Thru-hiking and Thriving: Exploring College Student Experiences on the Appalachian Trail

IF 1 Q3 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Kathy Chau Rohn, P. Conway
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Research shows that participation in outdoor adventure education (OAE) programs can confer individual educational, psychological, and social benefits that relate to college student thriving. Purpose: This qualitative study examined the experiences of college students who took a semester's leave to backpack the Appalachian Trail (AT) in order to understand how self-guided and immersive outdoor experiences can facilitate traits related to college student thriving. Methodology/Approach: We employed a longitudinal phenomenological approach and experience sampling to gain a holistic understanding of four college students’ experiences thru-hiking and transitioning back to college. The two primary sources of data included audio diaries and semi-structured pre-, mid-, and post-hike interviews. Findings/Conclusion: We found the self-guided and immersive nature of thru-hiking enabled participants to deal with immediate tasks while engaging in deep self-reflection about life on and off trail. Additionally, participants discovered how to integrate individual and broader group goals while also developing self-efficacy, self-confidence, and resilience when dealing with unforeseen circumstances. Implications: Our study suggests that providing opportunities for intensive and prolonged student-led and student-chosen outdoor experiences can meaningfully contribute to the development of traits related to interpersonal, intrapersonal, and academic components of college student thriving.
通过徒步旅行和繁荣:探索大学生在阿巴拉契亚小径上的经历
背景:研究表明,参加户外探险教育(OAE)项目可以给大学生带来个人教育、心理和社会方面的好处,这些好处与大学生的成长有关。目的:本定性研究考察了利用一学期假期背包旅行阿巴拉契亚山径(AT)的大学生的经历,以了解自我引导和沉浸式户外体验如何促进与大学生成长相关的特质。研究方法:采用纵向现象学方法和经验抽样方法,对四名大学生的徒步旅行和返校经历进行了全面的了解。两个主要的数据来源包括音频日记和半结构化的徒步旅行前、中、后访谈。研究结果/结论:我们发现,徒步旅行的自我引导和沉浸性使参与者能够在处理即时任务的同时,对徒步旅行内外的生活进行深刻的自我反思。此外,参与者发现了如何整合个人和更广泛的群体目标,同时在处理不可预见的情况时也发展了自我效能、自信和弹性。启示:我们的研究表明,为学生提供密集和长期的学生主导和学生选择的户外体验的机会,可以有意义地促进大学生发展中与人际、内向型和学术成分相关的特征的发展。
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来源期刊
Journal of Experiential Education
Journal of Experiential Education EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH-
CiteScore
3.20
自引率
20.00%
发文量
26
期刊介绍: The Journal of Experiential Education (JEE) is an international, peer-reviewed journal publishing refereed articles on experiential education in diverse contexts. The JEE provides a forum for the empirical and theoretical study of issues concerning experiential learning, program management and policies, educational, developmental, and health outcomes, teaching and facilitation, and research methodology. The JEE is a publication of the Association for Experiential Education. The Journal welcomes submissions from established and emerging scholars writing about experiential education in the context of outdoor adventure programming, service learning, environmental education, classroom instruction, mental and behavioral health, organizational settings, the creative arts, international travel, community programs, or others.
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