hood in the woods - lovelavender.co.nz

HOOD IN THE WOODS
OUTDOOR EDUCATION FOR ALIENATED YOUTH
Compiled by Rex Hendry, 1986
Final Project, Diploma of Recreation and Sport
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
PAGE NO.
1.
Introduction
3
2.
Identifying the Situation
4
3.
Specific Problems for Alienated Youth
9
4.
The Social Interpretation
15
5.
The Maori Perspective
19
6.
Involvement of Outdoor Education
23
7.
The Therapy Provided
31
8.
Activities and Their Relationship to Alienated Youth
39
9.
Instructional Approach
47
10.
O.P.C. Wilderness Experience
57
11.
References
64
12.
Bibliography (Complementary Book List)
65
FIGURES
1.
The Effect of Upper Level Changes on Subsystems
6
2.
Systems Model of Youth Problems Behaviour
12
3.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
15
4.
Some Factors of Determined Self-esteem
16
5.
Expectation of Control/Motivation Graph
17
6.
Effectiveness/Outcome Expectation
17
7.
Brief History of Colonization
19
8.
View of the Maori Individual & Community
21
9.
Yeoman's Model of Confluent Education
21
10.
A Curriculum Matrix for Social Work: some standard methods
31
11.
Sequential Development of Outdoor Education Skills
46
12.
Danger Diagram
47
13.
Counselling Process
53
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INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this study is to provide a resource and reference book for people working in
outdoor education for alienated youth, and to lay to rest some of the ghosts about outdoor
education in New Zealand. In compiling this I have quoted liberally from most references
and therefore define this work as an information research project. Any plagiarism is
accidental and all rights are reserved by the original authors.
My gratitude goes to Dr Margaret O'Brien, Stephen Bacon, Colin Mortlock, David and
YokeLeng Thomas, Tavistock Publication and Bruce Hosking for permission to use their
material. Many thanks to Murray Ball for permission to include some of his cartoons.
The information collected refers primarily to the "process” of outdoor education. However
in Chapter 8 there is reference to actual “content”, in particular in counselling, where quite
often the process is understood and the content is not.
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IDENTIFYING THE SITUATION
This Chapter attempts to identify the anthropological reasons for alienation of youth. In
doing so we shall look at the alienation of society in general and the role of adolescence in
society.
Alienated Society
With the growth and development of the human being as a social and community-based
animal, has come a change in relationship in the natural order of the world. This gradual
process has escalated rapidly in the past few thousand years with sophistication of politics,
and, more recently, with the technological boom in the last century and its associated
industrialization.
With this progression has come "damaging social attitudes which produce alienation from
the environment;
(1) a sense of separation from nature,
(2) a lack of responsibility for the natural environment,
(3) a weak sense of identity,
(4) depression, apathy and neurosis,
(5) a collapse of faith in traditional values and,
(6) a weak or inarticulate sense of life meanings or direction.
"The origins of some negative attitudes towards the environment possibly lie in the
institutionalization of religion, the emphasis of which was more on maintaining social
structure than of offering humanity a means of attaining a unified, harmonious relation with
the natural environment.” (9)
Nature was viewed originally by the early Christian church as a symbolic system by which
god sent messages to man.
Tom Robbins, in Another Roadside Attraction, gives his view on the separation of man from
the environment;
'It was only when some men - the original tribes of Judah quit tilling the soil and became
alienated from the vegetation cycle that they lost faith in the material resurrection of the
body... so they became alarmed, forgot the lesson of vegetation, and in desperation
developed the concept of spiritual rebirth. The idea of a spiritual -- invisible being was the
result of becoming alienated from the workings of nature; where man could no longer
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observe the solid, material, processes of life, and identify with them. He had to invent god in
order to explain how life happened and why death happened.' (9)
This shift in philosophical approach reduced a change in values, which, in turn, influenced
the basic life meanings of social structure. Schumacher (Small is Beautiful; Economics as if
People Mattered: Perennial, 1975) feels the origins are more recent and…
‘sees the conditions that paved the way for technological advantages of the twentieth
century as responsible for the concomitant loss of cultural convictions and therefore the
pervasive feeling of meaningless. These conditions were primarily certain revolutionary
ideas in the nineteenth century (mainly evolution, survival of the fittest, economic
determinism, subconscious determinism, relativism, and positivism) which destroyed the
existing metaphysical systems and offered nothing as meaningful in their place.’
Schumacher's solution is to fill this cultural void with a massive effort – at ‘metaphysical
reconstruction' and restore meaning by clarifying the central convictions of our culture.
Schumacher identifies education, 'the greatest resource', as the primary agent in this
process:
'The task of our generation, I have no doubt, is one of metaphysical reconstruction. It is not
as if we had to invent anything new; at the same time, it is not good enough merely to
revert to the old formulation. Our task, and the task of all education, is to understand to the
present world, the world in which we live and make our choices. The problems of education
are merely reflections of the deepest problems of our age. They cannot be solved by
organisation, administration, or expenditure of money, even though the importance of all
these is not denied… education which fails to clarify our central convictions is merely
training or indulgence. For it is our central convictions that are in disorder, and as long as
the present anti-metaphysical temper persists, the disorder will grow worse.’ (9)
The adaption of education towards satisfying job, requirements for the industrial market has
a large void towards Schumacher's ideal of "metaphysical reconstruction”.
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Technological Influences:
Altogether industrialization has a large part to play in our lives. Industrialization, and the
marketing systems that support it, have developed an attitude of consumerism.
Consumerism, in itself, is dependent upon the ingenuity of marketing and advertising to
survive. National markets fluctuate with international exchange rates and these fluctuations
directly affect employment. All too obvious is the reality of unemployment. Figure (1) is
offered as an example of the direct effects of unemployment on the individual.
UNIVERSE
SOCIETY
ORGANISATIONS
CULTURES
COMMUNITY
FAMILY
INDIVIDUAL
SYSTEMS
ORGANS
TISSUES
MOLECULES
Dwindling of natural resources
(for example, oil)
Transportation is seen as a basic need for people in the
western world, esp. the loss of oil effects and threatening
major methods of transport of people, goods and services
Inability of auto industry to adapt auto design to diminishing
oil, decrease in sales of autos ... causes layoffs in auto
industry.
Values make acceptance of unemployment status and
financial assistance difficult. Decline in living standard and
loss of faith in economic/political system
Outward migration from "good” neighbourhoods
necessitated disintegration of community ties and status
Family upheaval due to altered lifestyle.
Self-esteem, midlife readjustment of trade, occupation and
future jeopardized
Disequilibrium, stress syndrome, decreased coping
Signs and symptoms of stress disorders;
headaches
depression
'low energy' and similar complaints
appetite and sleep disturbances
and so forth
ATOMS, ETC
Figure 1: The effect of upper level changes on subsystems: The case of an unemployed auto
worker. (Adapted from Howard Brody, "The Systems View of Man: implications for medicine,
science and ethics" perspectives in Biology and Medicine [autumn 1973])
This commitment to industrialization and a general alienation from nature (physically,
intellectually, emotionally) is "a major factor in preventing an individual from achieving an
adequate sense of life meanings". (9)
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"A brief definition of life meanings might include such features as an ability to articulate
personal life goals, a comprehensive understanding of self [self-concept], an awareness and
acceptance of personal values, and a philosophy of life." (9)
Alienated Youth:
‘Body changes, new expectations from family and school, changed feeling towards opposite
sex and looking forward to adulthood create a state of development where the adolescent
reconsiders and considers new values and undergoes self-concept changes.’ (7)
With traditional values under constant change and review those values directly relate to life
meanings, life meanings directly relate to self-concept and 'the central theme of
adolescence is the finding of one's self' (J. Stone, J. Church: Child and Adolescence: A
Psychology of the Growing Person; Brandon House.) (7), it is little wonder that youth
demonstrate the greatest symptoms of alienation in society.
This can be further accentuated by observing the development tasks of the adolescent;
“(a) achieving new and more mature relationships with age mates of both sex,
(b) achieving a masculine or feminine social role,
(c) accepting one's physique and using the body effectively,
(d) achieving emotional inter-dependence of parents and other adults,
(e) preparing for marriage and family life,
(f) preparing for an economic career,
(g) acquiring a set of values and ethical system as a guide to behaviour – developing
an idealogy,
(h) designing and achieving socially responsible behaviour."
(Adapted from Havighurst, 1972).
and rounded off by J.C. Colman (Psychology and Effective Behaviour; Scott, Foresman and
Company):
"The need for a clear cut and realistic sense of 'who we are' (one self-concept) has become
particularly crucial in modern society, where the individual often feels himself a puppet in
the hands of a vast impersonal bureaucracy and may lose faith in his own identity or his
ability to find a place for himself."
In summary, it would seem from researching this literature that society at large is alienated
from its very nature. Youth, as the most volatile component in the physical, emotional,
intellectual and spiritual development stage in human growth, exhibits the greatest
characteristics of alienation.
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"More recently society is viewed as out of control, whereas wilderness and nature are
understandable and predictable. It may be that the current trend towards positive
wilderness attitudes is a healthy sign that human awareness is in the process of regaining a
realistic and rightful understanding of nature and humanity's place in it. Such an
understanding may be a significant foundation for the emergence of a truly civilised society
which can apply the recently developed scientific and technological processes to the whole
environment in accordance with the wisdom of nature." (9)
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SPECIFIC PROBLEMS FOR ALIENATED YOUTH
Street Kids
Street kids everywhere,
People walking up the street cause they just don't care,
Times are hard in these here days,
So you go to learn to seek your way,
The past, now, and the future to come,
You will say hey where's your mum,
But you're not dumb,
You know where,
She's in the pub drinking beer.
So you live it up just for fun,
But it turns into reality,
So you walk the streets late at night,
Crashing down until the morning light,
Now you're hungry and your stomach is bare,
So walking into a shop to see what's there,
By your surprise you'll see what's there,
So you pick it up and then it disappears.
You walk on out without a doubt,
feeling pretty proud about yourself,
You think you're cool, but you're just a fool,
Because you ended up dropping out of school,
Future to future and time to time,
You see that you steal but it's just in time,
It ain't a big deal you know how it feels,
To be set up for a bigger deal.
(Source unknown)
This Chapter deals specifically with the problems relating to alienated youth.
"The problem behaviours identified by the social workers [in Hamilton] as being of concern
were truancy, homelessness and solvent abuse. These behaviours were seen as being inter
related." (10)
Truancy:
The figures given for truancy from school is 26,000 primary school children and 15,000
secondary school students absent on a typical day (Kala, Sturrock, White: Absent from
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School; Department of Education, 1982). This survey indicated that absence rates for Maori
students were 1.5 times more frequent than for European students. Absence rates tended
to be higher for schools in low socio economic areas, but the rates were unrelated to school
size."
"Research on school factors relating to truancy has found that schools with higher rates of
truancy tend to be 'custodial' in orientation, with high levels of control, harsh and strict rule
enforcement, isolation of staff from students and parents, and have teachers who are
perceived by students to be hostile and authoritarian in their dealings with students
(Reynolds, Jones, Leger and Murgatroyd; Out of School; Wylie 1980). In contrast it was
found that 'high attendance schools' encouraged participation of students in the
organisation of the school and fostered close to school 'parent relationships'.
"Bobillier (Truancy in New Zealand; Victoria University, 1986) found, when studying truancy
in 80 fourth form classes, three characteristics which were related to truancy; use of
'stream' classes where 'high' and 'low' ability students are separated into different classes,
ethnicity with Maori truancy higher than Pakeha, and socio economic status (S.E.S.) where
students from families having low S.E.S. were more likely to be truant. The reasons the
students gave for being absent from school were: boredom with school, dislike of school
and teachers, feeling that school was not relevant to their concerns, and failing in
classroom." (10)
Homelessness:
"A survey carried out in August 1982 suggested that almost 1300 young people in New
Zealand could be considered homeless or unsuitably housed (a report by Department of
Internal Affairs, 1983; Youth Homelessness). The report noted that 'the problem has
become a serious concern to community organizations working with young people since late
1980'."
"Farber, Kinast, McCoard and Falkner (Child Abuse and Neglect, 1984) had noted three
general categories of 'runaways' in the United States. These categories are:
(1) Temporary escapists - adolescents who are seeking adventure and excitement.
(2) Delinquent alienated runaways - adolescents who run from negative experiences
such as restrictive parental control or difficulties in school.
(3) Abused or neglected - adolescents who have been told to leave their homes or who
are abandoned. These adolescents have usually been repeatedly and severely beaten
or abused.
"Given that most homeless young people are determined not to return to neglectful or
abusive families, it is unlikely that solutions involving returning such young people to their
families will generally be effective.
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The families which homeless youth have left are generally characterised by relative poverty,
high unemployment, high stress, adults with alcohol problems and frequent physical
violence. Amongst homeless girls there is a relatively high incident of prior sexual
molestation from a parent or other adult." (10)
Solvent Abuse:
"Solvent abuse is primarily a youth activity which tends to take place in groups. The
determinants of solvent abuse appear to be similar to those for other types of drugs, such as
alcohol, tobacco and cannabis. Botvin (In Preventing Adolescence Drug Abuse: Intervention
Strategy; NIDA 1983) has identified pro-substance-use social influences as coming from the
family, the peer group and the media. Psychological factors which pre-dispose young people
from substance abuse include an external Locus of control, low self-esteem, low self
satisfaction, and a greater need for social approval, low social confidence, high anxiety, low
assertiveness and impulsivity. As these factors also pre-dispose young people towards a
number of other health-comprising behaviours, and social problems, they are best viewed
as a syndrome or pattern rather than a separate behaviour. Botvin conceptualises substance
use as a socially learn, purposive and functional behaviour which results from a combination
of social and personal factors.
'Some individuals seek out other individuals who smoke, drink, or use drugs or may be
motivated to engage in those behaviours themselves as a way of coping with expected
failure, or as an alternative way of achieving some specific goal (for example... popularity,
social status or self-esteem) they may be influenced to begin using one or more substances
after repeated exposure to high status models engaging in these behaviour or as a result of
persuasive appeals by the advertisers or peers. Differential susceptibility to social influence
appears to be mediated by personality, or individuals who have low self-esteem, low
autonomy, low self-confidence and an external locus of control being more likely to
succumb to these influences. (10)
Youth Social Problems: A Systems Model;
"It is evident that many of the problem behaviours are related to a common set of predisposing characteristics, such as; family background, difficulties at school, peer group
influences and personal characteristics. While homelessness can be seen as a specific
outcome arising from a rejecting or hostile family environment, the causes of truancy and
solvent abuse overlap to a large extent with those causes identified as being related to a
variety of youth 'problems' behaviours as 'delinquency". These causes can be summarized as
follows:
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(1) A family environment characterised by several of the following features;
(a)
frequent use of physical punishment
(b)
the presence of a parent with high alcohol consumption
(c)
lack of warmth or love in family relationships
(d)
frequent conflict within the family
(e)
lack of interest in the child's progress at school.
(2) Personal characteristics such as;
(a)
low social confidence,
(b)
low self-esteem,
(c)
high anxiety,
(d)
high need for social approval,
(e)
an external lack of control.
(3) School related behaviours such as;
(a)
dislike of teachers,
(b)
experiencing school as boring or irrelevant,
(c)
little or no progress in terms of educational achievement,
(d)
unwillingness to engage in school-related learning activities.
(4) Development of peer-group relationships with other children having similar
characteristics and experiences. Such peer-group relationships provide support and
empathy for group members. However, they are also likely to encourage behaviours,
meeting such needs as survival and entertainment, which are illegal or considered by
outsiders to be 'anti-social'." (10)
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Child Abuse:
Further problems exist in the area of child abuse. It is estimated that 80% of the females
who attend the Outdoor Pursuits Centre Wilderness Experience Programme are victims of
sexual abuse (predominantly incestuous). It is further estimated that over 70% of the total
participants are victims of physical abuse. It is difficult to be precise in cases of child abuse
due to what behaviour is socially or culturally acceptable.
Physical Abuse:
"In all cases of suspected and actual physical abuse, medical examination is required,
preferably by a paediatrician. Indications of possible child abuse (non accidental injury) are;
(a) Unjustifiable delays by caregivers in seeking medical attention.
(b) Inappropriately low level of anxiety by caregivers in relationship to degree of injuries
to child.
(c) 'Discrepant history' - where account of injuries do not equate with medical findings
and/or inconsistent account given of injuries by caregivers.
(d) Injuries are inappropriate to age/development of child.
(e) Child shows fear of caregivers, flinches, inappropriate 'startled reaction', rocks,
shows sign of 'frozen watchfulness', a sustained wide eyed look.
(f) Child shows high pain threshold.
(g) Child fails to develop without medical reason (non organic failure to thrive).
(h) Child has healed unexplained injuries found on x-ray.
(i) Bruise marks of finger or thumb indicating child has been firmly held or shaken
(shaking of a young baby can be especially dangerous).
(j) Grasp marks associated with other injuries suggesting child has been restrained
while being assaulted.
(k) Caregivers have other abused/neglected children and/or were abused themselves.
(l) Unaccountable period away from school;"(15)
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Sexual Abuse;
"In all cases of suspected or actual sexual abuse medical attention should be sought
preferably by a gynaecologist. However, a medical assessment is, in itself, not conclusive
and absence of medical science of sexual abuse do not necessarily indicate abuse has not
taken place."
"Depending on the child's age, an account of the alleged abuse is often best obtained by
using methods which enable her/him to 'disassociate' themselves from the incident. The use
of dolls, drawings and pretending to look at a film of the incident may be useful in acquiring
information from the child. "
"‘Anatomically correct' dolls are held by the Department of Social Welfare with social
workers and psychologists trained to use them in suspected or actual sexual abuse cases.
"Some children show no immediate reaction to being sexually abused but may have a late
response at adolescence, marriage or at a crisis in adulthood." (15)
Emotional Abuse;
"Emotional abuse is probably the most difficult form of child abuse to define, identify and
treat. It tends to have unusual characteristics compared with other forms of abuse in that
unintentional 'abuse' is possibly more prevalent in this area and is sometimes referred to as
'the elusive crime’. A knowledge of child development is essential in order to assess whether
the child's behaviour is age appropriate or not."
"Emotional abuse is often characterised by the child having poor self-esteem, depression,
hyper-activity, poor communication and social skills, withdrawn behaviour, severe anxiety
or untowards aggression towards him/herself or to others."
"Some of these characteristics in the child may arise from his or her environment being
excessively violent, caregivers having unrealistic expectations of the child, by extreme
inconsistencies in the handling of the child by the caregivers, peer inducing techniques,
belittling, scapegoating and by a process of punishing generally accepted positive behaviour
such as smiling or talking.
“Other forms of emotional abuse may arise through caregivers providing an inappropriate
environment for the child such as allowing the child to see perverted behaviour,
pornography or by the caregivers providing a non-stimulating environment where he or she
receives no affection, is locked away in a dark place or is subjected to threats of injury or
death."
"Some caregivers may be unaware that their discipline and control of the child is damaging."
"In most cases of emotional abuse, counselling/treatment by a fully qualified personnel is
essential." (15)
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THE SOCIAL INTERPRETATION
This Chapter looks at human behavioural patterns in their relationship to human needs, and
in particular, to the requirement of self-esteem and self-actualization. Maslow's 'hierarchy
of needs' provides a useful model.
According to Maslow's motivation theory, human needs form a hierarchy. The ordering of
needs in the pyramid reflect:
(1) The relative potency of the needs - individuals will attempt to satisfy a lower need
like safety before satisfying a need above it such as self-esteem;
(2) The order in which the needs develop in our lifetime - we are born with only
physiological needs and then develop safety and security needs, then love, selfesteem and finally - self-actualization, which is conceived of a need to fulfil oneself it is a need to develop and utilise one's talents, abilities and potential fully 'to
become whatever one is capable of becoming';
(3) The order in which the needs emerged in the evolution of human beings;
Basic needs ------------------------ higher needs
(4) The degree to which the need must be satisfied in order to survive. The needs higher
in the hierarchy will emerge only as the lower needs become satisfied."(4)
Transcendence
Need for
Self Actualisation
Esteem Needs
Love and Belonging
Safety Needs
Physiological Needs
Figure (3) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Robert Vogel expands on the definition of self actualisation;
"Self actualisation is defined as the process a participant experiences while striving to
become more fully functioning and living a more enriched life. The participant becomes
more self- confident, effective in social relationships, inter-dependent, accepts weaknesses
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and limitations, and is seen as an individual who can utilise his/her unique capabilities and
realise his/her potential." (6)
"The individual self-concept plays an important role in the self actualising individual. The
extremely adequate, self actualising individual is a person with a positive self-concept." (6)
"Self-concept is defined as having three elements and were termed physical-self
perceptions, social-ethical self perceptions, and psycho sexual-self perceptions." (7)
"An individual with a self-concept is a person who is self confident, sees him/herself in a
positive way and sees value and worth in his/her existence." (6) [self-esteem].
Self-esteem:
Dr Margaret O'Brien (Psychology Department, University of Auckland) is working on the
effects of outdoor pursuits on self-esteem. With Dr O'Brien's kind permission here are some
notes on self-esteem:
Other dimensions not expressed in here are;

Universal/personal

General/specific.
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Barriers which help keep up our self-esteem include; isolation, denial, projection, anger,
repression, fantasies.
This expectation of control can be expressed in a relationship to motivation.
People at Point A have an expectation that certain behavioural strategy will lead to a
particular outcome. If failing - reaction to loss of control -> renewed attempt at mastery may become hostile and aggressive.
At Point B individuals become passive as they themselves are incapable of exerting any
control over their environment: at this stage may know what the right behavioural strategy
is, but feel unable to carry it out personally.
For therapeutic purposes this can be formulated as in Figure (6).
PERSON
BEHAVIOUR
A
B
OUTCOME
D
C
At Point C dealing with person’s conviction that he/she can successfully execute behaviour
required equals EFFECTIVENESS EXPECTATION.
At Point D dealing with person’s belief that a given behaviour will lead to a certain outcome
equals OUTCOME EXPECTATION.
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Together give self-efficacy (sense of our own effectiveness) equals SELF-ESTEEM (belief in
ourselves).
How to overcome low Self-esteem includes;
(a)
Mastery of identified, achievable tasks.
Equals accomplishment. Which means risk! Helped by;
(b)
Good modelling (see others like us master a task),
(c)
Being persuaded by others,
(d)
Others belief in us,
(e)
Positive self-messages. (12)
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THE MAORI PERSPECTIVE
Here is a brief history of the Maori people from the time of contact with the Europeans,
through to the present time. Following on are references to European politics which directly
affected the Maori people and led to the breakdown of their original communities (iwi and
hapu), and the family concept (whanau).
TIME OF CONTACT
- Arrival of muskets, inter-tribal fighting
1840 GOLDEN YEARS
- Missionaries, school, milling, ship owning,
effective self- determination, selective
acculturation
1900 ANNIHILATION
- 1896 land wars, confiscation of lands,
violent suppression of Maoris, rapid
European colonization
ASSIMILATION
- Maori state housing, "Pepper-potted" in
urbanisation, young Maoris encouraged to
seek employment in towns/cities
1950 INTEGRATION
1975 SELF DETERMINATION
- Establishment of Maori identity groups;

Mana Motu Hake

Tu Tangata

Kohanga Reo
Figure (7) Brief History of Colonisation
Relevant Politics:
The establishment of Maori schools under the Native Schools Act 1862 and 1867 brought
formalised education to the Maori people. The Amendment to the Act in 1871 provided
funding to the schools on the basis that they taught English. This Act was not abolished until
the 1960's.
On the land front, the Native Lands Act of 1862, 1865, 1873 (amended 1867) requires that
land owners be registered. On multiple-titled land and areas of boundaries (tribal and
European), any contention was decided in the Land Courts established for that purpose. (13)
The New Zealand Settlements Act of 1863 brought about confiscation of Maori land, to be
colonized by military settlers. The Land Wars loomed up to supply provisions to this Act.
Mammoth amounts of land were confiscated;
 Waikato 1,202,172 acres (304,262 returned)
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 Taranaki 1,275,000 acres (557,000 subsequently purchased; 256,000 returned)
 Tauranga 290,000 acres (240,250 returned)
 Eastern Bay of Plenty 448,000 acres (230,600 returned) (13)
By the turn of the century the Maori population had been reduced from 200,000 to 40,000.
There ensued a period of assimilation; the gradual industrialization of farming and industry,
development of towns and cities with its associated commerce, and fine tuning of
representative government.
The next major strategy to affect the Maori community was the introduction of the Maori
Land Development Scheme, the Maori Housing Scheme, and Social Security in the 1930's.
Maori villages transformed as people conurbated to utilise the benefits of the housing
scheme and social security. Farming became a national scene and production quotas were
introduced.
Employment prospects in towns were never too good and by mid-1960's, when the slump in
wool prices causing further unemployment, a cycle was in motion.
"They create a circle of circumstances that was self-reinforcing that was difficult to break:
lower standards of educational attainment led to lower-income jobs or unemployment,
which led to lower standards of housing and health, which led to higher rates of Maori
crime, which led back to lower educational attainment and so on." (14)
In 1961 the 'Hunn Report' was produced outlining the cause of "pepper-potting" Maori
families about in a state housing (one family per street etc) and the one way process of
assimilation and integration. (13)
"The Hunn Report's most successful consequences were the setting up of the Maori
Education Foundation to help pupils through Secondary and tertiary education, the
extension of trade training facilities for Maoris, and the provision for hostel accommodation
and pre-employment courses for young Maoris new to city life." (14)
Although very well intended, one probable effect of the Hunn Report was a further
escalation of urbanisation and disruption to the whanau.
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View of the Maori Individual and Community:
INDIVIDUAL
WHANAU
HAPU
IWI
Figure (8)
The whanau is the immediate family, the hapu is the sub tribe of extended famiLy, and the
iwi is the main tribe or nation. Iwi also means conception, hapu means pregnant, and
whanau means birth; of great philosophical significance when applied to Figure (8).
Research brought to light Figure (9)(Yeoman's Model of Confluent Education) which seems
to interpret the intellectual aspect of Figure (8), but overlooks the spiritual essence.
YEOMAN'S MODEL OF CONFLUENT EDUCATION
TRANSPERSONAL
IMPERSONAL
INTERPERSONAL
INTRAPERSONAL
Figure (9)
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The inner circle represents intrapersonal processes, which of one's thoughts, emotions and
physical sensations. This is where self-understanding takes place. The next circle out
contains the intrapersonal processes which include awareness of the self in the social
context. The third circle out contains the impersonal or extra-personal processes and
includes awareness of the external environment both cultural and physical. Awareness in
this area increases the individual's understanding of place. The fourth circle was added by
Georgi (9) to deal with spiritual awareness in a wilderness learning programme.
This model is helpful in planning learning programmes that attempt to achieve holistic goals.
This Chapter was compiled to accentuate the outside influences on the Maori people and
their culture. As outlined in Chapter 1 the human self-concept is related to life meanings.
(See ‘metaphors in Chapter 5).
Life meanings are derived from culture. It is my suggestion here that, due to the affective
colonization of New Zealand, the indigenous people have been removed from their basic
self-concept.
Outdoor education for alienated youth deals predominantly with self-concept and Maori
youth. It is paramount that those people facilitating experiences designed to self-concept
changes of Maori youth have a knowledge of the inherent life meanings (metaphors).
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THE INVOLVEMENT OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION
"Around the turn of the [20th] century outdoor experiences were having notable effects on
people in western medical institutions. In 1901 there was an outbreak of tuberculosis at
Manhattan State Hospital, a mental health facility. Fearing an epidemic in the over-crowded
wards, the superintendent ordered tents to be erected in the glade of the hospital grounds.
To ensure isolation, all working, dining and recreational functions were performed within
each tent group. The attending physicians were surprised to see the changes in patient
behaviour and attitudes that occurred. The patients were previously bedridden and
seriously regressed. Now organised in these somewhat autonomous groups they were
showing marked weight gains. There was a significant decrease in incontinence. General
deportment was noted for the vast majority of this population with a number of patients
previously designated as hopeless showing enough improvement to eventually be
discharged." (8)
Metaphors:
"Students learned to rock climb. In so doing they learn also how to keep calm and persevere
against seemingly overwhelming difficulties. Learning to read a topographical map is an
important orienteering skill. Ideally, the mastery of this ability to navigate can also help a
student learn where to go with his/her life. In this sense, the skills training and other
didactic and experiential learning become metaphors for an underlying goal of personal
transformation. This [Outward Bound] is not only experiential education; its characterchange component is a form of 'metaphoric education'.
"The term 'metaphor' has come into such widespread use that it must be carefully defined.
Technically, metaphor refers to a figure of speech wherein one thing is likened to another in
such a way that the comparison throws new light on the subject. For example, 'the ship
plows the sea' is a metaphorical figure of speech.
“Metaphor is also sometimes used in reference to an anecdote, story or set of experiences
that somehow clarify a real-life situation. For example, hearing an anecdote about how a
friend carefully tends his vegetable garden might encourage an erring father to tend better
the growing garden of his family. Likewise, running marathons might help [Outward Bound]
students feel that they can go further than they thought in their struggle to succeed at
school.
"This second definition of metaphor is related to concepts of parable and allegory. However,
both parable and allegory are often interpreted as referring to a more intellectual learning
style in which the listeners consciously extract lessons which they can apply to their lives.
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Conversely, a metaphor - at least as it is used herein - the message of the metaphor is
absorbed experientially, affectively, and unconsciously, with only minimal, or at most,
secondary contributions from the conscious intellect…
"The key factor in determining whether experiences are metaphoric is the degree of
isomorphism between the metaphoric situation and the real-life situation. Isomorphic
means having the same structure. When all the major elements in one experience are
represented by corresponding elements in another experience and when the overall
structure of the two experiences is highly similar, then the two experiences are metaphors
for each other. This does not imply that the corresponding elements are liberally identical,
rather, they must be symbolically identical…
"A metaphoric experience may be an anecdote or story, or - as in the case of outward bound
- it may be actual experience. Metaphoric experience must be compelling to hold the
individual's attention. Finally if it is going to change behaviour, it must have a different
ending - a different resolution - from the corresponding real life situation." (1)
The Transderivational Search:
The transderivational search is a process of the mind to absorb cognitive understanding.
"In normal education experience such as a lecture, the listener tends to perform the
transderivational search solely on an intellectual level. Conversely, when using metaphor,
the transderivational search goes beyond intellectual concept and draws upon important
emotional experiences. In addition, the metaphor usually matches whole patterns of
experience rather than single concepts. The process of matching a whole pattern is so
powerful that the metaphor and its real-life correlate becomes inextricably linked ...
"This is a critical point; in profoundly isomorphic metaphors, the student will be living two
realities simultaneously. In literal reality, she/he will be having an [Outward Bound] course
experience; in psychological reality, she/he will be having both course experience and the
corresponding real-life experience. The mechanism of the transderivational search ties to
the two experiences together so tightly that one cannot be separated from the other.
"When two experiences are tied together this intimately, the established strategy of the
real-life experience will usually prevail and the metaphoric experience will be executed in
the same style as the real-life experience. If the student usually handles the situation well,
he/she will have a success during the metaphorical experience, and if she/he handles it
poorly, she/he will have a failure. However the [Outward Bound] course is explicitly
organised to facilitate success experiences. When failure strategies are encountered, the
instructor, the group, and the, course format help generate a counter typical resolution to
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the metaphoric challenge - a resolution that gives the student a success experience. In
achieving this success experience, the student has installed a new strategy.
She/he now has two ways of responding to his/her situation; the old way, which leads to
failure and decreased self-esteem, and the new approach, which demonstratively leads to
mastery. This new strategy will now be available in any real-life situations that are
isomorphic with the metaphorical experience." (1)
"Narratives, anecdotes, examples, didactic lectures, and testimonials can be important
factors in addressing metaphors. For the story to have maximum impact they should be
isomorphic, offer a new resolution, include vivifying details, and be told with feeling.
Sometimes desirable student behaviour can be elicited by covertly recommending it in a
didactic lecture. Finally instructors should be prepared to create a time, place and
atmosphere conducive to spontaneous testimonial behaviour.
"One of the best ways to encourage success experiences is to tell students how to do
something properly. Skills training overtly meets this goal. Beyond skills training, it is useful
to offer students the actual feeling of a success strategy." (1)
Archetypes:
"The concept of the archetype was developed by C.G. Jung and his followers. Jung was a
psychiatrist with a special interest in dreams and subsidiary interest in pathology, alchemy,
anthropology, and religion. As he studied these different fields, he noted that certain images
and themes would repeatedly arise. For example, he found western europeans having
dreams that were strikingly similar to themes of Australian aboriginal mythology. And some
of his schizophrenic patients were describing experiences identical to passages in ancient
alchemy text. The more he studied, the more he became convinced that regardless of
human diversity some of the ways of organising and understanding the world are universal
he could expect to find certain themes - the archetypes - in every individual, in every
culture, and at any point in history.
“'Archetype' literally means an original pattern or a mould; subsequent representations are
copies of this original. Jung argued that this original pattern is reproduced in the psyche of
every human being and that it defines and delineates the manner in which the world is
perceived…
Take the archetype of sacred space as an example…
"One common theme is that sacred space is always difficult to reach. The seeker needs to
learn to fly, or cross a guarded or dangerous bridge, or defeat a dragon. When she/he finally
arrives, she/he finds that the actual environment of the sacred space is highly unusual.
Strange plants and animals sometimes abide there...
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"The seeker always experiences sacred space as a highly numinous - it is pervaded with a
sense of power, mystery and awesomeness. It clearly participates in a transcedental plane
of existence. Human beings - whose home is earth - can never stay there. In the first place it
lacks the prerequisites for normal living. In the second, the seeker almost always has
something important to accomplish back in the real world...
"Anyone who has spent much time in the wilderness can easily recognize the parallels
between it and the archetypes of sacred space. Wilderness is difficult to get to and difficult
to travel through. One passes a series of tests in order to exist within it. It is unlike the
normal world in hundreds of ways. Above all, it is pervaded with a kind of religiosity or
mysticism - one of the most compelling things about nature is that it seems to implicitly
suggest the existence of order and meaning.
"The power of an archetype is such that human beings are unconsciously prepared to
recognise a concrete manifestation of the archetypical pattern when they encounter it in
the world. According to Jung the archetypes are literally stamped into the human
unconscious. They are similar to instincts in an animal. A student is prepared to see
wilderness as a sacred space as a bird is prepared to fly south [north] for the winter.
"Certain course experiences do invoke the presence of one or more of these primordial
patterns that the alert instructor can capitalise on their experience for their students
benefit. In doing so, she/he exposes the student to much more than his/her own teaching
abilities or the students own personal strength. The students covertly participate in an ageold pattern of human development. (1)
Education Objectives:
"The following are components of the method through which the educational objectives are
achieved;
(a) Skills training. Developing those skills which "enable an individual to function with
competence and safety in a particular natural environment i.e. first aid, camping,
basic mountaineering.
(b) Stress/hardship. Exposing students to challenging experiences which compel them to
examine their own reactions and responses in new situations that require action or
decisions i.e. abseiling, rock climbing, emergencies.
(c) Problem solving. Providing opportunities where individuals or groups need to
analyse situations and arrive at solutions, i.e. initiative activities, wilderness travel,
emergency evacuation.
(d) Service. Developing a sense of responsibility for others and to the environment
through work projects, rescue preparedness (fire) and work with handicapped
groups.
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(e) Reflection. Encouraging individuals to reflect on different lifestyles and attitudes in
ways that provide new insight, i.e. group discussions, solo, debriefings.
(f) Evaluation. Sharpening the individual’s responses so as to encourage critical
assessment and constructive action, i.e. individual interviews, group discussions and
debriefing." (1)
Field Studies Research for this Project:
The Effects of Project Use Training (Adventure Training) on the Participants SelfActualisation and Self-Perception of Personal Change by Robert Mark Vogel;
"The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of project USE (Urban Suburban
Environment) training on the participant. Project USE is an experiential wilderness
programme which provides the participant with an opportunity for self-discovery through a
variety of adventure or action orientated training activities.
"This study was designed to evaluate changes that occurred in levels of self-actualisation
and the influence of the project USE training has on the participants self-perception of
personal change.
"Project USE training is concerned with the development and growth of the total person
through cognitive (thinking), affective (emotional) and psychomotor (physical) domains of
an individual. Outdoor activity, by its very nature, assimilates the meaning and direction of
the participant’s experiences. These experiences of personal growth, problem solving,
leadership, decision making and effective interpersonal communications are designed to
lead one to a more productive life and towards higher levels of self-actualisation.
"Using Shostrom's Personal Orientation Inventory and the Course Description (C. D.)
developed by Silberman and Allender, the results indicated not only do participants increase
their levels of self-actualisation, but are able to internalise their personal changes and
report them." (6)
A Two Week Residential Camp Offering the Primary Objective of Pre-Determined Attitude
Change for Early Adolescence. by Ernest M. Cooms;
"The purpose of this study was to develop a twelve day residential camp with the primary
objective being a pre- determined attitudinal change for the participants. Results were then
compared with a twelve day 'typical camp' programme. Major areas of concern were the
development of a more positive self-concept and more positive attitudes towards school
and the learning process. Rating scales were developed to parallel the five elements
identified as the major factors comprising self-concept and attitudes towards learning.
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These factors were physical perceptions, social ethical perceptions, psycho sexual
perceptions, attitudes towards the value of learning, the value of school and, the value of
the teacher in the learning process. Based on findings in the review of literature, together
with the theoretical conceptual framework for this study, three means were selected to
indicate change. These were self-perceptions, observed behavioural differences and
changing group patterns based on peer analysis. A 'guess who' sociometric nomination was
developed for this study to indicate changing group perceptions.
"The experimental programme based on predetermined group structure and required
certain interaction patterns of the participants within a residential situation. The purpose
was to develop a programme that would effectively bring about pre- determined attitudinal
changes in the participants.
"The experimental programme was followed by another twelve day session to minimise the
possibility of carry-over from the staff and planning programme structures for the control
group. The programme designed for the experimental group was of an increasing
democratic style, where the control group were subjected to a structured autocratic style.
"The three rating scales; self-rating scale, staff rating scale and the guidance-staff rating
scale, indicate that more positive attitudes resulted from the experimental group than from
the control group. The results of the sociometric nomination backed this up. Campers
perceived each other as being more positive after the experience, whereas this pattern was
reversed for the control group.
"Based on the findings of this study it appears that a resident camp programme can be
developed to meet the specific objectives of predetermined attitudinal change of the
participants.
"These findings may influence new directions in outdoor education, help to justify the cost
of such an experience and bring about new programme considerations and objectives for
many youth agencies presently offering camps." (7)
Self-concept Changes in Low Socio Economic Children as a Function of Decentralized,
Residential Camping Experience by Edward John Murphy;
"The primary purpose of this study was to experimentally investigate the effects of a
camping environment, secondarily the use of camping as a supplementary service for
children from a low socio economic background, and thirdly to measure the self-concept
changes.
"Two hundred and ninety one children were surveyed: two hundred and forty one attending
two week decentralized programmes, twenty six attending a month long decentralized
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programme and control group of twenty four children. The Peirs Harris self-concept scale
and the Draw-a-Person test were used in the study as measuring instruments.
"The main finding of this study is that decentralized camping produces positive changes in
self-concept in low socio-economic children. A secondary finding is that self-concept
measures can be used to evaluate camping programmes. Such a finding allows those in the
camping community to move beyond the anecdotal and testimonial formats of evaluation
which have been the only means of evaluation to date. A third area investigated was
concerned with certain demographic variables and their effect on changes of self-concept.
The findings of this study that race, ethnicity, age and sex did not have any effect on selfconcept changes can be added to the growing but somewhat contradictory results of other
research in this area. A fourth area investigated was that of differences in self-concept
between low socio economic status children and other children. No difference were
observed (i.e.· the experience was beneficial to all). It is hoped that this finding may add
caution to those who are perhaps too quick to draw one dimensional images of the poor as
being distinct from the rest of society. "(8)
Wilderness As a Context for Learning:
An exploratory study with implications for learning programmes involving life meanings,
environmental education, and attitudes. by David Rudolph Georgi;
"This study investigated the psychological, philosophical and ethical processes that influence
Wilderness Learning Programmes (WLP) in an attempt to analyse the origins and dynamics
of social needs such as; an adequate sense of life meanings, comprehensive understanding
of self, and a feeling of connectedness with the natural and social environment.
"The basic thesis for the paper is that encouraging positive contact with wilderness can
reduce toxic effects of civilisation and promote learning that is significant to individuals and
to society.
"The hypothesis that was of main interest was that in the area of life meanings;
(1)
WLP learners clarify personal life goals, values and beliefs.
(2)
WLP learners increase understanding of the self, as a physical, emotional and
spiritual entity as it relates to the social and natural environment.
(3)
WLP learners are able to perceive mental imagery which is associated with personal
meanings that help clarify life goals and direction.
(4)
WLP learners are able to articulate a personal philosophy of life. "
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The field study covered three programmes of approximately ten days duration each, and
consisted of twenty seven participants total. Due to the limited response to the
questionnaires designed to clarify the working hypothesis, the results are inconclusive.
"However, it appears that wilderness learning programmes may have particular potential for
addressing the subject of life meanings .... Helping individuals clarify their understanding of
the self as a physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual entity and as an integral part of its
social and natural environment." (9)
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THE THERAPY PROVIDED
Looking at the therapy of outdoor education, this section offers a framework for designing
of programmes and then delves into the psychological therapy furnished.
Programme Structure
"Programmes contain seven kinds of ingredients;
(1)
Programme Aims
(2)
Stimulus materials
(3)
Assessment methods
(4)
Objective setting
(5)
Learning procedures
(6)
Evaluation methods
(7)
Resources
(2)
A curriculum matrix for social work: some standard methods
Figure (10) Ref (2)
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



Assessment = finding out what the problem is.
Setting objectives = deciding what to do about it.
Learning = acquiring the ability to achieve objectives.
Evaluation = checking upon the results.
Assessment Stage:
Stephen Bacon suggests definite outlines for assessment.
"Assessment is the attempt to determine the needs of the patrol accurately so that course
metaphors will be as isomorphic with real life experiences as possible. It should concentrate
on on-course behaviours and not on pre-course history. The instructor should focus on the
needs of the patrol as a whole and not be overly concerned with the functioning of the
discreet individuals.
"Since the course issues are virtually duplicates of real-life issues, assessment can be almost
exclusively limited to the on-course activities. Instructors can concern themselves with
actions that they or the patrol have directly observed and not be dependent on self-report
of pre-course behaviour. This approach offers several benefits. First, it removes the need for
students to disclose personal historical material. A number of students are reluctant to
share some of the intimate details of their home lives and are resentful of strong pressure
to do so. Second, observation is almost always more accurate than self-report. It is always
interesting and often useful to hear student’s deceptions of their own strengths and
weaknesses, but these self-perceptions are often inaccurate. Regardless of what they say is
wrong or right - their actions will quickly reveal the actual state of their intra and inter
personal functioning.
"Limiting interventions to those issues that are directly causing tensions guarantee that the
interventions are both appropriate and powerful.
"Informal assessment requires that the instructor master advanced observation skills and be
capable of noticing the subtlest alterations in non-verbal behaviour.
"One formal assessment technique so broadly applicable and so powerful that it deserves
special mention is the go-round. There are many successful variations of the go-round, but
one effective version is conducted as follows;
"The students and instructors sit in a circle. Each in turn describes how the activities of that
particular day have affected him or her. Participants may choose to discuss how they are
feeling at that moment or how they felt during the day. There are only two rules. The
participants must talk about how they are feeling - what is going on inside them - and not
change the focus and talk about others. It is important that they learn to perceive and
express their own emotions. The second rule is that the go-round is not a dialogue;
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comments from the others are restricted to questions of clarification and the group is
prevented from concentrating on one student or one dilemma. Of course, there are
exceptions to this second rule. Sometimes something comes up in the go-round which must
be addressed immediately. Generally, however it is best to first let everyone speak and then
return to any special situations that need extra attention or discussion. During the initial
stages of the course, when the patrol is learning the go-round rules, the instructor will
frequently need to facilitate the group in an active and direct manner. But after a certain
period of time most patrols [group] will catch on and spontaneously help each other share
feelings.
"The go-round has many benefits beyond formal assessment. It improves group
communication, defuses potential conflict situations, and provides a forum for problem
solving, supportive comments, and testimonials. While these benefits are certainly valuable
and should be reasonably encouraged, it is also important not; to allow the go-round to
degenerate into a nightly therapy session." (1)
Milieu Therapy:
"In psychology there is a type of treatment called Milieu therapy, in which the patients are
exposed to a particular atmosphere or Milieu. Although the Milieu may use a variety of
specific techniques, such as family therapy, drug treatments, or a token economy, the
primary treatment impact comes from the atmosphere as a whole, not the component
parts. The [outward bound] course is effective in a similar manner, it is not the climbing and
the hiking per se, but the combination of all the activities in the course. Yarn is valuable in
itself; but it is woven into a complete tapestry, the value of the cloth is worth much more
than the value of the individual pieces of yarn." (1)
Archetypes:
"Probably the most basic archetype is the one created by the course structure itself.
Essentially the course is a symbolic recreation of the entire developmental process. By
placing students in a novel environment, they are reduced to a childlike state. The course
then takes them through 'adolescence and on to adulthood. In this sense, the course is a
ritualised right of passage.
"The instructor can further amplify this archetypical power by being aware of its subtle,
ongoing impact and by co-operating with it as much as possible. One suggestion is to
establish clear, overt expectations that the group will be adult by finals. I begin by sending
these types of messages on day one by constantly referring to the brevity of my contact
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with them, emphasising my role as a 'an 'instructor', not a 'guide' and physically distancing
myself from them as soon as it is safe and prudent to do so.
"The art of being close enough to be a supportive teacher and far enough to let students
grow on their own is a fine line that is never walked perfectly. In attempting to walk this
line, many instructors have experienced a common problem: when a patrol is encouraged to
operate independently, they often perform like children. They get up late, pack slowly, take
inappropriate breaks, make immature decisions, and do not take care of themselves
adequately.
"Most patrols [groups] are childlike during basic training. This regression is an elegant part
of the course design, an instructor should not be surprised if mature adolescents or even
adults seem to be acting like ineffective youngsters. The critical factor, though, is how an
instructor relates to these mistakes. Time after time I have seen instructors speak down to
their patrols. Usually this is quite subtle and involves a vague condescension.
"The students quickly pick up this covert message and refuse to mature. They become
dependent on the instructor’s continued support.
"The so called lazy students often act that way because of doubts about their abilities. As a
result, they tend to hang back and let the obviously more confident students take over. But
in a group of 'lazy' peers the sense of risk is greatly diminished. The problem students can
feel more confident and some of the allegedly dysfunctional groups will experience a
wonderful turn around.
"Usually at some point on every course, the instructors are asked by a physically fit student
why they have failed to create groups with homogeneous physical abilities. Beyond the
pragmatics of safety considerations and avoiding instructor burn out, probably the most
important reason for this approach is that it creates an [outward bound] world which is
more isomorphic than real life. In the normal world, it is extremely rare to find
homogeneous groups where all members have equivalent abilities. Individuals will almost
always need to be flexible enough to adapt to situations where people have different
capability levels. [Outward Bound] allows this flexibility to be demonstrated in a concrete
and a highly visible manner.
"Mastery of the lessons of the community archetype" is signalled by the student’s ability to
give and receive help gracefully. This mastery occurs only when the student expands his/her
own consciousness to the point of becoming identified with the group. At that point she/he
is comfortable; the group needs become his/her needs and, conversely it is legitimate for
him/her to ask the group for help. This type of graceful relationship requires the student to
fully accept his/her own inclusion in the group. She/he has a place and a purpose in the
group; it is right and correct that she/he is there. The group needs him/her and she/he
needs the group. Since the kind of belongingness is frequently absent in normal life - even in
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real families - establishing it successfully on a course is one of the most significant
accomplishments of the [outward bound] experience.
"[Most students who come, believe that the course experience will be dominated by the
hero archetype]. They expect to be tested, to learn to endure, to be strengthened by
adversity, and to demonstrate their individual competencies.
"[This raises special issues around gender roles], in that many of the heroic experiences are
physical and women are frequently in a one-down position physically. It is certainly
satisfying to push one's own limits and succeed, but is even more rewarding when one is
acknowledged leader of some activity. The fact that women have relatively limited
opportunities for this type of excellence tends to diminish their motivation. Even more
importantly many women in this culture have been given covert messages that to excel - to
be heroic is unfeminine.
"Given these three factors, a one-down physical position, socially conditioned tendency to
generate sub standard performance, and a lack of assertiveness with heroic opportunities, it
is not surprising that women commonly have difficulties fully encounting the hero.
"It is time for instructors to question closely whether the potential gains from their courses
are equally available to both women and men." (1)
"Doing Less is Doing More":
"One of the primary purposes of this approach is to enable the instructor to take action
early so that the intervention can be subtle. Of course this ability to make early
interventions and to outwardly do less rests on an increased internal processing: instructors
must be more sensitive, more conscious, and more aware. Yet, paradoxically this increase in
internal activity will manifest itself as a decrease in overt or external interventions. Careful
use of all these techniques will actually create an education experience that outwardly
resembles the hands-off style of 'mountains speak for themselves'-type course.
"There is little doubt that [outward bound] has potential to have a strong influence on
personal growth; therefore, before exposing students to all the possibilities inherent in the
[outward bound] process, it is important to ask if they have contracted any psychological
changes. On one level, this is an absurd question. If students having enrolled in a course
after reviewing the [outward bound] literature that promises 'improved self-confidence and
enhanced interpersonal skills' then they have clearly agreed to participate in the Milieu
designed to foster growth. On the other hand, many students state that they have come on
the course as a vacation, or because they wanted to learn more about the outdoors or
simply because they wanted a change of pace.
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"This type of incongruity is relatively common in psychotherapy. The clients clearly
recognise that the goal of therapy is to make some changes in their lives, but frequently
they have tendencies to resist and obstruct treatment. It is as if a part of them wants help
and another part wishes to preserve the unhealthy status quo. This two part model seems
equally applicable to [outward bound]. One part of the student has clearly accepted the
notion that [outward bound] will be a place of growth and change, but the other part wishes
simply to be on a vacation in the mountains.
"A number of instructors are uncomfortable with this double message. They state that their
ability to work with students is limited because some of the students have not come to
[outward bound] to change themselves. However, why should such students be allowed to
limit the potential of the students who have come hoping for personal growth? Besides on a
deeper level, it can be argued that even reluctant students truly want to change something
in themselves. If they come on a course after reading the literature, their presence itself
signifies a kind of implicit consent to the possibility of personal growth. Their apparent
confusion of the purpose of the course is just a manifestation of the fear and hesitation felt
before any great and meaningful challenge. "(1)
Positive Regard:
When the instructors align all their actions with the concept that the essential nature of
their students is positive and healthy, the student/instructor relationship itself becomes
transformative: it becomes one of the primary change agents of the course. The renown
humanistic psychologist, Carl Rodgers, called this kind of relationship 'unconditional positive
regard'. He noted, however, that this basic acceptance of an individual's being does not in
any way limit one's ability to reject negative behaviours; in fact, he argued that changing
maladaptive strategies was most effectively accomplished in the context of unconditional
positive regard. Hate the problem, not the person." (1)
"Optimism implies that individuals are far more capable of changing and growing, learning
and influencing their environment, than they or others ever imagined. It asserts, in short,
that most people possess unused capabilities which can be mobilised to increase personal
competence, both in the ordinary events of everyday life and in some of the extraordinary
crisis that arise from time to time." (2)
Reframing:
"Telling a student who has just given up on a rock climb that failures are the only way to
learn something is a reframe.
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"Skilled use of reframing will allow a group to have a course completely without failure
experiences because within some context, everything can be reframed into some kind of
success. In this sense, positive reframing becomes both an instructional technique and an
attitude towards living.
"The technique of reframing has two parts. First, the instructor must know where to go what new frame will be most appropriate for the experience. Second, he must know how to
get there - what verbal and non-verbal techniques can be used to guide the individual or
group into seeing the old experience in the new context." (1)
Re-Parenting:
"Given the nature of the instructor role, sooner or later it is inevitable that she/he will be
seen as a parent figure. This is potentially problematic since a large portion of the students
are orientated towards resisting authority figures as a part of their passage through the
adolescent/adult transitional crisis. Therefore, it is important to minimize direct instructions
as much as possible, especially when those instructions have anything to do with telling
students how they are supposed to feel." (1)
A participant observes the instructor as an ideal role model. This is reinforced if the
development of the participant is the primary objective of the instructor. The observer can
then see an alternative to what may have been an otherwise unsuccessful role model.
Further communication (youths with weak role models generally ask lots of questions) will
help to clarify issues at home. This clarification could result in a change of more positive
behaviour in the participant, which, when transferred to the home, assists in affecting bad
parenting.
Wilderness;
"When a person understands and feels connectedness with natural processes, the way is
open to a fuller awareness that an individual has the right to exist, that an individual's
existence is part of the overall reality, and that the universe and the individual interact and
can reinforce each other." (9)
"Gomolak (Over the River and Through the Woods to Self Awareness. College and University
Business August 1972) suggests experiencing the environment in its natural state the
individual learns to respect life by living it and this experiment builds respect for such an
environment. (6)
"If the environment is therefore isomorphic with the individual who is increasing selfactualisation then she/he will be:
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"Sensitively open to all of his/her experience, sensitive to what is going on in his/her
environment, sensitive to other individuals with whom she/he is in relationship, and
sensitive to perhaps most of all feelings, reactions and emergent meanings which she/he
discovers in him/herself. The fear of some aspects of his/her own experiences continue to
diminish, so that more and more of his/her life is available to him/her."
See Rogers in Maslow; Perceiving, Behaving, Becoming: a New Focus for Education.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum, Washington D.C. 1962. (6)
"The shared perception of the beauty and power of wilderness can stimulate individuals to
communicate about insights involving aesthetics, spirituality and ethics on a level that
would be difficult to react in more familiar surrounds." (9)
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ACTIVITIES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO ALIENATED YOUTH
"Powerful use of suggestion can allow almost any course activity to teach almost any
lesson" (1)
Suggestion and Metaphor:
"Since activities can be interpreted in many ways the instructor needs to use verbal and
non-verbal behaviours to create the most educationally useful learning context. The primary
dressing technique used to adjust the specific meaning of a given activity is direct
suggestion. A powerful suggestion offered in a creative and engaging presentation, will
often have the effects of concentrating the students attention in the desired direction.
"Sometimes, however, a given metaphor - a certain course activity - is so threatening that
anxiety minimizes the probability of success experiences. The instructor then attempts to
focus student’s attention away from the anxiety and on to a more comfortable part of the
metaphor. One dressing technique that does this well is distractive suggestion. The students
are directly instructed to focus on a minor part of the experience; however, they still
unconsciously benefit from the major message of the metaphor.
“It is critical that an instructor be prepared to work unconsciously with the implicit messages
of the various course activities." (1)
Activity Archetypes
Justice/Fate;
"Almost every course activity has straightforward results that affect a student quickly via a
clear cause/effect chain. (Justice archetype)
"Justice implies that if one does the right act, a fair consequence will follow. Fate, however,
decrees that regardless of the action, one is at the mercy of the unknown. Anything can
happen.
"Only these fate-related course incidents are truly isomorphic with the most critical
commitments of life. Therefore, such encounters are some of the most important course
moments and it is incumbent upon each instructor to maximize student’s exposure to
decisions involving chance and unpredictability.
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"Unfortunately, in many of these cases the students miss the opportunity to participate
because the instructor takes control and makes all decisions for the patrol. This occurs
because many fate - related decisions involve high-risk situations.
"Instructors need to be aware that they will probably experience a certain amount of
anxiety which will tend to pressure into taking fate - related decision away from the
students. They should be prepared to resist this tendency, to allow the students to be
involved with these decisions, and to restrict their involvement to facilitation and covert
monitoring wherever possible." (1)
Leadership:
"Archetypally, leadership is symbolically equivalent to exercising the power of the gods.
Naturally, therefore, the opportunity to lead - to become 'as a god' - is a highly sought after
position. Conversely, the fear of negative feedback - of being classified as a devil or
hopelessly inadequate - is potentially terrifying. The power of leadership polarises human
beings: some will do anything to enjoy it and others are as adamant in refusing it.
"Leadership - with attendant facets of authority and responsibility - is a powerful experience
for students. The fundamental instructor responsibility is to bring about a success
experience around leadership and to assist students integrating the leadership lesson into
their own lives. It is useful for the instructor to keep as Iowa profile as possible and to allow
the student leader to be in charge or at least to appear to be in charge. Finally, structured
leadership feedback can provide students with many benefits and can even replace some of
the communications and feedback games. " (1)
Solo:
"Just as leadership has its special fascination, so does hermit-hood; the inner journey has its
own allure, or albeit not as flashy or as outwardly compelling as the attraction of the leader.
Still, something in almost every student will stir and respond when the student is offered
the opportunity to make a personal inner journey through the course activities such as
journal writing, solitude and solo.
"The key to a successful solo is careful preparation. Modern culture is one of the most
impoverished societies in history in terms of preparing its members to use successfully a
period of solitude for an existential quest. The instructor needs to remedy this deficit by
providing a limited number of markers and suggestions so that the students have at least a
minimal level of guidance on their journey. I always begin my solo preparation by having
individual’s interviews with the students during the two or three days immediately
proceeding solo. In these interviews I try to help the students identify the primary issue or
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issues in their lives at the moment. I usually prefer to discuss issues that are directly or
indirectly to the course, but if a student wishes to bring in problems from home, I will talk
about those as well.
"One of the major assumptions of the hermit archetype is that by going into solitude,
seekers encounter parts of themselves that are normally unavailable in the real world.
Possibly the greatest gift instructors can offer their solo-bound students is to send them out
with real expectations that they might have such encounters - that it is a real possibility for
them.” (1)
Mountain Climbing:
"The concrete representation of the ascent to heaven, is of course, the peak climb. All of the
archetypes of the course come together in this one activity. The mountain is the epitome of
a wilderness sacred space. The climb is the arena for demonstrating the strength of the
hero, the nurturance of the mother, the interdependence of the community, the vision of
the hermit, and the wisdom of the leader. In order to ascend the slopes, the lesson of fate
and justice must be learned, and only a mature adult can attain the summit.
"It is often wise to delay taking a disturbed group up a mountain. This is partially due to
safety considerations; a group with strong dissentions will simply be unable to work
together as effectively as is required by some emergent situations. But the instructor needs
to consider the overall impact. As is discussed above, peak climbing is the archetypal high
point of the course. It requires a degree of mental readiness that presupposes a certain level
of ethical and spiritual accomplishment. Timing is critical here. Climbing a peak prematurely
can be like making love without sufficient foreplay: something that should be wonderful, is
disappointingly mediocre."(1)
"Ed Rosenfeld (The Book of Highs: 250 Ways to Alter Consciousness Without Drug;
Quadrangle 1973):
"The natural elevation of mountain summits over the surrounding land affords the climber
magnificent views and vistas, as well as new environmental perspectives. By climbing high,
you are also changing the oxygen composition of the air you breathe. The effort required to
climb most mountains will change your breathing pattern and your heartbeat. These in turn
will change the oxygen mixture of blood reaching your brain - by climbing mountains you
are facing a challenge. Successful completion of the challenge, the endurance of hardships
along the way, and the exercise of your skills can provide unique sensations. The trip down
can be equally exciting and exhilarating." (9)
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Rockclimbing:
"A technical climbing day can serve as an example of how direct and distractive suggestion
can be used to create two different types of expectancy for the same activity. A selfconfident group might benefit from the following direction suggestion. 'These routes have
been chosen as the real challenge. They are difficult and when you get to the top you will
know you have really earned it.' If most or all of the students are relatively free from anxiety
and worry, this introduction will make their eventual success more powerful because it has
magnified the difficulty of the climbs.
"Conversely, if that group had many students who were anxious about climbing, a
distractive suggestion could be useful in order to minimize anxiety and maximize the
possibility of success. 'These routes have been chosen for one reason and one reason only.
Today you have the opportunity to get to know the rock and to move gracefully upon it. I
don't care if you reach the top or not. All I care about is whether every move you make is
made with a conscious awareness of your relationship with that rock. Balance, gracefulness,
poise and style - that's what we are looking for today. '" (1)
Aldous Huxley offers a more philosophical point of view in 'Island' (Granada 1962).
"Two friends roped together on a rock face. Sometimes three friends or four. Each totally
aware of his own straining muscles, his own skills, his own fear, and his own spirit
transcending the fear. And each, of course, aware at the same of all the others, concerned
for them, doing the right thing to make sure that they will be safe. Life at its highest pitch of
bodily and mental tension, life more abundant. More inestimably pressures, because of the
ever present threat of death. But after the yoga of danger there is the yoga of the summit,
the yoga of rest and letting go, the yoga of complete and total receptiveness, the yoga that
consists and consciously accepting what is given as it is given, without censorship by your
busy moralistic mind, without any addition from your stock of second-hand ideas, your even
larger stock of wishful phantasies. You just sit there with muscles relaxed and a mind open
to the sunlight and the clouds, open to distance and the horizon, open in the end to that
formless, wordless not - thought which the stillness of the summit permits you to define,
profound and enduring within the twittering flux of your everyday thinking.
"And now it is time for the descent, time for a second bout of the yoga of danger, time for a
renewal of tension and the awareness of life in its glowing plentitude as you hang
precariously on the brink of destruction. Then at the foot of the precipice you unrope you go
striding down the rocky path towards the first trees. And suddenly you are in the forest, and
another kind of yoga is called for - the yoga of the jungle, the yoga that consists of being
totally aware of life at the near point, jungle life in all its exuberance and its rotting, crawling
squalor, all its melodramatic ambivalence of orchids and centipedes, of leeches and
sunbirds, of the drinkers of nectar and the drinkers of blood. Life bringing order out of chaos
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and ugliness, life performing its miracles for birth and growth, but performing them, it
seems, for no other purpose than to destroy itself. Beauty and horror and then suddenly as
you come down from one of your expeditions in the mountains, suddenly you know that
there is a reconciliation. Not merely a reconciliation. A fusion, an identity. Beauty made with
one horror in the yoga of the jungle. Life reconciled with the perpetual imminence of death
and the yoga of danger. Emptiness identified with selfhood and the sabbath yoga of the
summit."
Davis (The Fear Experience in Rockclimbing and its Influences on Future Self Actualising,
University of Southern California, 1972) concluded in his study 'the transformation of fear
into enthusiasm must be considered as a prime value in the increasing self-awareness and
self-actualisation resulting from rock climbing.' (6)
Tramping:
"Tramping by its very nature promotes a holistic outlook; it is a whole experience, a whole
mini lifetime if you will. It consists of the beginning, a learning to find one's way in
unfamiliar territory, both in a literal sense and in terms of discovering and acquiring new
skills to overcome an array of unprecedented problems. It consists of working through these
new experiences to a conclusion - the end of the trip finalises the completion of the whole
experience.
"Participating in such a whole experience, the individual can be more effectively dealt with
as a whole entity. The novelty of the environment and the prolonged contact among
participants allow learning exercises to be used which develop awareness of physical,
emotional, intellectual levels either separately or in combination. The overall impact of such
an experience can be assimilated into the participant in the form of new attitudinal and
value perspectives." (9)
Natural History:
"Natural history lessons can also strongly contribute to the student’s perception of the
wilderness as a sacred space. Geology can be presented so that students feel the weight of
time. This allows them to gain a temporal perspective from which to judge their own
finitude. Ecological lectures can also have great impact. In a world where everything feels
ephemeral, unplanned and chaotic, what could be a greater sign of the sacred than the
balance, stability and harmony so clearly present in mature ecological systems?
"The process of sanctifying wilderness rests on the fact that almost all instructors actually
believe that the wilderness is sacred." (1)
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Debriefing/Group Discussion:
"Debriefing is in itself a course experience. Verbal experience can also be isomorphic with
real life problems - in fact, that is precisely how psychotherapy is effective. A powerful
debriefing can contribute to generalization but not - as is normally thought - by helping
students 'understand' what they have learned earlier. Rather, the debriefing itself is an
experiential change process. Once again, it is action - albeit verbal action - and not a
conscious understanding which is fundamental to transferability.
"Because of the lack of structure in debriefings, the instructor must be wary of two factors.
First, the quiet students will usually hang back and when they do speak, tend to parrot the
responses of the students who have spoken earlier. Second, the instructor is often eager to
teach the group a certain lesson about the activity just completed. This eagerness can
sometimes cause him/her to move quickly to meet his/her goals without adequately
determining the actual affect of their activity on the students. It is always important to know
where the students are coming from before trying to lead them somewhere else, and this is
particularly true when using debriefing for formal assessment." (1)
"The most general discussion will spark off fresh ideas and thoughts in peoples' minds. It
also stimulates introspection, one of the first signs that real problem solving is beginning to
take place. It may take a session or two, but after a while some group members will
complain that their 'brains are hurting' or their 'heads are going round and round'. This
usually means that they are doing some unaccustomed thinking about themselves and their
lives. And the capacity to do that is one of the 'take away' skills.
"During assessment, the main uses of group discussion include;

opportunities to discuss the meaning and relevance of assessment exchanges of
experience,

a chance to learn about other people,

expressions of attitudes and opinions,

feedback on personal opinions and behaviour,

practice in presenting a point of view to a group of people." (2)
Mastering of Activities:
"Boredom and indifference exists when there is no challenge. On a course, an activity is no
longer challenging when it has already been mastered or when its mastery is
inconsequential. If it has already been mastered, demonstrating remastery has little effect
on the students’ oncourse or precourse life. Likewise a sense of inconsequentiality suggests
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that the activity is irrelevant to, and non-isomorphic with a student’s life. In either case,
execution of a metaphor is unlikely to achieve useful results.
"This sense of boredom must be distinguished from the resistances typically generated by
lazy, uncooperative, or low self-esteem students. These students may literally report that
certain activities (e.g. tramping or climbing) are boring or uninteresting, but one can note a
significant amount of affect accompanying their communication. Their feigned indifference
is simply an attempt to withdraw from a feared activity. This is actually a sign that these
metaphors are highly isomorphic and the student’s participation should be encouraged. In
these cases, however, the instructor will often find it necessary to offer especially strong
support to assist the students in successfully mastering the activity." (1)
Voluntarism, Variety and Explicitness:
"Learning is likely to last longer and to take deeper root when the learner concerned has
freely chosen to co-operate in the proceedings, has formulated his own learning goals, is
free to select the means of achieving them, and pursues them in an orderly, self-conscious,
and willing way.
"It could be argued that inconsistency on voluntary participation rules out the use of the
approach in a wide variety of situations and setting where consent is not now, and never
will be, the order of the day: in prisons, for example, mental hospitals, community homes,
and supervision under court orders. The argument has some validity in that it would never
be possible to organise the whole of the regimes in some of the places along the lines being
proposed here. But there is no reason why, short term, voluntary learning exercise should
not be organised and successfully concluded in even the most unfree environment.
"The need for variety arises simply from the fact that different people learn about different
things in very different ways. And, since there is no way of knowing in advance who is going
to learn what from which activity and how, it is necessary to provide as many roots as
possible to the same learning goals.
"If an activity cannot be described in such a way that even the non-literate and the less than
intellectually gifted can recognise and respond to its potential helpfulness, then, whatever
its merits in the eyes of the instructors, it should be omitted from the programme. 'If you
can't explain, don't do it.''(2)
Sequential Development of Outdoor Education Skills:
Pete Dale has provided Figure (11) which outlines the developmental stages of children and
their relationship to outdoor education skills. Although most present programmes for
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alienated youth cater for clients in the senior secondary range, by experience the
framework in the immediate level would probably be more applicable to the development
stage of this client group.
Figure (11)
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INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACH
The first part of this chapter provides a general approach to adventure activities which could
be applied to all activities, especially those of high risk. The second part includes information
discovered in research that is felt to be relevant and, in particular, content of some 'soft'
skills.
Safety:
Those responsible for outdoor pursuits must be able to decide whether a particular
situation is basically safe or dangerous. If it is the latter, then distinction must be made
between the two factors that have made it dangerous:
(1)
Subjective danger: is that potentially under the control of the human being, such as
the correct choice and use of equipment needed, and the correct selection of the
journey to meet the requirements of the party in terms of safety.
(2)
Objective danger: is that over which the human being has no control (e.g.
avalanches, blizzards, floods, storms, exposed situation.)(11)
Figure (12)
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Stages of Adventure:
This useful outline, developed by Colin Mortlock (The Adventure Alternative, Cicerone Press,
1984) defines four broad stages discernible in any outdoor experience.
Stage One: Play.
"This is the level in the activity in which the person is working or playing considerably below
her/his normal abilities. She/he has minimal involvement, therefore, in terms of emotion,
skills, mental control and concentration. Fear of physical harm is absent. His/her response to
this level of activity will range from 'pleasant' and 'fun', to 'boring' and a 'waste of time'.
Stage Two: Adventure.
"The person feels in control of the situation, but is using his/her experience and abilities to
overcome a technical problem. Fear of physical harm is virtually absent, because the person
is in control. If fear does exist, it lurks beneath the surface, because although she/he knows
she/he is in control, she/he may still be in a potentially dangerous, or strange environment.
"An adult deliberately sets him/herself a problem as a personal challenge, which with effort,
and barring incidents, she/he feels she/he can overcome with satisfaction. She/he has
deliberately not pitched his/her challenge too low to the 'playing' stage because she/he
instinctively knows it will bring minimal reward. On the other hand she/he has deliberately
not set his/her challenge too near his /her personal limitations. She/he knows that to do
this, is to court the likelihood of physical harm should a mistake ensue or bad luck intervene.
"In the students’ terms, this is the level where the instructor tends to work in any skills
learning. The student can apply him/herself, as the problem set is a challenge to his/her
technical abilities in particular She/he is not disturbed by feelings of boredom and lack of
involvement, nor by the psychological stress of the next stage. This stage is of crucial
importance as preparation for any demanding journey.
Stage Three: Frontier Adventure.
"This is the stage beyond, and often just beyond, stage two. The person has fear of physical
harm or physical or psychological stress, and no longer feels complete master of the
situation. She/he feels, however, that she/he can, with considerable effort on his/her part,
and, given luck, overcome the situation without accident. He/she accepts that his/her skills
are about to be tested. She/he is conscious of a definite degree of uncertainty as to the
outcome, and feels, as it were, poised on a knife edge between success and failure. If she/he
succeeds she/he has experienced what would be termed 'frontier adventure'. She/he has
found him/herself in a situation which becomes firmly etched upon his/her mind - perhaps
forever. She/he has feelings of satisfaction, if not elation, about the result. The degree of
satisfaction and pride is proportional to the scale and intensity of the experience.
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Stage Four: Misadventure.
"This is the final stage - when the challenge is in any way beyond the control of the person.
In ultimate form the result is death, but between death and serious injuries on the one hand
and frontier adventure on the other, there are various degrees of both physical and
psychological damage. It is possible and indeed not infrequent in practice to experience
misadventure without any form of physical injury. In mild examples, the reaction will be one
of immediate dissatisfaction and self rebuke, because the person has been in an adventure
situation in which she/he has acquitted him/herself badly. The classic case of this type is the
person trying, or being made to try, something that involves a degree of technical skill, or a
degree of control over his/her fear, that is beyond his/her ability. Paradoxically in many mild
cases of stage four, the learning experience may be of greater value to the participant. Fear,
however, can easily be of an extreme nature in misadventure. When it leads to panic and
terror it is unjustifiable in educational terms." (11)
"It is essential that instructors can readily define these stages of adventure to successfully
plan programmes to the greatest benefit of the clients. People working in outdoor
education should have knowledge of 'frontier adventure' in any activity undertaken and
operate, in an instruct role, around the boundary of stage one and two. However, activities
designed for novices could range across all three stages of adventure, with reference to
inherent objectives and subjective danger. Leading clients into misadventure should only be
attempted by total experts… with a good lawyer…
Metaphor Dressings:
"An instructor needs to recognise how much their covert and overt messages about a
course activity influence students reaction. Students experience a relatively high stress level
through the entire course. One way in which they try to minimise the stress is by instituting
a scanning strategy wherein they attempt to discover any cues that might help them control
the next course activity. The main targets of this scanning strategy are the instructors.
Students spend an enormous amount of time and energy consciously and unconsciously
processing all of the instructors’ verbal and non-verbal behaviours. How they interpret
those behaviours strongly influence their reactions to the course.
"These instructor cues are the 'dressing' of the metaphors - students respond to them as
subtle instructions for approaching each course activity. As every behaviour of the instructor
is a cue, it is impossible to teach an undressed, purely natural course. The mountains never
speak for themselves, nor do the course activities; they are all mediated by the verbal and
non-verbal cues of the instructor. Even an attempt to be silent or to stand apart from some
activity influences the course.
"Any group is good if the instructor is flexible and can offer enough metaphoric options.
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"Non-verbal and affective dressings can add much to the [outward bound] experience. The
biggest obstacle to their conscious employment is the reluctance of some instructors to
utilise purposefully such techniques on a course. The greatest danger in using non-verbal
techniques is that the instructors’ personal preoccupations can get projected on the
students. Whatever decision is made about employment of non- verbal and affective
dressings, it behoves instructors to carefully monitor their own styles to ensure that their
non-verbal cues are congruent with their verbal instructions" (1)
Role in Problem Solving:
"The instructor, may of course, disagree about the relative importance of the problems
being worked on, and may even think that fundamental personal issues are being ignored.
She/he is entitled to his/her opinion, and she/he may or may not be right, but it is not
his/her job in a problem solving exercise to impose his/her interpretations on others, no
matter how skilfully or gentle she/he may do it. She/he is there to provide the resources
that will permit individuals and groups to come to their own conclusions in their own way,
and in their own time, about the problems they say they have.
"The instructor acts; first a kind of broker between people and their problems on the one
hand and learning opportunities on the other; and second, she/he should perform this task
with affection and respect for the people who patronise his/her efforts." (2)
Counselling:
"As a learning method, counselling is intended primarily for use with individuals rather than
with groups: it provides a direct personal means of coming to terms with a whole variety of
problems. In the most general sense, counselling is carried out daily in the community by
parents, friends, doctors and priests, the key aspects of the process being trust and
empathy, which, when built up, enable individuals to accept help in making decisions that
are realistic, and following attainable courses of action.
"Counselling is a subtle process, but there is in it a danger of drifting away from common
sense into emotional complexities which can exacerbate rather than relieve the existing
problems. On the other hand there are many situations in which all the individuals need is
to know that someone else agrees with them, shares their view of something, or supports
them in a plan of action. In this sense counselling may be indispensable to many forms of
personal change.
"A certain mystique has grown up around counselling, the effects of which has been obscure
what is essentially a simple process, one that can be put to use by anyone. Counselling can
be, and should be, both practical and effectively related to immediate problems in personal
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relationships, past performance, and professional and personal development. There are
three major kinds of counselling for use in personal problem solving: personal counselling,
vocational counselling and co-counselling.
"Personal counselling can be effectively as a learning method with emotional, attitudinal
and inter-personal types of problems. To construct such a counselling session would
basically consist of:
(a)
development of trust and communication. This 'establishment of rapport can be
built up with open ended questions, a friendly manner and atmosphere, and a
willingness to listen;
(b)
gathering of information, by encouraging free and relevant talk on the problem
area;
(c)
formation of understanding: helping an individual to see why she/he feels or acts in
a certain way, by providing suggestions for comment and consideration;
(d)
making decisions; the individual makes decisions which have been extracted from a
number of alternative solutions. They have been previously raised and discussed.
The recapitulation of what has been achieved, and of anything that now needs to
be done, provides positive reinforcement." (2)
Counselling Skills:
Attending Behaviour;
"Good attention is a necessary component for good communication. Good attending
behaviour demonstrates to the client that you respect her/him as a person and that you are
interested in what she/he has to say. The skills outlined below are a means of
communicating to the client that at this point in time you are focusing on her/him and
her/him alone. Research indicates that good attending behaviour enhances the client’s selfrespect, establishes a secure atmosphere and thus facilitates free expression of whatever is
on the client’s mind." (3)
(a)
maintaining good eye contact
(b)
maintaining a relaxed, natural comfortable position
(c)
leaning slightly towards the client
(d)
using appropriate and congruent facial expressions
(e)
using relaxed, spontaneous head, arm and body movements
(f)
using friendly greetings." (4)
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Open Invitation to Talk:
(a) open ended questions; questions help dialogue to move along. They open up new
areas of discussion, they assist in pinpointing issues, they can be used to help the
client explore aspects of his/her problems. Open ended questions allows the client to
talk to explore their feelings and experiences.
(e.g.) 'What would you like to talk about?' 'How did you feel then?'
Not 'shall we talk about glue sniffing today?' 'Did you feel angry then?'
(b) minimal encouragers; are small indicators to another person that you are with them.
Once you have asked a question (or used any other counselling skill), you want to
encourage the client to keep talking. This may be done non-verbally or by expressing
brief utterances which show you are in tune with the person you are helping." (3)
Paraphrasing:
"In its simplest form, paraphrasing is a simple reinstatement of a word or phrase. More
usually the objective of paraphrasing is to say back to the client the essence of what she/he
has just said. It arises out of a desire to know and show you know what the clients
statement means. To satisfy this desire you reveal the meaning her/his comment has for
you so that the client can check whether it matches she/he intended to convey. Paraphrases
serve three purposes;
(a)
they convey to the client that you are with her/him; that you are trying to
understand what is being said.
(b)
they crystallize a client’s comments by making it more concise thus helping give
direction to the interview.
(c)
they provide a check on the accuracy of your perception.
Beware of analysis and value judgement of the client’s message.
Identifying Feelings & Emotions;
"How a person feels about a problem is as important and is often more important than the
nature of the problem (the content). Feelings become interlaced with the problem itself and
successful resolution of the problem or action taken in respect of it is partly dependant on
the client understanding his/her feelings and coming to terms with them.
"To help others clarify their feelings and emotions, you should be familiar with your own
emotional state. Therefore the emphasis is partly on identifying and expressing your own
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feelings and partly on sensing the feelings of others. With the confusion of expression
feelings and emotions take, this is a difficult task. To assist;
(a)
describe your own feelings clearly,
(e.g.) 'I feel angry'
'I feel squashed'
'I have a knot in my stomach'.
(b) Use perception checking
'I feel you are angry.’
'Are you?'.
Perception checking describes the others feelings, and does not express approval or
disapproval.
Reflecting Feelings;
"The quicker a client comes to see the instructor as a person with whom it is safe to open
up, the sooner the client is able to utilise the instructor's support. By using the reflection of
feelings skill, the instructor conveys to the client that she/he is trying to understand just
how she/he feels, thus reinforcing the client's free, trusting expression of his/her own
feelings. As with perception checking the instructor is often able to crystallize more sharply
to the client, the clients own feelings, thus enabling him/her to deal more effectively with
them.
Emotional Catharsis:
"One of the main goals of counselling is to bring into the open thoughts and attitudes,
feelings and emotional charged impulses, which centre around the clients problems and
conflicts. Reflecting feelings often 'lances the psychic wound 'permitting the poison of
powerful pent up feelings draw off so that normal healing can occur', (Clinebell, Howard J.,
Basic types of Pastoral Counsel, National, Adingdon Press, 1966). The process can be roughly
depicted as follows;
COUNSELLING PROCESS
Figure (13)
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Confrontation:
"Confrontation is a powerful counselling technique which can evoke strong emotions in the
client and should be used with the utmost care. It consists of opening up in a client
consideration contradictions or discrepancies in his/her behaviour by commenting on them.
These comments differ from paraphrases and reflections of feelings in that the contrast is
drawn from an external frame of reference rather than from the clients own statements and
frame of reference.
"Helpful confrontations are not attacks against the person but are limited specific
comments on inconsistencies in behaviour. Appropriateness, timing and a non-judgemental
manner in which they are given are important factors in the client’s ability to use the
information conveyed. Stable instructors/client relationship must exist.
"Common contradictions and inconsistencies are:
(1)
In the content of the client’s statement and the way she/he says it
(2)
In the content of the two things she/he says
(3)
Between what she/he says, she/he wants and what she/he is actually doing
(4)
Between what she/he says or reports feeling in the way you should expect to react
or feel in the same situation." (3)
"Confrontation, however, occurs naturally in groups: the straightforward, frank, open kind
of statement that is often made between individuals working towards a common goal. 'The
trouble with you, John, is you talk too much.' This consists of little more than the giving, by
one individual to another, of an opportunity to face an unpalatable fact." (2)
If this skill is used to concentrate on strength and assets, and not necessarily deficits, it
supports 'unconditional positive regard.'
Summarising:
"The main purpose of summarising is to assist both client and helper to put the pieces
together; to clarify and focus a series of shattered ideas and to clear the way to go on to a
new idea. This consists of paraphrasing, reflecting feelings, perception checking and
direction.
"These are provided to assist in interacting with clients not substitute for it. Any anxiety or
nervousness in counselling will be overcome with experience. 'The only mistake you can
make is to do nothing for fear of making a mistake!' "(3)
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Role Play:
"Role playing is one of the most powerful tools in the whole spectrum of learning methods.
In essence it is simple: individuals take part in depicting some social event, large or small,
real or imagined; and the nature of the event, its different possible outcomes, and the
goings-on in the heads of various participants are explored, in an attempt to recreate the
event as realistically as possible. Learning can derive from a number of sources: from the
viewing of an event from different stand points; from increased awareness of the effects of
actions on others, from a developing sense of the flexibility of interaction and an ability to
anticipate and control itself' from the reversal of roles; and from the assimilation of any
information, attitudes and skills that may be accompaniments of particular roles.
"Role plays generally consist of three parts; the warming up exercise, the actual role play
and a de-roling exercise. De-roling is important." (2)
Expanding Methods:
"Group work and training methods have undergone enormous growth in recent years. Here
is a brief list of further approaches and techniques available:

trust exercises, which are used for establishing basic links between members of a
group.

growth games, which are semi-structured exercises which are offering opportunities
for increased self-awareness and group affiliation.

and counter and t - group methods, which are more involved and lengthy, and use a
variety of 'sensitivity' training techniques.

transactional analysis, a group work derivative of psycho-analytical theory that
abounds in groups and individual exercises, many of which can be used without
adherence to the theoretical underpinnings.

more esoteric approaches offering analysis of personality and individual change from
a particular point of view, e.g. gestalt therapy, primal therapy, bioenergetics, and
many more." (2)
Contracts:
The contract is an agreement between the instructor and the individual to meet certain
objectives or change certain behaviour. The objectives or behaviour needs to be identified
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by the client(s) prior to undertaking a programme. Other objectives, mutually agreeable,
could be contracted on route.
Use of contracting on outdoor programmes assists in self-assessment and commitment to
the course of events.
Ownership of Experience:
It is important that the group and individuals in the group are aware that they own the
outdoor experience that they are having. This is directly related to the perceived lotus of
control and therefore motivation, (i.e.) the greater the ownership, the greater the
motivation. Practically it is difficult to achieve because of the technical instructional
approach of most outdoor pursuits; in particular in high risk activities.
Payoffs:
On general courses with motivated clients, the 'payoffs' tend to be considerable; with many
'thank you’s', positive feedback on instructional input and lots of positive stroking. At the
end of working courses with alienated youth, the parting tends to be quite casual, without
much positive feedback and 'stroking' for the instructor. It is necessary to be aware that this
situation may occur and structuring the termination of this relationship to include those
'payoffs' may not be appropriate. A greater awareness of the process that has occurred
during that relationship will supply considerable job satisfaction. 'Follow up' programmes
provide reinforcement of the initial experience for the clients and much positive 'stroking'
for the instructor.
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O.P.C. WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE
Introduction:
The School Leavers Training and Employment Preparation Scheme (hereafter referred to as
STEPS) was established by the Labour Department in 1983 "to assist young people aged 15
and 16 to move confidently into working life by offering individually tailored combinations
of training and work experience which will enhance their job opportunities and which can
serve as a springboard for subsequent training and career development.
This involves trainees moving through three week basic training modules, each dealing with
skills development such as sewing, metalwork, woodwork, cooking, social skills etc. Trainees
are recruited through the local employment and vocational guidance service of the Labour
Department.
It is intended that sponsors for each module would come from private employers, local
authorities, government departments, and community organisations. Module sponsorship
involves providing supervision and training of trainees without financial commitment, which
is handled by the Labour Department.
The Wilderness Experience was formally mooted at a meeting at O.P.C. in October 1984,
involving representatives of the Department of Labour, Hamilton Y.M.C.A., Hamilton City
Council Recreation Department and O.P.C., at which details of facilities, organisation, and
finance were discussed. On the 7th January 1985 approval was confirmed by the Labour
Department, from whom funding was available for 1985. Administration of the module is
handled by Hamilton Y.M.C.A. in partnership with O.P.C. staff. The module involved one
week induction in Hamilton, followed by a 15 day outdoor These are to involve trainees in
an outdoor experience programme at O.P.C. with a follow up a week later in Hamilton. In
December 1985 this scheme changed over to the Training Assistance Programme (T.A.P.S.).
By this time it was established that the follow up for the Wilderness Experience had limited
effect and could be developed further. In January 1986 the ‘City Challenge’ Training
Assistance Programme was initiated and in April 1986 A.C.T. was born. Active Community
Therapy (A.C.T.) consisted of 15 days of Wilderness Experience and four weeks (day to day
basis) on City Challenge. The goal of A.C.T. is ' to establish in each individual a desire for
personal development through participation in recreational activities designed for this
purpose.' With the motto 'kia mau-e tu' (hold on, stand tall).
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Wilderness Experience Objectives
Under S.T.E.P.S., objectives were outlined for the Wilderness Experience. There are to
involve trainees in an outdoor experience which will;
(1)
help each trainee reach a greater understanding of physical and personal
resources.
(2)
provide trainees with a challenging, exciting and unusual experience which in turn
should lead to…
(3)
a greater awareness on the part of each trainee of such values as:
(a) self-discipline
(b) perseverance under difficulties
(c) responsibilities to others - as an individual - as a member of a group
(d) physical fitness
(e) appreciation of experience in natural surroundings
(f) recreational and work opportunities
(g) creativity - having a lot of unusual and original ideas
(h) communicating well with others in a group
(i) being intuitive
(4)
and, to be able to work out positive attitudes towards the ever changing
environment.
City Challenge Aims:
(1)
To utilise the benefits of Wilderness Experience and applying attitudes and group
cohesion that has been developed in an urban environment.
(2)
For participants to establish sound health and fitness attitudes and practices
through individual assessments, programme setting and ongoing monitoring and
supervision.
(3)
To experience the benefit and satisfaction of recreational activities through
practical participation and skilled development both as an individual and in a group.
(4)
To be familiar with the opportunities available to participate in recreation activities
in Hamilton and knowledgeable as to how to continue involvement in the future.
(5)
Utilise skills learned in Wilderness Experience and City Challenge in a leadership
role through planning and carrying out a suitable programme for a specially
selected group e.g. disabled, aged.
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Wilderness Experience Programmes:
As found with other "youth at risk" programmes at O.P.C., it seems beneficial to take the
group out on expedition during the first day of the course. This allows for greater group
bonding and more appreciation of the facilities and instruction given on return to a
residential situation. To this end the following programme was designed;
DAY ONE
Arrival at Taurewa House
Afternoon Tea, Aims and objectives,
Group bonding games,
Preparation for trip.
DAY TWO - FOUR
Expedition, Tongariro National Park to
Taurewa.
Interviews.
DAY FIVE
Flat water & river kayaking,
[skiing] River crossing, Hot Pools, Maori
lecture with John Te Rangiita
'bush medicine'.
DAY SIX
Ropes Course,
Rock climbing,
Caving.
DAY SEVEN
Orienteering, Canoeing on Lake Rotoaira
Solo on Lake
DAY EIGHT
Solo,
Debrief, Cleaning & Preparation for
unaccompanied trip.
DAY NINE - TEN
Unaccompanied expedition [Kaimanawas]
DAY ELEVEN - TWELVE
Rafting Access Ten to Blue Pool,
Canoeing Lake Taupo to arrive at Whanganui
Bay
DAY THIRTEEN
Rock Climbing at Whanganui Bay
DAY FOURTEEN
Canoeing to Kuratau,
Return to House,
Interviews.
DAY FIFTEEN
Clean up, Course Debrief,
Certificates and departure.
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For the most of 1985 this general programme operated to allow characteristics of the client
group to emerge. In October a journey or mobile-type programme was designed as it was
felt, on research of overseas material, that these were more effective. That programme is
outlined here:
DAY ONE
Arrive, Introduction, Gear hire,
Games, Night Orienteering.
DAY TWO
Kayak,
Raft,
Night Line.
DAY THREE
Climbing,
Ropes course,
Caving.
DAY FOUR
Depart Turangi in canoes
DAY FIVE
Canoe into Whanganui Bay - solo
(24 hour)
DAY SIX
Solo - Whanganui Bay
DAY SEVEN
Climb - Whanganui Bay
DAY EIGHT
Whanganui Bay to Tramp Pureora
Forest: Waihaha, camp Mangatu Stream
DAY NINE
Tramp Mangatu Stream to Bog Inn
DAY TEN
Bog Inn to Y.M.C.A. Lodge
DAY ELEVEN
Y.M.C.A. Lodge Mangakino:
canoe Lakes Maraetai/Waipapa
DAY TWELVE
Portage Waipapa Dam,
Canoe/camp Arapuni
DAY THIRTEEN
Shuttle Arapuni,
Canoe/camp Lake Karapiro
DAY FOURTEEN
Lake Karapiro,
Shuttle Dam, Camp north of Cambridge.
DAY FIFTEEN
Canoe into Hamilton.
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This programme, or variations thereof, is now the adopted format for the Wilderness
Experience. Although formal assessment of mobile courses has not been undertaken,
advantages are:
(1)
unique adventure,
(2)
stronger bonding of the whanau
(3)
greater realization of archetypes,
(4)
more isomorphic with the Maori cultural life meanings (predominant client group),
(5)
one primary achievable goal.
Facilities:
Wilderness Experience is based in the Lions Lodge Taurewa on the edge of Tongariro
National Park. This facility is part of the Outdoor Pursuits Centres and has a ropes course,
and ski hire adjacent. The main Outdoor Pursuits Centre is 7 kilometres away at Tawhitikuri.
Facilities there include a flying fox, another ropes course, orienteering, rock climbing wall,
pool, kayaking and canoeing equipment and audio-visual equipment. In the vicinity are
caves, rivers and mountains of the central north island volcanic plateau.
The Lodge at Taurewa has recently been refurbished and has sleeping accommodation for
25 people, well-appointed kitchen, ablutions and lounge.
Evolvement, Notes and Comments:
The first Wilderness Experience and City Challenge combination course took place between
10th May and 20th June 1986. It started with the Wilderness Experience and then went on
to City Challenge. It has been subsequently changed to one week of City Challenge as a lead
in to Wilderness Experience, followed by three weeks of City Challenge. Numbers are a
contentious issue as the new T.A.P. Manual states that ratios should be one trainer to six
trainees. However, due to the high risk activities undertaken on Wilderness Experience, a
ratio of one:four would be more applicable. The Wilderness Experience presently operates
on a ratio of one:five, with the occasional assistance of a non-experienced 'observer'.
Wilderness Experience programmes are run on a 'contract' basis with the participants on
mobile programmes. The first 'contract' generally operates from departure from Hamilton
on Day One through to the end of the initial skills training period on Day Four. 'Contracts'
then operate on three to four day blocks between bus routes. 'Drop outs' do so voluntarily.
Peer pressure is not used to persuade individuals at any time during the course, although
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positive reinforcement is continually encouraged, and counselling is used to dissuade people
from leaving the course. It is possible that making the decision to leave the programme and
the whanau would be the peak of the learning experience for some.
Recruitment has been a continual problem for the Wilderness Experience. One reason put
forward was the participants 'starting cold' into a programme. It is now hoped that one
week's contact on the City Challenge will prepare clients for the Wilderness Experience, and
departure from the city environment and their home situations. Paradoxically, people with
unsatisfactory home situations are reluctant to break these patterns and accept new
challenges.
A further recruitment problem was the criteria within the group. On occasion the groups
consisted of a 'heavy' bias of motivated, continuous criminal offenders and drug users. This
bias dramatically affected the dynamics within the programme and diluted any effect of role
modelling by anybody wishing to change that pattern. Selection is now done by City
Challenge staff, with the assistance of Hamilton Youth Resource Centre Youth Workers and
the Labour Department T.A.P. office. Criteria for groups of ten are stated as; no more than
forty percent 'heavies' age spread of minimum 3 years, minimum 3 females, and at least 8
participants per course.
During programmes leaders are nominated from the group to assist in organisational tasks.
These leaders are in pairs and change on a day to day basis, so, at the end of each
programme, each participant is day leader three times. Mastery of leadership skills, in this
situation, seems inextricably linked with the development of interpersonal relationships.
It is intended that the Wilderness Experience will maintain its present grass roots level of
involvement. It is, however, projected to develop a trainer training scheme in conjunction
with the existing programme.
"Street Kid Gets Into It Instead Of Out Of It":
"My name is Lillian Faye Tuwarangi Isaacs, my ethnic origin is Maori aged 16. Now that I
have come to the end of the Wilderness Experience course I can honestly say that my whole
attitude towards the course has changed considerably. I had no doubt in my mind that I was
going to enjoy the course but the one thing for me was what I actually achieved, myself, in
that two weeks. I feel that I achieved more in two weeks, than that for 15 years and I am
quite proud of myself. I also feel this is a worthwhile course and I would encourage others to
go on the trip. If I had it my way, I would like to go again. I also feel that I participated in
every task given to me to the best of my ability, as the tasks given weren't exactly easy, but
enjoyed doing orienteering, caving, rock climbing, skiing, tramping, camping out. These sorts
of activities I'd thought never before I'd get into, some I must admit turned me off but I then
thought well this is what I was here for to do the things never done before especially being
in a city environment. You never really knew what the real outdoor life could be like, until
you experience on a course like the Wilderness Experience.
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"Finally I would also like to add that thanks to the instructors for their interest in us young
people getting this course together, getting us motivated, and try and build some selfesteem in ourselves that without them we would just be the basic street kids."
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REFERENCES
1. The Conscious Use of Metaphor in Outward Bound
Stephen Bacon; Colorado Outward Bound School
2. Social Skills and Personal Problem Solving
Philip Priestley, James McGuire, David Flegg, Varerie Hemsley, David Welham; Tavistock
Publications
3. Microcounselling Skills Workbook
Bruce Hosking; University of Waikato
4. An Introduction to the Helping Process
Doug MacLean; University of Waikato
6. The Effect of Project U.S.E. Training (Adventure Training) On the Participants' SelfActualisation and Self Perception of Personal Challenge
Robert Mark Vogel; Temple University, 1979
7. A Two-Week Resident Camp Offering The Primary Objective of Predetermined Attitude
Change For Early Adolescents
Ernest M. Coons; University of New Mexico, 1973
8. Self-concept Changes In Low Socioeconomic Children As A Function of Decentralized,
Residential Camping Experiences
Edward John Murphy; Rutgers University, 1976. The State University of New Jersey
9. Wilderness as a Contact for Learning: An Exploratory Study With Implications for
Learning Programs Involving Life Meanings, Environmental Attitudes
D.R. Georgi; 1978, University of California
10. Redirection of At-Risk Young People
D. and Y.L. Thomas; University of Waikato, 1985
11. The Adventure Alternative
Colin Mortlock; Cicerone Press, 1984
12. Outdoor Pursuits as a Treatment Strategy
Dr. Margaret O'Brien, University of Auckland, Unpublished, 1986
13. The Maori and N.Z. Politics
J.G.A. Pocock; Blackwood-Paul Ltd, 1967
14. Maori
Michael King; Heinemann, 1983
15. Waikato Child Abuse Project
Department of Social Welfare, June 1985
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BIBLIOGRAPHY (Complementary Book List)
Holistic Nursing
- Barbara Blattner; Prentice-Hall 1981
Freedom to Learn
- Carl Rogers; Merrill, 1969
Home Lane
- D. Wills; George Allen and Unwin, 1964
Interviewing and Communication in Social Work
- Saskatchewan Newstart; Department of Manpower and Immigration, Prince Albert,
Saskatchewan
Aims and Techniques of Group Teaching
- M.L.J. Abercrombie; Society for Research Into Higher Learning, London, 1970
Summerhill
- A.S. Neill; Penguin
Wilderness Adventure Programs; An Activity Profile
- Daniel Lowenstein; Pennsylvania State University, 1975
Born to Win
- Muriel James, Ph.D. and Dorothy Jongeward, Ph.D.; Signet, 1971
The Quest for Gaia
- Kit Pedler; Granada, 1979
The Wisdom of Insecurity
- Alan W. Watts; Rider, 1979
Gamesters Handbook
- Donna Brandes and Howard Phillips; Hutchinson, 1977
The Grammar of Living
- David Cooper; Penguin, 1974
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