Merging Career Development and Adventure Education: Developing Self-awareness, Teamwork, and Decision-making Skills

Emily Helm

This paper describes the way in which career development and adventure education interact to offer a positive and active alternative to current career services. Through discussion of two theories of career development and the goals of adventure education, this paper addresses the point at which the two intersect and focuses on the shared goals of self-awareness, teamwork, and decision-making. In addition, the author considers ethical implications and potential problems associated with the implementation of a career adventure experience.

Introduction

College and university career counselors are challenged daily to provide useful career and self exploration tools to students, alumni, and the community. In addition to the services already offered by college and university career centers (such as one-on-one counseling, administration of assessment tools, on-campus recruiting and workshops), career services professionals seek innovative approaches to addressing the career needs of all students. One such approach is the use of adventure education initiatives to explore the career development process and an individual's role in that process. Adventure education is defined for the purpose of this paper as a learning process that uses games, and high and/or low ropes course initiatives accompanied by a debriefing or reflection session. Since people absorb information differently, an opportunity for career exploration in an active, physical setting may be a positive alternative to more traditional methods of career development for some students.

This paper addresses the intersection of the goals and intents of career development services and adventure education. The theories of Donald Super and John Holland coupled with the goals of adventure education demonstrate where an intersection between career exploration and adventure initiatives occurs. This intersection focuses on the shared goals of self-awareness, teamwork, and decision-making. Finally, this paper considers ethical implications and potential problems involved in implementing a successful career adventure experience.

The Changing Workplace

In 1990, the Secretary's [of Education] Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) was established to determine the expectations of the workplace and whether current or future workforces are capable of meeting the demands of a changing work environment. Their first report entitled What Work Requires of Schools, issued in January of 1991, defined competencies and skills required for effective job performance in the evolving workplace. Five competencies were identified as essential: resource development, interpersonal skills, effective use of information, systems, and technology. In addition, three skill sets were identified: basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities (Taylor, 1995).

The SCANS model challenges educators to develop new ways of interacting with students and to create collaborative learning environments resulting in effective career readiness. Adventure education initiatives are designed to address many of the same issues that are central to the SCANS proposal. For example, the development of interpersonal skills, teamwork, decision-making, problem-solving, creative thinking, and assuming individual responsibility are necessary competencies for the new workplace that are also integral to adventure initiatives. Since "employers of today and tomorrow will demand workers who are active learners, team players, problem solvers, and goal-oriented decision makers" (Taylor, 1995, p. 24), the intersection of career services and adventure education is an inevitable and natural progression.

Career Development Theory: The Influence of Super and Holland

Donald Super, one of the pioneers in developmental career theory, introduced a theory which emphasized the importance of self-concept and defined developmental stages. The two central tenets to his theory are: accepting career development as a life-long process occurring through developmental stages and shaping self-concept through each phase of life. Originally presented in 1972, Super's theory relies upon five developmental stages: growth, exploratory, establishment, maintenance, and decline. The original theory explained a progression from one stage to the next where an individual mastered the skills and competencies of one level and aspired to the next level. The stages were governed by age and professional experience.

In 1990, Super modified his original theory so that recycling through the developmental stages is possible and not predicted solely by age or professional experience. For example, a person in his or her forties who makes a career change may be just as likely to enter the exploratory stage after an extended period in the establishment or maintenance stages as a graduating student in his or her twenties. As a result of a shift in the way people approach careers and professions, Super determined that ages and transitions are flexible and do not necessarily occur in ordered sequences. A person may easily recycle through one or more stages as he or she faces new professional challenges (Zunker, 1994).

In addition to developmental stages, Super incorporates developmental tasks that describe the strength of one's vocational decisions. The tasks are: crystallization, specification, implementation, stabilization, and consolidation. Many college students or individuals at the beginning of a career adjustment often identify with the growth or exploratory stages and the crystallization or specification tasks. In each of these areas of growth, choices are tentative, general goals are formulated, and individuals move toward more specific vocational preferences. It is at this time that the services of career professionals may be most useful. The need for clarification of self, values, and potential directions is characteristic of individuals at this point in their career development.

While Super's theory defines developmental stages and establishes their relationship to self-concept and vocation, John Holland presents a theory of career development that acknowledges the role of personality in vocational environments. Holland identifies six personality types--realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional--that indicate a person's preferences, strengths and weaknesses, and how these factors correspond to work environments. Holland (1985) argues that congruence between personality and work environment leads to greater productivity and a larger sense of satisfaction than if personal preferences were not considered.

The theory is a fulfillment model, for it assumes that all people look for enjoyment and seek to reach goals that actualize talents, skills and interests . . . a congruent or fitting environment is one in which a person's preferred activities and special competencies are required, and his or her personal disposition and its associated characteristics--a special outlook on the world, role preferences, values, and personal traits--are reinforced. (Holland, 1985, p. 11)

By applying Super's notion of the importance of self-concept and development with Holland's emphasis on the role of personality in vocational decisions, career services professionals encourage students to recognize personal strengths and weaknesses and how these characteristics apply to occupational environments. These theories are important to the creation of career adventure education programs because they recognize the value and importance of self-discovery, personal development, and the correspondence of personal qualities and professional environments.

Goals and Purpose in Adventure Education

Adventure experiences are constructed around six central goals: improvement of self-concept, applying action and reflection, decision-making, problem-solving, working in teams, and goal-setting. Participants are challenged to gain self-awareness by taking physical risks in controlled environments and evaluating the outcome. Through an organized program of trust exercises, games, and problem-solving activities, participants are asked to confront fears and perceived risks toward a desired end. A successful adventure education program encourages students toward self-discovery through physical challenge, teamwork, and assuming leadership roles.

By responding to seemingly insurmountable tasks, groups and individuals learn to overcome almost any self-imposed perceptions of their capability to succeed. They are able to turn limitations into abilities; and, as a result, they learn a great deal about themselves and how they relate to others. (Priest, as cited in Miles & Priest, 1990, p. 114)

An image of who you are and what you value, both personally and in relationship with others, is the result of a positive adventure experience. As Super and Holland both submit, increased knowledge of self is a primary step toward effective career readiness and preparation. By bringing career development and adventure education together, students gain important knowledge of themselves and how to apply that knowledge to a work environment. They learn that education is a continuous process which occurs both inside and outside of the classroom. As students of adventure education programs will relate, "participants immersed in profound experiences cannot help unconsciously absorbing lessons for their lives" (Bacon as cited in Schoel, Prouty, & Radcliffe, 1988, p. 20). By goal-setting, working as part of a team, and taking risks to push oneself past perceived limits, students become prepared to function productively in work environments.

Bringing Career Development and Adventure Education Together

The primary shared goals of career development and adventure education are: improving self-awareness, working in teams, and making strong decisions using problem-solving skills. Through the use of metaphor, debriefing techniques, and goal-setting, participants positively merge career exploration and adventure initiatives. While traditional career services emphasize written or verbal personal assessment accompanied by reading resources, adventure education allows participants to achieve similar outcomes through physical action and reflection.

The use of metaphor is central to tailoring any adventure experience to a particular learning outcome. At the University of California, Santa Barbara, a career adventure retreat is used as an alternative to conventional career counseling services (Nord, Duerlinger, Connor, Roberts, & Solberg, 1994). By introducing the adventure initiatives in a career context and debriefing them with career-related questions, students learn about themselves and the professional world. As explained in a presentation to the Association of Experiential Education,

the advantage of adventure experience is the high perceived risk in a controlled situation that helps participants reconsider their values, their limits and their willingness to take risks. When the appropriate level of perceived risk is evoked and related through metaphor and analogy to career issues, the hypothesized outcome is increased career self-efficacy (SE). (Nord, Connor, Roberts, Solberg, & Scheck, 1994, p. 2)

For example, one of the most common adventure initiatives is called The Wall. Working together, a team must get each member of the group to the other side of a sheer 15-foot wall. The facilitator asks the group to consider the wall as an impediment to one's career. With a brief introduction describing the task and highlighting safety, the group attempts to get each member to the other side. By using the metaphor of a career obstacle, participants approach the task as they would search for a resolution to a career related problem. They become aware that it is necessary to rely on the assistance of others to conquer the wall, and therefore realize that engaging others' help to resolve a professional problem is a viable solution.

In addition to introducing career metaphors, debriefing the activity is an essential component to a successful career adventure experience. When the group completes an element, the facilitator may ask questions to stimulate thought and discussion on the relationship between the activity and a career. For example, when debriefing The Wall initiative a facilitator may ask, what are the walls you fear as you look at your career or your job search? What does this exercise say about you and what lies ahead? Who has helped you get where you are and who might help you now (Nord, Connor, et al., 1994)? By framing the adventure initiative in a career context, participants begin to examine themselves and the way in which they might function in different professional roles and settings.

Goal-setting is a third important piece. Like the use of metaphor and debriefing, asking participants to identify goals that may be translated into a professional environment is also necessary. In order to be effective, goals should be conceivable, believable, controllable, measurable, desirable, stated with no alternative, and growth facilitating (Schoel, et al., 1988). In The Wall scenario, participants may offer personal goals like working as a member of a team, relying on the assistance and advice of others, or assuming a leadership role.

By adhering to goal-setting guidelines, participants achieve a degree of success and feel confidence in the defeat of perceived risk. Success in the safely constructed adventure environment translates into confidence in the actual career process. The effective and thoughtful combination of the use of metaphor, debriefing, and goal-setting influences the development of important workplace competencies such as decision-making, self-awareness, and teamwork.

Ethical Considerations

Like any program that focuses on plans for the future, the expectations of student participants must be clear. It is the ethical obligation of program facilitators to articulate the purpose and intent of a career adventure experience. It is a learning tool, similar to other career services, that encourages participants to self-evaluate. Actually gaining employment as a result of participation in an adventure program will not occur. However, students will develop a stronger sense of self-awareness which leads to identifying a professional area to which one is well-suited. A facilitator must have specific knowledge and training regarding adventure initiatives and career exploration in order to adequately address the concerns and questions that may arise from participants. Although one may possess exceptional skills as either a career counselor or an outdoor educator, it is important for participants to receive accurate information from both the career and adventure perspectives. The alternative is a detriment to ethical practice in both fields.

Also, adventure experiences are active endeavors. As such the physical and emotional space of all participants is a consideration. The ethical facilitator does not require participation from anyone who is unwilling for any reason. He or she will also address touching as it may be central to a particular element or task. Beginning any adventure experience with trust initiatives is one way to address this issue and identify prospective problems. If physical contact does inspire uneasiness in a group, the games and activities may be modified to change or eliminate touching altogether.

Potential Hazards

The adventure setting is not intended to be a substitute for current services and programs offered by career counselors. While it is important to offer options to satisfy the varied learning styles and preferences of students, career adventure experiences will not have a positive impact on all students. As such, attempts to universalize the experience must be carefully considered. Just as Holland identifies personality types and the importance of congruence with a work environment, it is equally essential to recognize the way that personality and learning styles influence the effectiveness of adventure education.

As noted in the ethical considerations, finding and training qualified career and adventure professionals is essential to the success of an adventure initiative. As a result, identifying qualified personnel is linked closely to a final problem: the question of cost. At a time when many programs in higher education are asked to trim budgets and eliminate services and personnel, it may not be feasible to provide an adventure experience limited to career services. The costs associated with initiating a program may include training leaders, building and maintaining a ropes course, or traveling to a site within reasonable distance of the college or university. Justifying the expense will be a challenge if the adventure program is considered extraneous to a base of services that already satisfy most student need.

Conclusion

Currently, adventure education is used by some employers to promote teamwork and to develop job-related skills within professional environments. For example, a department may participate in a day-long adventure retreat to develop team-building skills for the office. Students who participate in a career adventure program in college are at a significant advantage when they enter the work environment because they are familiar with the goals of the adventure outing. They are cognizant of their skills, abilities, and limitations which places them ahead of their peers who will need time and training to develop the same skills.

The proper facilitation of adventure initiatives contributes to the intersection of the goals of Super and Holland and those of adventure education. Facilitation must include the use of career metaphors, debriefing, and goal-setting. While the use of adventure education in career services is not intended to be a substitute for traditional career development, integrating adventure programming into college and university career services provides some students with an opportunity to develop life-long skills for career searches. As employees change jobs, or even careers, with more frequency than past generations, gaining essential self-evaluation skills will be invaluable.

The evolving workplace requires professionals to work in teams, make frequent decisions, and think creatively. As a result, adventure education and career preparation are logical partners. The similarities in style between the goals of adventure education and the needs of the changing work environment suggest an inevitable and natural intersection. The result is a solid fundamental approach to developing workplace skills and competencies for the future including self-awareness, teamwork, and strong decision-making skills.

References

Holland, J. L. (1985). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments. (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Miles, J. C. & Priest, S. (1990). Adventure education. State College, PA: Venture Publishing, Inc.

Nord, D. L., Connor, D., Roberts, S., Solberg, V. S., & Scheck, M. (1994). Career metaphor in an adventure retreat: Effects on career self-efficacy. Presented at the 24th International Conference of the Association of Experiential Education, November 3, 1994.

Nord, D. L., Duerlinger, J., Connor, D., Roberts, S., & Solberg, V. S. (1994). Adventure and the classroom: How an adventure retreat enhances a college career class. Presented at the Western Regional Conference for The Association of Experiential Education.

Schoel, J., Prouty, D., & Radcliffe, P. (1988). Islands of healing: A guide to adventure based counseling. Hamilton, MA: Project Adventure, Inc.

Taylor, V. (1995). Cooperative education as a delivery system for the SCANS workplace competencies and foundation skills. The Journal of Cooperative Education, xxx (2), Beltsville MD: Cooperative Education Association, Inc.

Zunker, V. G. (1994). Career counseling: Applied concepts of life planning. (4th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.

Additional Resources

Herr, E. L. & Cramer, S. H. (1988). Career guidance and counseling through the lifespan: Systematic approaches. Boston: Scott, Foresman and Company.

Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Wilson, J. W., Ed. (1995). "Preparing students for the twenty-first century workplace." The Journal of Cooperative Education, xxx, (2), Beltsville, MD: Cooperative Education Association, Inc.

Author's Note

Research on adventure education in career services is extremely limited. Nonetheless, the use of adventure initiatives in career planning (and across student affairs) is current and warrants further investigation and implementation. Interest among student affairs professionals is essential to the future success of adventure education in career development and in all areas of student affairs.

Emily Helm is a 1996 graduate of the UVM HESA program. Presently, she a Career Counselor at Babson College in Massachusetts.