| Description |
College readiness requires a broad set of competences that include learning strategies, academic content knowledge, skills, and information needed to navigate the pathway to and through college, and noncognitive factors related to self-regulation. There is increased interest among researchers, educators, and policymakers in the role noncognitive factors play in college readiness. Noncognitive factors include the skills, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that contribute to student achievement but cannot be measured by traditional academic assessments. Many noncognitive factors are developed during out-of-school-time (OST) activities that may include sports, clubs, the arts, or volunteering. Outdoor adventure education (OAE) is one type of OST experience that is linked to the positive development of key noncognitive factors necessary for college readiness like self-efficacy, self-confidence, social belonging, perseverance, and the ability to perform under difficult circumstances. The following research examined two distinct college preparatory environments that use OAE to complement their curriculum and programming. The first study involved an independent all-girls school in Los Angeles that sends all its students on weeklong expeditions in 7th-, 9th-, and 11th-grade. This qualitative study found outcomes in three areas: social connectedness, self-efficacy in leadership, and a recalibrated sense of self. Interviews with students and faculty showed how a shared application environment-the school-aided the retention of outcomes, allowing relationships to continue beyond the course and providing a supportive context where students could continue practice leadership competencies. The second and third studies examined the use of OAE experiences within a larger college access program that works with students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Using a mixed methods approach, these two related studies found increases in self-efficacy for dealing with challenge and using help-seeking behavior following the OAE experience but a regression to precourse levels months later. The study revealed the importance of context and continuity and the need to study the development of noncognitive factors over a longer time frame. Findings in this dissertation contribute to conversations about the importance of OST experiences like OAE and their potential contribution to college readiness. Implications are presented for programmers, educators, and policy-makers. |
