An Investigation of the Connection between Outdoor Orientation and Thriving

This study explored the contribution of outdoor orientation experiences to student thriving. Participants included 295 first-year college students from three institutions across North America. A thriving model was tested using structural equation modeling and included the following variables: outdoo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of outdoor recreation, education, and leadership education, and leadership, 2017-06, Vol.9 (2), p.197-216
Main Authors: Rude, Wally James, Bobilya, Andrew J, Bell, Brent J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
College Freshmen
College students
Education
Enrollment
Ethnicity
Grades (Scholastic)
High School Students
Interpersonal Competence
Majors (Students)
On Campus Students
Outdoor Education
Predictor Variables
Program Effectiveness
Psychological Patterns
Racial Differences
Selective Admission
Social Support Groups
Spiritual Development
Spirituality
Statistical Analysis
Structural Equation Models
Student Adjustment
Student Participation
Student Surveys
Success
Teacher Student Relationship
Well Being
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Summary:This study explored the contribution of outdoor orientation experiences to student thriving. Participants included 295 first-year college students from three institutions across North America. A thriving model was tested using structural equation modeling and included the following variables: outdoor orientation, thriving, involvement, spirituality, psychological sense of community, student-faculty interaction, and control variables. Although the predictive importance of outdoor orientation is modest (ß = 0.048), it contributes significantly to a model explaining 72.8% of the variance in thriving levels. Outdoor orientation directly predicted campus involvement (ß = 0.246) and spirituality (ß = -0.146). Findings indicate that participating in an outdoor orientation may create a propensity for students to become more involved in campus life, which may foster a greater sense of campus community, culminating in thriving. These results suggest that practitioners should enhance both a psychological sense of community among students and the durability of outdoor experiences back on campus.
ISSN:1948-5123
1948-5123
DOI:10.18666/JOREL-2017-V9-I2-8101