Beyond “The Outward Bound Process:” Rethinking Student Learning

This article is based on a research study that explored the means by which students learn at Outward Bound Western Canada. For this study, data were collected from 92 students through questionnaires, interviews, and observation. Twenty-nine course components were found to influence course outcomes, including various aspects of course activities, the physical environment, instructors, and the group. Certain course components were found to be most influential in determining increases in students' self-awareness, self-confidence, self-reliance, self-esteem, self-concept, motivation, self-responsibility, interpersonal skills, concern for others, and concern for the environment; while several course components impacted course outcomes in negative ways. The gender, age, and population of students were also found to play a role in determining the course outcomes students experienced and which course components caused those outcomes. The study is discussed in terms of how it supports, extends, and refutes existing adventure education theory, as well as in relation to contemporary theories on modernity. A model is proposed as an alternative to the well-known Walsh and Golins' (1976) model of “the Outward Bound process” in consideration of the study's findings and the need for a renewed commitment to compassion and service within Outward Bound.