Impact of One-Semester Outdoor Education Programs on Adolescent Perceptions of Self-Authorship

Abstract

This study investigated one-semester outdoor education program impact on adolescents’ perceived self-authorship—the ability to form our identity independently from the expectations of external individuals and the capacity to invent our beliefs, identity, and relationships (Baxter Magolda, 1998; Kegan, 1982)—as measured by the Self-Authorship Questionnaire (SAQ). Participants ( n = 26) included students from 10th- and 12th-grade one-semester outdoor education programs. Analysis of paired t tests of the intervention phase showed gains in three of four SAQ dimensions (situational coping, interpersonal leadership, and self-efficacy) as well as in overall SAQ scores. There were no observable differences in overall SAQ within grade level based on gender or between grade levels. The instructor and outdoor experiences were perceived to influence self-authorship. These findings contribute to the research examining the benefits of one-semester outdoor education programs and have implications for educators aiming to enhance participants’ self-authorship based on desirable outdoor education programming identified by students.