Where has
the Adventure Gone?
Bringing Risk Back
into the Outdoors
James Neill
Center for Applied Psychology,
University of Canberra
ORIC Conference, Sydney,
October 11-12, 2003
Objectives
 Argue
for positive
perceptions of “risk”
 Look
at how adventure
education can provide
“risk education”
Risk
has become
a hot topic…
Risk has become a science, a
philosophy, an ethical issue, an
art form, and a commodity.
David Blaine, fasting 44 days in a
plastic box above the Thames, Sept.
2003
We have been
“dealing with risk”
since the beginning of
time…
Yet, we have been
“dealing
…only the
withlucky
risk”
since survived…
the beginning of
time…
Two Basic Views of Risk
Negative & Positive
R-
R+
Risk
of loss
Risk
of gain
Minimizes risk of
loss to maintain
status quo
Engages in risk for
growth or gain
Philosophy of R- and R+
R- philosophy
“risk aversity”
e.g., insurance, law
R+ philosophy
“risk engagement”
e.g., exploration, sport
“…One crowded hour of glorious life
Is worth an age without a name."
Thomas Mordant, 18th century
R+
R- ?
Adventure Education:
A Double-Edged Sword
RR+
Kurt Hahn observed that
Outward Bound was a
double-edged sword – it
cut and it healed
 “moral equivalent of war”
“Virtually all Outdoor and
Adventure Education programs
embrace the value of risk as a
means of education and selfdiscovery.“ [R+]
- Adventure Risk Management
Adventure education
structures learning
about R+ and R-
Healthy societies create
formative
risk-based educational
experiences.
e.g., indigenous
Rites of Passage
“…without adventure civilisation
is in full decay”
- Alfred Whitehead
Healthy
Society
Unhealthy
Society
Risk
Education
e.g.,
• rites of passage
• adventure education
Risk
MisEducation
e.g.,
• drug abuse
• self-harm / suicide
Unhealthy societies…
Over-control
Risks
Under-control
Risks
Example of Risk Education
R-
R+
Education about Education about
how to manage how to manage
negative risks
positive risks
Example of Risk Education
R-
R+
e.g., safe sex class e.g., Karma Sutra
workshop
GOAL: avoid
negative
consequences
GOAL: obtain
positive
consequences
Unhealthy
Society
Healthy
Society
Risk
Education
Risk
MisEducation
Management
of R-
Management
of R+
Balanced
 or 
bias RUnbalanced
 or 
bias R+
 The
The Risk Pendulum
(Zeitgeist)
Zeitgeist has swung the risk
pendulum in society towards “Risk
Aversity” in recent decades
2000’s?
1960’s
R+ RISK
EMBRACING
1990’s
1970’s
1980’s
R- RISK
AVERSE
Playing Outside is
Under Threat
Recent British research has found that children are
increasingly playing indoors.
•Adult intolerance forcing children to be mini-adults
•Increased fear of child molestation
•Decline of extended family, increase in single parents
•Perceived inaccessibility of outdoor places in urban
society
The Risk of Becoming Too Safe?
“Willi Unsoeld was once
asked by a fearful mother if he
could guarantee her son's
safety; no, he told her. But by
sheltering her son from risk,
he added, she would
guarantee the death of his
soul.” (Rick Pender)
The Risk of Becoming Too Wild?
R+ = admired McCandless
immensely for his courage
and noble ideals
R- = that McCandless was
a reckless idiot, a narcissist
who perished out of
arrogance and stupidity
Evolution of “Safety Practices”
• Increased popularity of
activity
• Industry self-regulates
• No litigation
• Legal restrictions
• Professional standards
• Litigation a common concern
• Difficult
to operate
• Increased
accidents
• Standards
required
• Early standards
• Lawsuits
common
• 1st litigations
(Priest, 1999)
Future Evolution of Outdoor
Education?
A paradigm shift can stimulate new growth
The point is to react creatively before its too late
(Arne Stjernholm Madsen 2001)
Positive & Negative Risks
in Outdoor Education
P (Physical
Loss)
= ~everyday life
P (Psychological
Loss)
= ~20%
“no change” = 15%
P (Physical
Gain)
= ~99%?
P (Psychological
Gain)
= ~65%
Psychological
Effects of
Adventure
Education
Hattie et al
1997
20%
negative
change
No
change
15%
no
change
65%
positive
change
As an Industry, Let’s Get
Positive about Risk
"The latitude for innovation
has never been broader
- if only our minds can
stretch to it."
- Gary Hamel
Simple Outdoor Education
A backpack, a bit of food, and a plan
 Students can conduct their own
expeditions
 Simple gear
 Solo

Participants can Learn to
Manage Risks
Use Holistic Range of Challenges
Time
Environment
Physical
Social
Emotional
Risk
+
Support
=
Growth
Use the
Spectrum of Choice
Voluntary Challenge
Tough
Compulsor
by Choice
Love
y
e.g.,
e.g.,
e.g.,
e.g.,
(Impelling
Scouts, D
Project
Outward
incarcerate
)
of E
Adventure
Bound
d youth
Incorporate
“Risk Education”
into
Outdoor Education
Research Healthy Risk Taking
1. I am good at deciding whether a risk
is worth taking.
2. I avoid actions which risk my health
and well-being.
3. I think carefully about the
consequences of my risky actions.
4. I balance my risk-taking behaviors -I am not too risky or too cautious.
5. I make effective use of risk-taking in
my life.
Research Healthy Risk Taking
Conclusions
Risk management can be
reinvigorated by seeing:
- risk as an opportunity (R+)
- risk as a TOOL
- risk education as a GOAL
Adventure educators need to
guide society with regard to
fear, risk and safety.
R+
R-
Ideas will be collated online
for ways to increase R+ in
outdoor education,
i.e., positive experiences of risk.
• Email
james@wilderdom.com
Copy of materials:
www.wilderdom.com/Risk.html