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The acculturation of preservice adventure educators: development of perspectives and beliefs

ABSTRACT Little research on the socialisation of adventure educators into their craft has been conducted. The purposes of this study were to describe (a) the perspectives and beliefs of preservice adventure educators as they began adventure education training (AET) and (b) the elements within their acculturation that led to these perspectives and beliefs. Participants were 20 preservice adventure educators at the beginning of their AET. Data were collected with three types of interview. They were coded, categorised, and reduced to meaningful themes by employing analytic induction and constant comparison. Results revealed that preservice adventure educators possessed one of three orientations. These were a leisure orientation, outdoor pursuits orientation, or adventure orientation. Factors shaping these orientations were family and friends, experiences of outdoor and adventurous activities, experiences working as counsellors, timing of occupational selection and age, and a number of secondary attractors including the motivation to remain connected to the world of adventure. Should they transfer to preservice adventure educators in AET at other institutions, the main practical implication of the study’s results is that they should provide the basis for AET faculty to understand and deconstruct any less than desirable beliefs and perspectives with which prospective adventure educators enter their programmes.