A university’s wilderness canoe excursion provided long-lasting benefits according to alumniOutdoor adventure education (OAE) engages learners in adventure activities in wilderness or backcountry environments to foster skill development and personal growth. Prior research has found that OAE can improve participants’ well-being and confidence, encourage appreciation of nature, and enhance relationships and social interaction. While OAE programs are becoming increasingly popular at colleges and universities, relatively few studies have investigated how participants view their experience years later. This study aimed to explore alumni perspectives of their OAE participation to clarify how the program impacted their experience as college students as well as their life after graduation.
The study was conducted with the alumni of a Canadian university who previously completed a mandatory outdoor experience program (MOEP), which involved a three- to four-day wilderness canoe excursion in northern Ontario. The MOEP, which was initiated in 1969, was a graduation requirement that provided college credit to undergraduate students in the School of Human Kinetics. As part of the program, students participated in a series of three outdoor adventure experiences at the beginning of their first, second and third year. This study focused solely on alumni perspectives of their third-year experiences. The researchers developed an online self-report retrospective survey which included closed and open-ended questions to gather participants’ recollections of their experience. Two closed-ended questions asked participants to rate the importance of their experience during their time as a student and in their life after graduation compared to other university experiences using a visual analogue scale (VAS) with response options ranging from zero (least important) to 100 (most important). Participants were asked to explain their rating by responding to the open-ended questions immediately following each VAS question. The survey also collected demographic information. An online link to the survey was shared through email and social media with a total of 3,564 alumni who graduated between 1971 and 2016. Because the university is bilingual, surveys were available in English and French. Fully completed survey responses were received from 167 alumni (mean age 38 years). The majority (63%) of respondents were female. The median year of trip participation was 2005, with a median recall period (time since participation in the MOEP) of 12 years. Qualitative data from the open-ended questions were thematically analyzed to identify commonly reported themes. VAS scores were quantitatively summarized. Further, statistical analysis was conducted to examine potential relationships between VAS scores and participants’ sex, language, graduation date, and the dominant themes identified through thematic analysis.
Analysis determined that the MOEP was of “definite importance” (defined as a VAS score greater than 60) compared to their other university experiences for 75% of participants during their time as students and 59% of participants in their post-graduation lives. Thematic analysis of the two open-ended questions revealed why participants perceived their experience to be important. Recalling their experience as students, the most frequently identified themes from participants’ explanations around the importance of the MOEP were group bonding, learning, nature and growth. Other key themes, which were discussed somewhat less frequently, included memories, enjoyment, leadership and challenge. Although the far majority of responses were positive, some reported these themes from a negative standpoint. Similar themes emerged from participants’ responses regarding the importance of the experience after graduation. However, three additional themes—lifestyle, confidence, and career—were identified and participants’ responses did not include the theme growth. The most strongly reported reasons why participants considered the MOEP important in their life after graduation were related to lifestyle, learning, group bonding and confidence. Other less frequently reported reasons included memories, leadership, nature, career, enjoyment and challenge.
Statistical analysis examined the relationship between the most frequently identified themes, which were group bonding, learning, and lifestyle, and VAS scores. Analysis found that participants who indicated the importance of group bonding (e.g. recalled experiences of teamwork, bonding with classmates, and making friends) were significantly more likely to highly rank the importance of the experience as a student. French-speaking participants as well as participants who reported lifestyle-related themes (e.g. the experience impacted their current leisure activities or view of the environment) were significantly more likely to highly rank the importance of the experience in their lives after graduation. Although it is not clear why being a French speaking student was a significant predictor for importance of the MOEP in life after graduation, the researchers suggest that because these students comprised a small percentage (11%) of the study population, they may have formed stronger bonds that persisted beyond graduation. A significant relationship between the theme learning and VAS scores was not detected.
Overall, findings reveal that most alumni believed that their OAE experience was important to their university experience, and that they continued to perceive beneficial impacts later in life. The social benefits of OAE that enabled group bonding were key to their experience as students. Long-term lifestyle benefits identified by the study showed that alumni integrated their OAE experiences into their adult lives. This finding is particularly important as it “suggests that a relatively short three- to four-day MOEP actually changed some participant’s lifestyles years after the event.” The study is limited by the possibility that recalled memories did not accurately capture program impacts. Additionally, it is possible that alumni with more positive experiences may have been more apt to volunteer to participate in the study. The study does, however, contribute to the literature on participant perspectives of OAE and findings can provide insight to the development of future programs.
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