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The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School THE PERCEIVED LONG-TERM INFLUENCE OF YOUTH EXPEDITIONS ON PARTICIPANTS’ LIVES A Dissertation in Recreation, Park and Tourism Management by María José Ramírez Cañas © 2020 María José Ramírez Cañas Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2020 The dissertation of María José Ramírez Cañas, was reviewed and approved* by the following: Pete Allison Associate Professor of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management Dissertation Advisor Chair of Committee Peter Newman Department Head/Professor of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management B. Derrick Taff Assistant Professor of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management Robert Roeser Bennett Pierce Professor of Care and Compassion Professor of Human Development and Family Studies *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School. ii ABSTRACT Despite the often-repeated rhetoric that youth expeditions are “life-changing” experiences, the evidence on their perceived long-term impact is scarce (Allison et al., 2018; Allison & Von Wald, 2013; Hattie, Marsh, Neill, & Richards, 1997). Researchers have also criticized what appears to be an disproportionate focus on outcomes, and the lack of a sound theoretical framework explaining how the benefits of adventure programs are achieved (Allison & Pomeroy, 2000; Allison & Von Wald, 2013; Brown, 2008; Ewert & McAvoy, 2000; McKenzie, 2003; Seaman, 2008; Shellman, 2011). Youth expedition organizations have a genuine need to conduct research, not only to provide empirical evidence to back up their claims that the lessons and skills acquired during youth expeditions are transferred into other life contexts, but also to inform their practices. There is little empirical evidence of the mechanisms explaining individuals’ change in outdoor adventure programs (e.g., Allison & Von Wald, 2013; Sibthorp, 2003), which is essential if youth organizations aim to facilitate development experiences that will have a lasting influence on participants' lives. The purpose of this research is to examine the perceived long-term influence of expeditions in participants lives approximately 30 or more years after the event, and the experiences that contributed to those influences. Context. British Exploring Society (BES) organizes 3-6 week-long land-based self- sufficient expeditions for non-intact groups (group of people who do not know each other) of young people between the ages of 16 and 25 years old. These expeditions combine science research projects in a variety of climates and remote locations with adventure (e.g., mountaineering, canoeing). BES expeditions can be considered a representative case in the iii youth expedition field, and through analytical generalization, the findings of this study are relevant to similar youth organizations (Yin, 2014). This study used a retrospective approach involving two phases. The first phase involved a web-based survey, followed by individual semi-structured interviews in the second phase. Phase 1: Instrumentation. Web-based survey. The purpose of the survey was twofold. First, it identified emerging themes regarding the influence of the expedition experience in explorers’ lives, and second, it identified potential interviewees for the second phase. The development of the survey was based on the analysis of the instruments developed by previous studies on expeditions and related topics in the last fifteen years (e.g., Asfeldt & Hvenegaard, 2013; Daniel, 2003; Gassner, 2006; Harper, Downie, Muir, & White, 2016; Takano, 2010). Data collection. The web-based survey was sent to all BES members in the BES database who had participated in an expedition five or more years before the data collection date. Data management. All the survey data was downloaded from Qualtrics and compiled in SPSS. All the identifiable information was removed from the working file and kept separately in a password protected document. Data analysis. Descriptive statistics and T-Tests were conducted to analyze the survey data and identify potential interviewees for the second phase. Phase 2: Instrumentation. The interview schedule was developed based on the analysis of previous studies and literature that addressed the retrospective influence that expeditions had iv on participants and the experiences that contributed to the influence (e.g., Asfeldt & Hvenegaard, 2013; Daniel, 2003; Gassner, 2006; Takano, 2010). Data collection. Twenty-six interviews were conducted with people who had gone on their first BES expedition 29 to 66 years ago. Seventeen of the twenty-six interviewees were male, reflecting the fact that women did not begin to participate in BES expeditions until 1980. Interviews lasted an average of one hour and were audio-recorded with participants’ consent. Data management. Interviews were transcribed and managed using the software MAXQDA. Identifiable information was not included in the transcripts. Data analysis. After a first inductive phase, where ideas emerged from interview data, useful for more unstructured and semi-structured interviews (Schulz, 2012), a deductive approach was incorporated in a second phase. Code definitions were developed during the coding process considering previous literature. The code definitions allowed consistent applications throughout the analyses (Miles et al., 2014). Intercoder agreement was calculated as well as member checking in order to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the findings. An intercoder agreement of 0.97 was achieved with two volunteer coders and the analysis was returned to 14 interview participants who expressed agreement with the findings. Results: The web-based survey was completed by 144 respondents (82 males, 62 females). The average age was 46 years (ranging from 21 to 87 years). The mean period of retrospection was 27 years (minimum of 6 and a maximum of 68 years). For the majority of respondents (93.8%), their first BES expedition experience was “enjoyable and meaningful”. Regarding the “life- changing” quality of the expedition, participants rated their agreement on a 9-point Likert scale v 1 (strongly disagree) through 9 (strongly agree) with the statement "My first BES expedition changed the course of my life". Seventy percent of respondents rated the statement at seven or higher, with 32.6% rating it nine. Interviewees perceived seven long-lasting influences: (1) All interviewees reported 'Connecting with others', (2) 96% reported 'Fulfilling potential' such as gaining confidence and resilience, (3) 96% of participants mentioned 'Development of leisure activities and outdoor knowledge/skills', (4) 92% reported 'Knowing thyself', (5) 92% of interviewees' shared the experience' to others, (6) 92% of participants identified an 'Impact on academic and professional life’, and (7) 65% 'Connected with nature and the world'. The expedition provided experiences in which participants felt autonomous (the desire to feel that one is the initiator of one's behaviors and to experience a sense of choice) competent (the desire to feel capable when facing challenges) and related to others (the inclination to feel connected to others). Participants also identified contact with nature as a significant component contributing to their development referring to the beauty and the sense of 'awe' generated by the natural landscape and the surroundings as well as an appreciation of natural processes such as the seasons and animals seen during the expedition. Experiences facilitating relatedness and autonomy were reported by 96% of participants, while experiences supporting competence were mentioned by 92%. Fifty eight percent of interviewees discussed the importance of contact with nature. The expedition provided a variety of experiences that fostered participants to feel related to others, autonomous, competent and in contact with nature. For instance, by engaging in social situations and interacting with diverse others, interviewees experienced relatedness. Being responsible for oneself and raising money vi promoted autonomy, and by overcoming the toughness of the environment and physical challenges, participants experienced a sense of competency. Lastly, contact with nature was experienced by observing the wildlife, the phenomena of the natural world, and experiencing a sense of awe. This study concludes by proposing a model that integrates the long-term influences of expeditions, the expedition affordances, and expedition experiences. The model proposes that, an expedition environment, where participants feel connected with others (relatedness), perceive they are the source of their actions (autonomy), and experience how to overcome challenges (competence) in a natural place (contact with nature), will promote a long-lasting positive influence on participants' lives. This research looked at the influence of outdoor adventure experiences over three decades after the experience, a length of retrospection not often seen in the outdoor adventure literature. This study provides evidence that the influence of expedition experiences can be long-lasting and significant in participants’ lives and offers a robust theoretical framework to understand the mechanisms leading to these influences by incorporating self- determination theory (SDT) (Ryan & Deci, 2017). SDT suggests that environments that promote the fulfillment of the three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, promote optimal functioning across life domains, explaining how and why expedition experiences can have a positive