Date
10-2019
Department
Graduate School of Business
Degree
Master of Science in Sport Management (MS)
Chair
Clark Zealand
Keywords
Adventure Education, Social Emotional Learning, Physical Education, Outdoor Adventure, SEL
Disciplines
Sports Management
Recommended Citation
Reynolds, Joseph A., "Social Emotional Skills in Adventure Education: A Qualitative Study on the Connection of Adventure Education Participation and Social Emotional Skills in High School Students" (2019). Masters Theses. 599.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/masters/599
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine possible connections between participation in an Adventure Education (AE) course and social-emotional skills (SEL) in a group of high school students during their junior and senior years. Six participants agreed to a one-on-one, open-ended, interview to determine their experiences from taking a 5-6 week AE course. Those experiences were then explored for relativity to SEL. A phenomenological approach gained an understanding of the participant’s experience throughout the course. Findings indicated, through participation in the course, participants experienced impacts on self-confidence and self-awareness, and shared experiences of changes in empathy and connectivity to their group community. It was further determined those impacts from the experience aligned, to a varying extent, with the five core competencies of SEL. Further research is required to determine if AE programs are a viable way to provide SEL programming to adolescents.
