Forging a new understanding of leadership in wilderness education.

A multitude of factors influence individual outcomes in a wilderness program. Although a variety of leadership training settings can be selected, most wilderness education programs use the natural environment to develop leadership skills. The length of time spent in the wilderness, the physical and emotional challenges, and the interpersonal relationships encountered during a wilderness experience can be influential in developing behaviors and skills that are representative of leadership qualities.

A primary goal of many wilderness education programs is for participants to continue their involvement in wilderness education, either as a career or as a leisure time activity. This continued involvement often leads to the development of leadership in wilderness skills and experiences. Researchers and practitioners suggest that active involvement in a variety of outdoor-related experiences such as classes, workshops, personal experiences, reading, leadership opportunities and responsibilities, and past outdoor-related jobs can contribute largely to the "process" of developing leadership (Cain and McAvoy, 1990; Ford and Blanchard, 1985; Green, 1990). This "Research Update" will highlight research related to factors that have contributed to the leadership development process.

Leadership Development

Fairholm (1991) indicated that the three best known models of leadership over the past 100 years are trait theory (who the leader is), behavioral theory (what the leader does), and situational leadership (where the leadership takes place). Although the outdoor leadership literature acknowledges the significance of these three models, it places greater emphasis on developmental skills such as judgment and decision-making, mentoring, and ongoing feedback as valuable components of leadership development (Cain and McAvoy, 1990; Ford and Blanchard, 1985; Green, 1990; Raiola, 1990).

This literature supports the idea that leadership is not an end in itself. Specifically, leadership development is considered an ongoing process preceded by certain personality and situational factors. Therefore, the degree of leadership development is a function of the process requiring active involvement in a variety of outdoor related experiences.

In support of this conjecture, Green (1990) contended that outdoor leaders should have a grounding in leadership ethics which can be acquired and learned through reading, attending seminars, and networking with other professional outdoor leaders. Raiola (1990) noted that two essential components to leadership development are continual training and education in outdoor related experiences. Ford and Blanchard (1985) suggested that experience as a participant and as a leader in outdoor pursuits, along with successful completion of courses and workshops in outdoor skills, also are important ingredients to competency in leadership development. Cain and McAvoy (1990) found that judgment and decision-making abilities are measured through the process of an instructor evaluating the student through written appraisals as well as ongoing, structured, and cumulative feedback given over a period of time.

Self-Efficacy and Leadership Development

Self-efficacy is defined as one's perception of her or his ability to act in specific situations or perform certain tasks (e.g., climbing, backpacking, leading) of varying difficulty (Bandura, 1977). Numerous studies have been conducted on the theory of self-efficacy, but only a few in the outdoor and wilderness education fields. Brody, Hatfield, and Spalding (1988) found that the self-efficacy levels developed by rappelling were generalizable to other high risk sports but did not generalize to everyday stressful encounters. Koesler (1994) found that self-efficacy had a positive relationship to leadership development. In other words, the stronger the self-efficacy in wilderness skills, the more likely a student will develop outdoor leadership through continued involvement in wilderness education activities in the future. Adventure recreation practitioners support this by agreeing that participants who complete a wilderness experience/course with feelings of competence and skill enhancement are more likely to continue participating in some form of outdoor recreation (Ewert, 1989).

Mentoring and Leadership Development

In wilderness education programs, a successful mentoring process can be defined as establishing a rapport between student and instructor, encouraging the establishment of student goals, offering guidance on continuing performance, and providing periodic feedback. According to Redmond (1990), the most important element to the mentoring process is the interaction between the mentor and protege. Some wilderness instructors design their courses so that each student is assigned to one instructor who serves as a mentor. Although that particular instructor may not actually result in being the "natural" mentor to the student, the process enhances the opportunity for mentoring to take place.

Cain and McAvoy (1990) suggested that the mentoring process provides the greatest potential for influencing individuals to develop into wilderness education leaders. Koesler (1994) also found that mentoring was a significant factor in the process of developing leadership for wilderness participants, particularly for female participants. Through mentoring, women received guidance and support that enabled them to move to higher levels of power in becoming successful leaders (Curcio, Morsink, and Bridges, 1989).

The literature also suggested that women mentoring women or women having the opportunity to interact and share experiences and knowledge with women had have an impact on the future career success for women Luna and Cullen, 1990; Ragins and McFarlin, 1989). The opportunity for women leaders mentoring women participants has been found in all-women's wilderness courses. Moreover, female instructors/leaders on coed courses have functioned as role models for female participants. Role-modeling is a necessary component to the mentoring process.

Gender and Leadership Development

The literature supplies a plethora of information regarding gender differences (Appling, 1989; Henderson, 1992; Knapp, 1985; Warren, 1985). Women are stereotyped as caring, nurturing, expressive, cooperative, supportive, emotional, and passive. Men are stereotyped as dominating, competitive, judgmental, rational, risk takers, decisive, and aggressive (Appling, 1989; Knapp, 1985). Some researchers believe, however, that these differences are a result of social conditioning and sex-role stereotyping, rather than empirical observations of women or men leaders (Eagly, 1990; Hollander and Yoder, 1984).

Researchers have found few, if any, differences between women and men in personality, responses to work, motivation and overall effectiveness as a leader Ohlott, Ruderman, and McCauley, 1994). Researchers have suggested, however, that the process of leadership development differs for women and men (Koesler, 1994; Van Velsor and Hughes, 1990). Women tend to rely on encouragement, positive feedback, and mentoring relationships to enhance self-efficacy to develop leadership, whereas men tend to rely on task participation to boost their self-efficacy to develop leadership (Koesler, 1994; Van Velsor and Hughes, 1990).

Implications for Wilderness Educators

One of the implications for wilderness educators is to further assess the process" of a wilderness experience rather than the outcome (Klint, 1990). Although one of the outcomes of participating in wilderness education programs is leadership, it is important to explore plausible components that impact leadership. This exploration, in turn, can lend greater understanding to the results of the overall experience and how leadership develops.

The theory of self-efficacy is one component which has been found to be influential in the process of developing leadership. Since an individual's assessment of her or his efficacy can provide the impetus for determining future performance (i.e., leadership development), Ewert (1989) has highly recommended this theory as a way to more fully understand human behavior in outdoor adventure pursuits.

Wilderness education practitioners and researchers should be sensitive to the likenesses and differences between female and male leadership. As stated earlier, few differences in personality and leadership effectiveness exist between females and males. The differences seem to be in the process of developing leadership. The findings reinforce the need to investigate additional components which impact leadership development such as gender and amount of experience.

Mentoring is also an important component that is worthy of further investigation. Although mentoring can contribute to success in both genders, it has been found to be more significant for females than males (Koesler, 1994). Statistics indicate that more women than ever before are engaging in outdoor and wilderness activities and the trend is likely to continue (Henderson, 1992). To accommodate this trend, wilderness educators need to investigate avenues for training and the development of more female leaders. Providing female leaders as mentors and role models is likely to encourage more females to pursue and accept leadership roles in wilderness education.

Finally, although the research and implications provided in this paper address wilderness educators, the results can also be beneficial for other leisure professionals who have the opportunity to enhance the leadership performance of women and men. Since more women are entering the leisure services field (Henderson, 1990), it is critical to re-evaluate the current methods of training, educating, sustaining, and enhancing leadership in higher education and in leisure programs. Are there appropriate supervisors and university/college professors providing the guidance, encouragement, support, and role modeling needed for upcoming leisure professional leaders? It is important for current leisure professionals to be sensitive to the differences between females and males in their development as confident persons and competent leader in the leisure profession.

References

Appling, L. (1989). Women and leadership. Proceedings of the National Outdoor Leadership School Staff Conference, (pp. 9-12), Lander, WY.

Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191-212.

Brody, E., Hatfield, B., and Spalding, T. (1988). Generalizations of self-efficacy to a continuum of stressors upon mastery of a high-risk sport skill. Journal of Sport Psychology, 10, 32-44.

Cain, K. and McAvoy, L. (1990). Experienced-based judgment. In J. Miles and S. Priest (Eds.), Adventure Education. (pp. 241-250). State College, PA: Venture Publishing.

Cursio, J., Morsink, C., and Bridges, S. (1989). Women as leaders: moving beyond the stage of powerlessness. Educational Horizons, 67(4), 150-155.

Eagly, A. H. and Johnson, B. T. (1990). Gender and leadership style: a meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 233-256.

Ewert, A. (1989). Outdoor Adventure Pursuits: Foundations, Models, and Theories. Columbus, OH: Publishing Horizons, Inc.

Fairholm, G. (1991). Values Leadership: Toward a New Philosophy of Leadership. New York, NY: Praeger Publishers.

Ford, P. and Blanchard, J. (1985). Leadership and Administration of Outdoor Pursuits. State College, PA: Venture Publishing.

Green, P. (1990). Outdoor leadership preparation. In J. Miles and S. Priest (Eds.), Adventure Education. (pp. 217-220). State College, PA: Venture Publishing.

Henderson, K.A. and Bialeschki, M.D. (1990). The feminization of the leisure services profession: Possible explanations and implications. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 8(1), 1-12.

Henderson, K.A. (1992). Breaking with tradition: women and outdoor pursuits. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 63(3), 27-31.

Hollander, E. and Yoder, J. (1984). Some issues in comparing women and men as leaders. In W. Rosenbach and R. Taylor (Eds.), Contemporary Issues in Leadership. (pp. 234-248). Boulder, CO: Westview Press, Inc.

Klint, K. (1990). New directions for inquiry into self-concept and adventure experiences. In J. Miles and S. Priest (Eds.), Adventure Education, (pp. 163-170). State College, PA: Venture Publishing.

Knapp, C. (1985). Escaping the gender trap: the ultimate challenge for experiential educators. The Journal of Experiential Education. Summer: 16-19.

Koesler, R. (1994). Factors influencing leadership development in wilderness education. Doctoral Dissertation, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI.

Luna, G. and Cullen, D. (1990). An ethnographic comparison of mentoring functions for women in academe and business. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Meeting, Boston, MA.

Ohlott, P., Ruderman, M., and McCauley, C. (1994). Gender differences in managers' development job experiences. Academy of Management Journal, 37(1), 46-67.

Raiola, E. (1990). Outdoor leadership curricula. In J. Miles & S. Priest (Eds.), Adventure Education. (pp. 234-239). State College, PA: Venture Publishing.

Ragins, B.R. and McFarlin, D.R. (1989). Mentor roles: an investigation of cross-gender mentoring relationships. Academy of Management Best Papers Proceedings, pp. 58-62.

Redmond, S. (1990). Mentoring and cultural diversity. American Behavioral Scientist, 34(1), 188-200.

Van Velsor, E. and Hughes, M.W. (1990). Gender differences in the development of managers: How women managers learn from experience. Technical report no. 145, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, NC.

Warren, K. (1985). Women outdoor adventures: Myth and reality. The Journal of Experiential Education. Summer: 10-15.

Rena Koesler is an assistant professor in the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at Longwood College in Farmville, Virginia.