A critique of neo-Hahnian outdoor education theory. Part one: Challenges to the concept of “character building”
Title:
A critique of neo-Hahnian outdoor education theory. Part one: Challenges to the concept of “character building”
Author:
Brookes, Andrew
Appeared in:
Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning
Paging:
Volume 3 (2003) nr. 1 pages 49-62
Year:
2003
Contents:
Within the diverse and sometimes amorphous outdoor education literature, “neo-Hahnian” (NH) approaches to adventure education are exceptional for their persistence, seeming coherence, and wide acceptance. NH approaches assume that adventure experiences “build character”, or, in modern terminology, “develop persons”, “actualise selves”, or have certain therapeutic effects associated with personal traits. In social psychological terms NH thought is “dispositional”, in that it favours explanations of behaviour in terms of consistent personal traits. In this paper I critically review NH OAE in an historical context, and draw on Ross' and Nisbett's (1991) seminal review of dispositional social psychology to argue that OAE programs do not build character, but may provide situations that elicit certain behaviours. For OAE research and theory, belief in the possibility of “character building” must be seen as a source of bias, not as a foundation. The conceptual analysis I develop provides not only a basis for critique, but also offers a way forward for OAE.
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