Reaction to the First Session of the Second Annual Symposium on Experiential Education

In listening to the presentations, the first aspect that strikes me is the quality of this year's presentations. It is apparent that the initial year of seeR was of sufficient quality to attract continued interest from scholars for the presentation and discussion of their research. My comments will consist of observed themes in the presentations, implications of the research, and some thoughts on future directions for experiential education research. First, it was quite a pleasure to learn from Henderson, Goldenberg, Fox, Russell, Newes, and Confer-all of the presentations and subsequent discussion were thought provoking.

Henderson's call for research that combines theory and evidence to begin explaining observable patterns in experiential education excites and challenges researchers and practitioners. Experiential education's traditional themes found voice in terms of research topics centered around youth development. Participant outcomes are considered, but inputs are considered also. Therapy was a topic, as was adjustment to disabilities, and recidivism. Goldenberg continues to develop our understanding of the embedded meanings of experience in education constructed by our participants. Fox sought definition of the identified ethical leaders in the experiential education field.

New themes have also emerged in terms of new ways of looking at the evidence in experiential education. Russell reexamined data collected for analysis under classical general linear model analysis, but used hierarchical linear modeling to accept the nested structure of the data-students nested within classes within schools. We're taking a new look at the onion, peeling away layers to look at deeper layers, yet we are now examining not only the relationships between the layers, but also the effect that "each piece has on the taste of the soup." Goldenberg's MeansEnd analysis also looks within and between course participants of an Outward Bound program.

Examination of ethical thinking on the field practice of outdoor leaders was the focus of Fox's research. Using an international sample, a hermeneutic analysis of the characteristics, values, beliefs and ethics of those outdoor leaders identified as ethical by members the outdoor leadership community, Fox identified common threads among ethical leaders. Some of the threads include concern regarding value-based judgments, personal change and reflection by the leader. Further inquiry into the ethical pathways of outdoor leaders will be important to the development of the profession as a whole.

Newes' consideration of the inputs in the education experience, and their effect on the outcomes of experiential programs, provides further guidance in our understanding of the participant characteristics impacting the adventure therapy experience. Of particular note is the suggestion in this data that programs may enhance outcomes through focused application of specific treatments for specific populations.

Implications

Continued exploration of qualitative methods develops our understanding of the process and depth of experiential education. The triangulation of qualitative and quantitative research efforts needs to continue in this field. We have yet to develop scientific explanations adequate to the task of justifying the funding of our programs and research to the levels which, we at least believe, they deserve.

As we employ the expanded epistemology that triangulation allows, the picture becomes more complex. Experiential education cannot long be explained in terms of outcomes without understanding the inputs of the experience, not to mention the experience itself. This complexity brings about the increasing interplay of theory and evidence called for by Henderson.

As well, the exploration of experiential education must include the identification of new methods and analytical processes, new windows into facets of our context. Certainly examination of a complex and dynamic phenomena, such as experiential education, requires equally complex and dynamic methodologies and approaches to analysis. Perhaps in the future, scholars in this field will need to hone not only their statistical skills, but also their qualitative understandings of the lived experience, accounting not only for one way of knowing, but rather multiple ways of knowing.

The ethical benchmarks provided by Fox have great import for the practice of outdoor leadership. Practices such as mentoring and role modeling used by programs generate discussion and provide fodder for reflection on professional practice and personal goal setting. By accessing a global level understanding of the ethical outdoor leader, Fox provides for discussions that extend beyond the participants of a particular programmatic training to potential ethical archetypes in the field.

Future research

If the trend continues, and I believe it will, future inquiry in experiential education will necessitate analytical methods that go beyond measurement and comparison of demographic and surface level variables into the realm of nested structures and triangulated data. This future ought to include the reexamination of existing data in terms of newly accessible statistical procedures, such as hierarchical linear modeling.

To continue the exploration of all facets of the experiential education equation will also be part of this future. It is uncertain at this point whether we have exposed all of the relevant factors that impact our understanding of the experiential education process. Consideration of the inputs, such as participant antecedent factors, program experience factors, and instructor factors will continue to add to the complexity of the patterns we examine.

Critical outcomes of research in this area remain those that aid in our understanding, both researcher and practitioner-based, of practices that enhance the service we deliver to our students and customers; as well as that research which serves as justification for funding for experiential education programming. Looking within the experience and growing more specific designs that reflect the organic nature of the experience are important strategies for the achieving greater knowledge and dialogue within our field.

Shayne Galloway, Ph.D., Department of Physical Education and Recreation, Utah Valley State College, 800 West University Parkway, Orem, UT 84058

Copyright Association for Experiential Education 2004
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