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Effects of a tall ship sail training experience on adolescents’ self-concept

2013; Elsevier BV; Volume: 58; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.ijer.2013.01.004

1873-538X

Michele Capurso, Simone Borsci,

Youth Development and Social Support

IntroductionOutdoor experiences in the natural environments constitute a cross-cultural activity (Fabrizio & Neill, 2005) that has been used in various societies as a medium for the personal and collective development of young people.Living and learning in the outdoors is believed to foster positive psychological, social and physiological effects in humans (Lewis, 1996).In Western society these types of programmes have taken several names and definitions.In a recent online review, Neill (2004) counted up to 45 terms which are similar or closely related to the concept of education in the open air.Since some of the terms in this paper were developed and co-constructed by a wide range of educators, psychologists and naturalists over several centuries, they often hold different meanings for different people.For the sake of this paper, we shall use the term outdoor education when speaking about any kind of programme or activity aiming at improving human skills and abilities in an open-air environment, while we will use the term ''sail training'' when discussing a specific kind of outdoor education programme in which participants' activities are experienced aboard a sailing vessel.Outdoor education, following the suggestion of several authors and governmental documents (Bisson, 1996;Priest, 1986; Scottish Education Department, 1971), is in fact an umbrella term comprising a broad range of component parts.For instance, Priest (1986) pictures outdoor education using a metaphorical model of a tree and identifies six components as key aspects in its definition, stating that: it is a method for learning; it is experiential; it takes place primarily in the outdoors; it requires use of all senses and domains; it is based upon interdisciplinary curriculum matter; and it is a matter of relationships involving people and natural resources.Over the past century the use of outdoor education has widely extended in Western society.As an example we could mention the Scout movement, which started in the United Kingdom in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell and today is spread over 216 countries, involving more than 28 million youth and adults (The Scout Information Centre, 2006).