Overcoming Fear: Helping Decision Makers Understand Risk in Outdoor Education

Autor/in	Haras, Kathy
Titel	Overcoming Fear: Helping Decision Makers Understand Risk in Outdoor Education
Quelle	In: Pathways: The Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education, 22 (2010) 2, S.25-32 (8 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0840-8114
Schlagwörter	Outdoor Education; Familiarity; Risk Management; Probability; Fear; Decision Making; Recreational Activities + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Freiluftunterricht; Risikomanagement; Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung; Wahrscheinlichkeitstheorie; Furcht; Decision-making; Entscheidungsfindung; Freizeitgestaltung
Abstract	The long history of outdoor education does little to alleviate the fears of many parents, teachers, principals and superintendents who believe that outdoor education is too risky. These decision makers often lack both the knowledge to make informed decisions and the time and resources to investigate their assumptions. Pair these circumstances with a fear of making the wrong decision and the popular media's focus on tragic events, and it is no wonder that decision makers' first instinct might be to say "no" to outdoor education experiences. Outdoor educators understand the benefits of taking students outside and view risk as a product of the probability and magnitude (risk = probability x magnitude) of an event (Gardner, 2008). Based on their experience, they know that outdoor education incidents aren't that frequent and most aren't that serious. As a result, outdoor educators are perplexed when decision makers say outdoor education is too risky. Decision makers, on the other hand, are responding to a moral-emotional data set rather than a technical one. Helping decision makers overcome their fear of outdoor education consists of four steps: increasing their familiarity with outdoor education; sharing responsibility for risk management; developing credibility; and communicating effectively. This article will outline the steps and techniques that will enable individuals to reach informed decisions about outdoor education experiences. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario. 1185 Eglinton Avenue East, Toronto, Ontario, M3C 3C6, Canada. e-mail: info@COEO.org; Web site: http://www.coeo.org/publication.htm
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10