The Role and Importance of Program Quality in Outdoor Adventure Programs for Youth: Examining Program Quality Indicators as Predictors of Outcome Achievement among NOLS Participants

Abstact: Youth outdoor and adventure programs are increasingly being expected to provide evidence that their programs are effective in achieving outcomes. While this is an important goal, participant outcomes are difficult to program for as they are influenced by many variables including the active role of the participant, the leader, the social and physical environments, and a myriad of contextual variables. However, program quality manifests at the point of service, and thus remains malleable by the program. Results of this study highlight the importance of program quality indicators on participant development and more specifically, which elements of program quality are most predictive of program outcomes.