said to be enhanced by learning new things and applying them correctly in different situations. Using recently learned vocabulary words in conversations, applying long division in more complex equations, or using simple scientific concepts to understand an organism’s internal makeup are some examples. Martin (1999) posits that through adventure education individuals should “see themselves as competent to safely participate in a life involving continued interactions with the outdoors” (p. 173). In addition, adventure education can create a person that is aware that “his or her actions have an impact on others, and that the ways he or she acts can influence the welfare of others” (Garvey, 1999, p. 137). Therefore, adventure education adds to traditional educational models by using the potential attainment of peace, extension of the world, and the use of critical and accurate judgements in situations that involve risk. This addition can have a positive effect on self-concept. All of these criteria of adventure education arise from that which exists inherently within each individual.
Finally, adventure education satisfies a desire that is inherent within each individual. The Norwegian word friluftsliv is understood “to convey the notion of a ‘way home to nature’” (Henderson, 1999, p. 143). Also, it is argued that we have imagination “because we don’t have enough without it” (p. 142). Finally, Hunt (1999) observes that
“on the one hand we long for safety and security, to hold on to what we are. Yet, we must live and grow. Literally, not to grow and live means to die” (p. 119). The combination of friluftsliv, imagination, and adventure allows for an individual to satisfy this growth that ultimately results in living. Thus, it is through adventure education that one adds to traditional education by fulfilling human’s inherent purpose, which leads towards a potential for wholeness.
Adventure education focuses on an individual achieving wholeness. Other educational models only address certain factors towards an individual’s overall growth. However, it is the use of adventure in adventure education that makes an individual’s learning experience one that is greater than the sum of it’s parts.
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Daniel (Eds.). (1999). Adventure Programming.
Henderson,
Robert (Eds.). (1999). Adventure Programming.
Hunt,
Jasper S. (Eds.). (1999). Adventure
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Klint,
Martin,
Peter (Eds.). (1999). Adventure Programming.
Priest, Simon (Eds.). (1999). Adventure
Programming.
Quinn,
William (Eds.). (1999). Adventure Programming.