Research

Dewey and Hahn’s educational philosophies and existing literatures on personal and social development (PSD) through outdoor adventure education (OAE) offer several different but overlapping explanations of the process young people undergo to enhance their social skills, promote personal wellbeing, and successfully engage in wider society. Teachers’ beliefs literature, although providing scientific rigour and well-researched empirical constructs relating to beliefs, offer limited insights into teachers’ beliefs about young people’s PSD. Nor do they provide a thorough explanation of how teachers’/practitioners’ beliefs, actions and intentions may be affected by dynamic contextual factors. Sail training literature—which is a part of OAE—offers a dynamic context typically used to promote young people’s PSD. As such, three gaps were identified in existing literatures: lack of skippers’ voices within sail training literature; the need to understand teachers’ and OAE practitioners’ beliefs
about PSD; and lack of sound philosophical underpinnings of practitioners’ beliefs. This thesis goes beyond sail training and OAE literatures to develop a theoretical framework so that later comparisons with sail training skippers’ perspectives can be made.

Therefore, following a social constructivist ontological position supported by interpretivist epistemological assumptions, these four gaps were addressed using semi-structured interviews with 16 sail training skippers working for UK sail training organisations. A reflective diary and fact sheets were also used to develop further understanding and record ongoing conceptualisations of skippers’ beliefs about young people’s PSD. Four elements key to young people’s PSD emerged during inductive thematic analysis: environmental factors and social systems; social behaviours; attainable challenge; and essential sailing skills. Deductive analysis contrasting skippers’ beliefs against Dewey and Hahn’s conceptualisation of growth was also conducted. A combination of inductive and deductive analyses revealed skippers’ underlying beliefs to be focused on physical and social environments, and further shaped by contextual factors (e.g., weather conditions) to create a meaningful community-based context in which learning could occur. This point was also emphasised by both Dewey and Hahn. Skippers, however, provided new insights into Dewey and Hahn’s conceptualisations and their applications into OAE contexts leading to subtle refinements of Dewey and Hahn’s theoretical conceptualisations (e.g., diversity consists of diversity in socio-economic background, age, core beliefs and broader experiences).

The findings contribute to our current understanding of the mechanisms underpinning beliefs about PSD in light of contextual factors. They also provide practitioners with the applied research-informed frameworks for engaging with young people’s PSD, in order to maximise its benefits, bridging the gap between theory and practice, and supporting practitioners’ continuous professional development.

While previous research details the psychological and social benefits of sail training programs for amateur “trainees,” much less is known about the value and transferability of sail training work experience in terms of professional development for seafaring careers.

This article reviews the current state of scientific knowledge on sail training and presents the findings of a qualitative study of maritime recruiter perceptions at 10 United States flag workboat companies. Results suggest that the maritime industry may benefit fro an improved understanding of the role that sail training programs and the sail training community can play in training and inspiring the next generation of motivated and professional seafarers. Workboat recruiters see positive and negative aspects of sail training experience and perceive cultural divides within the maritime industry that may affect a seafarers’ job mobility, whether or not such divides actually exist.

It can be suggested that the marriage between Marine Geography and Experiential Education on board Sail Training Vessels [STVs] laid the foundations for Marine Experiential Education. To support this; focus is brought to the key concepts behind Marine Environmental Education [MEE] with an explanation of its evolution are introduced; including the idea of shared responsibility for the marine environment; how coastal and marine subjects are currently taught concluding with a discussion regarding the underdevelopment of MEE in comparison to similar land based environmental initiatives.

Secondly, the concept of Sail Training as a format of experiential education is introduced, explaining the relationship between Sail Training, Citizenship and Youth Development. This is followed by the identification of the connection between Sail Training and formal education subjects. This enabled the concept of Marine Citizenship to be introduced and its affiliation to Sail Training. It is this affiliation that has enable the development of Marine Experiential Education.

Sail training has emerged from the work and leisure sailing traditions as a particular sector focused on ‘training through the sea’, or personal and social development.

This paper is focused on those drawn to work in this sector as either volunteer or paid workers. It explores the socio historical context from which sail training emerged to account for the character and diversity of the contemporary sector, the variety of routes into the sector and the particular challenges associated with it including the dangers of burnout and drop out.

Subsequently we consider the various careers or development trajectories implicated in working in the sector including occupational, serious leisure, sailing, life-course and community working. A small scale empirical study is presented to provide accounts from workers in the sector to support this socio-historical analysis. Finally, some consideration is given to the kinds of support needed by the sector.

Much evidence to link youth expeditions and gap years with a range of outcome benefits for participants exists, but to date, there have been relatively few insights into what exactly brings about these reported outcomes. A modified version of the Sail Training Voyage Toolkit (2011) was used to evaluate outcomes of a five-week British Exploring Society youth expedition in the Himalayas. Data generated from 22 participants completing the modified sail training Voyage Feedback Form at the end of their expedition were complemented by data from 16 interviews conducted during weeks one, three and five of the expedition.

Key factors identified by the participants which had influenced their learning were: (1) Other Young Explorers, (2) being involved in making decisions and having choices, (3) having time to learn at their own pace; time to get comfortable with people; being able to talk with other people (to make connections); (4) group leaders, and (5) wild camping.

Data from 16 interviews supported these outcomes, while the physical challenges (of climbing peaks) and cultural interaction with local people were highly valued aspects of the expedition. Participants were more aware of risks and more confident about safety issues and taking risks after the expedition. These important outcomes may be transferred to future expeditions, higher education or employment. Personal development and training organisations should consider these findings.

This study investigates the impact of a sail training education programme on the self-concept of a group of 147 adolescents. The Competence and Social domains of Bracken’s self-concept scale were assessed by a quasi-experimental design in three phases: before commencement of the activities, on the last day of the voyage, and three months after completion of the program.

A significant difference (Competence: Effect Size 0.2, p<.001; Social: Effect Size 0.23, p<.05) was identified soon after the sail experience, but this effect was only temporary. Our analysis was confirmed by a bootstrapping technique. Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological theory was used as a general interpretative framework in order to identify personal and environmental factors that can sustain developmental changes over time.

It can be suggested that the Sail Training experience is the flagship model for Marine Experiential Education; particularly in relation to Youth Development.

For some time it has been suggested by many Sail Training operators that “sail Training is a life changing experience”. However; other providers suggest that the experience can change attitudes and provide essential life skills which enable a young person to change their own life.

It cannot be denied that sail training as an experiential education tool has the potential to have a profound effect on a young person, particularly those who originate from a disadvantaged background. However, does the experience in itself change a young person’s life or could it be part of a much larger systematic change; which can in turn alter a young person’s lifestyle and/or direction in life.

In essence – is it more accurate to ask: Can a marine experiential education experience change a young
person􀍛s behaviour?

From the Association for Experiential Education, this piece puts forth a Deweyian framework for youth development activities in outdoor and adventure education programs, and shows how such a framework may be exemplified by activities in sail training and sail­ing instruction.

The paper begins with a discussion of the theoretical fea­tures of Deweyian educational experiences and makes connections between these ideas and positive youth development. It then, by reference to the ed­ucational activities aboard vessels large and small, provides concrete illus­trations of these theoretical features.

The goal of the paper is to propose a framework that educators in outdoor and adventure programs, and in youth development programs generally, can employ to bring Dewey’s ideas to bear on program design and assessment.