The Mechanism of Adventure Education Effects to College Students Identity Formation:A Case Study from Senior Alpha Leaders of Tunghai University

• Main Authors: Wu, Jau-Tian, 吳兆田
• Other Authors: Tsai, Ju-Tse
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2017
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/9v8w3c

博士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 公民教育與活動領導學系 === 105 === The effectiveness of adventure education (AE) is widely recognized. Theories about its mechanism for AE effects abound, but many of them lack sufficient empirical support. AE has been in Taiwan for more than 20 years, but researches on its mechanism for AE effects are few and case studies on its effects on higher education are even fewer. University is a key stage for adolescents to learn to become adults by active learning, independent thinking and problem solving. Researches show that college students’ sense of happiness and academic performance are highly related to their identity formation. But local researchers rarely focus on identity formation. It is often treated as an independent variable and the focus is more on its effects on confidence, sense of happiness or career exploration. Evidence-based research on AE effects on college students’ identity formation is nearly nonexistent. This paper studied the Alpha Leaders Program in Tunghai University, Taiwan. This study used the qualitative research approach to analyze the participants’ accounts and interpretations of the program to see why and how AE is helpful to their identity formation. This study found that the mechanism for Senior Alpha Leaders AE effects include: 1. Their learning motivation is affected by their pre-class readiness. 2. Facilitators create the safe and open environment which produce the self-reflection and learning effectiveness with essential behaviors e.g. facilitation, positive facilitator-student relationship, model the way, providing challenges, sincerely manners, direct feedback and appropriate self-disclosure. 3. Adaption to dissonance during activity experiences produce self-reflection and learning effectiveness. 4. The experience of mutual learning with trust and support produce self-reflection and learning effectiveness. 5. Learning materials in AE enhance the self-reflection and learning effectiveness. 6. Self-reflection produce the learning transfer which enhance the identity formation. In terms of identity formation, researcher found that AE can help college students to authenticate, discover and explore their identity. Their learning motivation is affected by their pre-class readiness. And AE, by providing learning materials and experience of mutual learning and self-reflection, is useful for students’ identity formation. Participants gain access through the program to the necessary environment, stimulations and interpersonal interaction to know themselves deeper and better. The paper also identified some factors influencing AE’s impacts to student’s identity formation. Direct factors include activity experience, learning materials, mutual learning, self-reflection, and learning transfer of what is learned at AE. Indirect ones include autonomy of choice, adaption to dissonance, creative teaching, facilitators’ essential behaviors, safe and open environment, mutual trust and support, and feedback. In terms of mechanism for AE effects, this study found new factors in this study e.g. autonomy of choice; facilitator’s essential behaviors; experience of mutual learning with mutual trust, support and feedback; creative teaching; learning materials. In addition, this study found that the mechanism for AE effects provide a similar and enhancing process to individual identity formation. And AE, by providing self-reflection and autonomy of choice, help students becoming a self-identity individual with wholeness.