Girls’ Challenge-Seeking: Correlates and Contributions of Out-of-School Time Outdoor Program Participation

• In Event: Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Perceptions and Psychosocial Experiences of Out-of-School Time Programs

Abstract

Challenge seeking is an important component of children’s academic and personal development. In Girl Scouting, it is also an essential component of leadership and explicit goal of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE). Outdoor-oriented out-of-school time (OST) programs play a special role in cultivating children’s challenge seeking, as nature often presents authentic and unavoidable physical, psychological and social challenges for children to negotiate (e.g., whitewater rapids, spiders, camping in the rain). Using data from a 2012 mixed-methods, national study of early adolescent Girl Scouts, this paper explores the role of outdoor experiences in facilitating and supporting girls’ challenge seeking. It highlights differences between older and younger girls and provides suggestions for best practices in outdoor programming

Authors

• Kallen E. Tsikalas, Girl Scout Research Institute

• Karyn L Martin, Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts