Sport is often framed as a panacea for social disharmony, especially within the context of marginalised youth populations, and is widely promoted as a mechanism through which a multiplicity of social policy objectives can be achieved. Yet while political rhetoric has long pointed towards sport's transformative abilities, the basis for such claims…

An individual's identity related to health is critically important in terms of the adoption and maintenance of health behaviors, and guides approaches to health change across the lifespan. This article presents a review of the literature and proposes a health socialization and health identity framework, which may be used to clarify challenges in…

This paper provides an informed and critical understanding of the concept of self-esteem. It explores this psychological construct in relation to its use in adventure education and outdoor learning. Enhancing a participant's self-esteem is perceived to be fundamentally a good thing and is culturally linked to the Hahnian notion that implies…

This article asks whether a project in Canada could have any implications for schools in England. It is concerned with the ultimate challenge for teachers: not just how to create positive, healthy relationships with excellent educational progress in a "failing" school where they are conspicuously lacking, but how to do so in a lasting,…

Outdoor behavioral healthcare (OBH) programs treat adolescents with emotional, behavioral, and substance abuse problems using wilderness therapy and related therapeutic and educational curricula. Elements of OBH are designed to reveal and address problem behaviors, foster personal and social responsibility, and enhance clients' emotional growth.…

Two adults and two children with severe disabilities and challenging behaviors participated in the Lifestyle Development Process, in which a planning process was implemented to develop a vision of a quality life, remediate barriers to participation, and develop intervention strategies. All participants increased their number of preferred,…

This paper adopts a Christian perspective in a self-reflexive analysis of Steven Covey and his popular self-help book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." It opens by giving a brief overview of the author, describes his guiding idea of "principle-centered learning," and then discusses the book's spiritual foundations.…

A 5-day school-based experiential personal development course was evaluated via pre- and post-program pupil self-assessment questionnaires administered at three comprehensive schools in northern England. Behavior changes were modest, except in confidence, where students at one school showed substantial improvement. Results were used to make course…

A study examined the impact of specialized, residential camp programs on children and youth with disabilities. Case studies were used to describe the real-life context of program effects and to explore various effects in situations where there may be no clear, single set of outcomes for all participants. Fifteen specialized residential summer camp…

The Northland Wilderness Experience (NWE) was established in 1985 to provide outdoor therapeutic programs for at-risk youth from the Northland region of New Zealand. The program involved a physically challenging 10-day expedition, followed by an 18-month followup period of group outdoor activities offered every 2 weeks. By the end of 1989, 280…