University outdoor programs and their natural and social communities.
(Book - Regular Print)

Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 47-04.

Adviser: Shari Leach.

Thesis (M.A.)--Prescott College Master of Arts Program, 2009.

This thesis explores how university outdoor programs can be used to create mutually beneficial relationships with their natural and social communities. More specifically, it investigates how university outdoor programs are currently serving these communities, and what the future of the service might entail. The research focus then turns to the priority given to service of the natural and social communities by university outdoor programs. These questions are explored through a detailed literature review, which examines the relationship between university outdoor programs and their natural and social communities. This thesis includes a research study which used the Delphi Method, incorporating a panel of thirteen experts to ascertain the answers to these questions. Through both the literature review and research study, this thesis concludes that service to the natural and social communities is an active part of most university outdoor programs, finds that service to the natural and social communities should be a part of university outdoor programs, yet is not an essential aspect of the programs examined.