| The effects of participating in academically based outdoor adventure education courses on the self-concept of high school students were examined over a period of 6 months.; Two groups of students aged 13 to 18 years attending a private high school in New York City were examined (N = 94). One group ( n = 36) was enrolled in either of two outdoor adventure education courses; a comparison group (n = 58) were not enrolled in these courses. Both groups included males and females. A repeated measures analysis of covariance was conducted, using baseline scores for each of the domains of self-concept and global self-concept as covariates. Additional covariates such as previous outdoor experience, perceived risk of outdoor activities, and risk taking behaviors did not prove useful.; There was no support for the contention that students enrolled in the outdoor adventure education courses would have statistically significant greater change in global self-concept or any of the six domains of self-concept after participating in these courses. However, family self-concept increased significantly for males enrolled in the outdoor adventure education courses when compared to females in these courses.; Supplementary analyses revealed several significant differences in self-concept between students characterized as having high global self-concept and students having low global self-concept enrolled in outdoor adventure education courses. Students with low global self-concept indicated greater gains in global self-concept, social self-concept, competence self-concept and academic self-concept upon completion of the outdoor component of these courses. Significant changes in physical self-concept and family self-concept were found for those students with high global self-concept upon completion of the outdoor component of these courses.; Academically based outdoor adventure education programs with high school students may positively affect global self-concept and the domains of self-concept for some students. Further research to determine how outdoor adventure education courses affect global self-concept and its domains is needed. In addition, such issues as the identification and use of valid covariates, impact of the characteristics of the leadership team, timing of the outdoor components of these courses within the greater academic schedule, and length of time between outdoor experiences need to be addressed. |
