relationships involving people and natural resources.
The basic conceptual model for outdoor education was derived from the Outward Bound Program which according to Stich and Senior (1984) is a student counseling program that promotes self-growth through wilderness challenges. According to the authors, Outward Bound has been associated with increasing self-awareness and psychoemotional growth for adults, adolescents, and even younger children, all of whom were evidencing a broad spectrum of psychological problems, including schizophrenia, mood disorders, neurotic and personality disorders, drug and/or alcohol abuse problems, and adjustment disorders.
In terms of the application of this model to educational rather than counseling objectives, the outdoor adventure curriculum has been found to increase student motivation (Stremba, 1989), study skills, social habits, and self-determination (Gray & Perusco, 1993). However, in the last five years, there has been almost no empirical research conducted on outdoor education for at-risk student groups and the ability of these programs to attain educational objectives such as increasing students' academic achievement (Richards, 1994).
As just noted, because of the success of Outward Bound and programs like it, many educators have attempted to design similar programs for at-risk student groups, many of whom have similar psychobehavioral problems (Klausmeier, 1992). However, Richards (1994) complained of the paucity of empirical research on the efficacy of these educational programs for increasing the achievement levels of at-risk student groups.
Review of the existing literature (several databases were examined including PsychoInfo, ERIC, Mental Health Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, and Dissertation Abstracts) on the use of outdoor eduction programs for at-risk groups confirms Richard's (1994) claims. Therefore, in order to expand the existing knowledge base, it is neces...