190 Word Abstract
This study describes the development of a
multidimensional self-report tool, the "Life Effectiveness Questionnaire"
(LEQ). An eight factor version is developed, with a confirmatory factor
analysis replication study demonstrating an excellent fit, with factorial
invariance across gender and age. In the intervention phase of the study,
the LEQ was administered longitudinally to 3000 participants in
expedition-style outdoor education programs. The overall effect size was
moderate (the standardised mean differences between normalised LEQ scale
scores (comparable to Cohen’s d), was .47). There were two ‘bands’ of
personal effectiveness outcomes, with moderately large change found for
Self Confidence (.56), Time Management (.60), Emotional Control (.50),
Task Leadership (.54), and Social Competence (.53), with positive, but
smaller effects evident for Intellectual Flexibility (.39), Achievement
Motivation (.33), and Active Initiative (.33). Particularly strong
outcomes were evident for the long (3-4 week) Outward Bound programs with
young adults. The outcomes were only weakly related to other independent
variables measured in this study – program type, program length, group
size, group gender, participant age, and participant gender. This
underlines the need to investigate more specific, social, psychological,
and educational variables (such as coping responses) in future process
research.
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500 Word Abstract
Previous empirical studies of the psychosocial
effects of outdoor education programs have tended to use
off-the-shelf psychological tests. Such tests have tended not to be
directly matched to theory of outdoor education and/or tend to be designed
for static assessment, rather than assessment of change. In the
current study, a multidimensional self-report tool, the "Life
Effectiveness Questionnaire" (LEQ) is described and developed through
confirmatory factor analysis, leading to a new version, the LEQ-H, an eight
factor model (24 items; TLI = .964). A replication study
demonstrated an excellent fit (TLI = .945, N = 890), with factorial
invariance across gender and age.
A decade of longitudinal LEQ from outdoor
education programs in Australia, representing 3000
participants, was analysed and the effects of six independent
variables were analysed – program type, program length, group size, group
gender, participant age, and participant gender. The overall effect size
(ES), based on standardised mean differences between normalised LEQ scale
scores (comparable with Cohen’s d), was .47 (95% CI = .44 to .50). This
indicated a moderate amount of change and was higher than overall ESs
reported in previous meta-analyses of outdoor education (Hattie, Marsh,
Neill, & Richards, 1997; Neill, 2002).
Particularly strong outcomes were evident for the
long (3-4 week) Outward Bound programs with young adults. The shorter
Outward Bound programs and comparative programs tended to achieved small
to moderate outcomes, approximately similar to the outcomes reported by
other innovative educational and psychological intervention programs. The
outcome data revealed considerable within group variability; in other
words little variance in the outcomes was explained by the six independent
variables. There were two ‘bands’ of personal effectiveness outcomes,
with moderately large change found for Self Confidence (.56), Time
Management (.60), Emotional Control (.50), Task Leadership (.54), and
Social Competence (.53), with positive, but smaller effects evident for
Intellectual Flexibility (.39), Achievement Motivation (.33), and Active
Initiative (.33).
Moderate overall ESs were obtained for programs
with Young Adults (17 to 29 years) (.56, n = 1932) and Special groups
(.55, n = 95), whilst smaller ESs were found for programs with Adolescents
(.32, n = 698), Adults (>29 years) (.40, n = 336), Families (.40, n =
108), and for Corporate Development groups (.39, n = 471). The most
impressive outcomes were for the Outward Bound Australia 22 to 26 day
programs for young adults (ES = .63, n = 1431). All other programs had
similar outcomes to one another (ES = .37, n = 2208) and to the overall
outcomes for previous outdoor education meta-analyses. Followup results
(n = 584) for young adult programs suggested reasonable retention of gains
up to five months, with a steady loss of gains between five and twelve
months. The outcomes were only weakly related to other
independent variables measured in this study. This underlines the need to
investigate more specific, proximal social, psychological, and educational
variables in future process research, particularly constructs emerging
from theoretical models of change in other disciplines, as well testing
unique theories of change developed within outdoor education.
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Full Abstract
This study conducted a landmark investigation into
the effects of outdoor education programs on participants’ personal
growth. Previously studies in this area have most often used
off-the-shelf psychological tests to measure outcomes or poorly developed
author-constructed tools. It is argued that the multi-dimensional
construct of “personal life effectiveness” offers a way forward for
measuring the impact of personal development programs which, in general,
aim to enhance a person’s capacity to be effective in the multitude of
tasks involved in life, including:
-
managing emotions (Emotional Control),
-
managing time (Time Management),
-
having confidence (Self Confidence),
-
communicating effectively with others (Social
Competence),
-
being intellectually flexible (Intellectual
Flexibility),
-
being motivated to achieve (Achievement
Motivation),
-
being able to work with others (Productive
Teamwork),
-
being able to take leadership when the
opportunity or need presents (Task Leadership),
-
being hardy under difficult circumstances
(Hardiness Resourcefulness),
-
having a sense of personal control over life
events (Locus of Control), and
-
actively taking initiative (Active Initiative).
The LEQ was originally developed by Garry
Richards, at the Australian Outward Bound School. This study describes
the development of the “Life Effectiveness Questionnaire” (LEQ) and
derives a new version, the LEQ-H based on a confirmatory factor analysis
of LEQ-G (64-item, 11 factor) data (TLI = .818, N = 1164). The CFA
indicated a promising model, with room for improvement. Thus, an eight
factor model (24 items) was developed (TLI = .964) and a replication study
demonstrated an excellent fit (TLI = .945, N = 890), with factorial
invariance across gender and age.
A decade of longitudinal LEQ outcome data from the
Australian Outward Bound School, representing several thousand
participants, was analysed and compared with equivalent data from other
Australian outdoor education programs. The effects of six independent
variables were analysed – program type, program length, group size, group
gender, participant age, and participant gender. Participants completed
the LEQ on the first and last days of outdoor education programs (N =
3640). Eighty-three percent (n = 3019) of participants were involved in
programs conducted by Outward Bound Australia. The overall effect size
(ES), based on standardised mean differences between normalised LEQ scale
scores (comparable with Cohen’s d), was .47 (95% CI = .44 to .50). This
indicated a moderate amount of change and is higher than overall ESs
reported in previous meta-analyses of outdoor education (Hattie, Marsh,
Neill, & Richards, 1997; Neill, 2002).
Particularly strong outcomes were evident for the
long (3-4 week) Outward Bound programs with young adults. The shorter
Outward Bound programs and comparative programs tended to achieved small
to moderate outcomes, approximately similar to the outcomes reported by
other innovative educational and psychological intervention programs. The
outcome data revealed considerable within group variability; in other
words little variance in the outcomes was explained by the six independent
variables. There were two ‘bands’ of personal effectiveness outcomes,
with moderately large change found for Self Confidence (.56), Time
Management (.60), Emotional Control (.50), Task Leadership (.54), and
Social Competence (.53), with positive, but smaller effects evident for
Intellectual Flexibility (.39), Achievement Motivation (.33), and Active
Initiative (.33).
Moderate overall ESs were obtained for programs
with Young Adults (17 to 29 years) (.56, n = 1932) and Special groups
(.55, n = 95), whilst smaller ESs were found for programs with Adolescents
(.32, n = 698), Adults (>29 years) (.40, n = 336), Families (.40, n =
108), and for Corporate Development groups (.39, n = 471). The most
impressive outcomes were for the Outward Bound Australia 22 to 26 day
programs for young adults (ES = .63, n = 1431). All other programs had
similar outcomes to one another (ES = .37, n = 2208) and to the overall
outcomes for previous outdoor education meta-analyses. Followup results
(n = 584) for young adult programs suggested reasonable retention of gains
up to five months, with a steady loss of gains between five and twelve
months.
The outcomes were only weakly related to other
independent variables measured in this study. This underlines the need to
investigate more specific, proximal social, psychological, and educational
variables in future process research, particularly constructs emerging
from theoretical models of change in other disciplines, as well testing
unique models of change developed within outdoor education. The
structural programming factors which appear to have the most influence are
program philosophy, program type, program length, group climate, the
natural environment, and, it is proposed, participants’ readiness for
change. Future studies are advised to consider individual difference
variables, such as personality, coping strategies and readiness to change,
as well as process-variables such as group support and type and level of
challenge, in order to better understand ways in which outdoor education
and related programming methods can be used to enhance human development. |