RESEARCH INTO OUTDOOR EDUCATION LEARNER

ATTRIBUTION THEORY: The effects of the

Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award on learning

Associate Professor David R. ColeDr Roberto H. Parada

Associate Professor Tonia GrayDr Christina Curry

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AuthorsDavidRColeRobertoH.ParadaToniaGrayChristinaCurryLayoutandformattingWesternSydneyUniversityISBN:978-1-74108-396-5 (print)ISBN:978-1-74108-397-2 (eBook)Thisworkiscopyright.ApartfromanyuseaspermittedundertheCopyrightAct1968,nopartmaybereproducedbyanyprocesswithoutpriorwrittenpermissionofUniversityofWesternSydney.ThisworkhasbeenfundedbyTheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAward.AnypermittedreproductionmustincludeacopyofthiscopyrightnoticeandmustacknowledgethefundingbyTheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAward.

Acknowledgements

TheWesternSydneyresearchteamwouldliketothanktheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAwardforpartneringwithustocompletethisproject.HRHtheEarlofWessex’sencouragingwordsataMelbourneCupeventin2014,gaveustheinspirationtostartthisresearchjourney.Alongtheway,themannerinwhichtheyoungadultsundertaketheAwardkeptusgoing,andfocusedourintenttounderstandtheeffectsoftheAwardonyouthdevelopment.TheresearchteamwouldalsoliketothankTracyBuckridgeattheCentreforEducationalResearch(CER)forherdesignexpertisetohelpcompletethisreport.

Thisreportisavailableathttp://www.westersydney.edu.au/cer/research/research_reports

ImagesFrontCover© DukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAwardAustralia

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Preamble

TherearethreeoptionsthatconfrontuswhenresearchingtheeffectsoftheDukeofEdinburgh’sinternationalAwardonlearning:

1) ThattheoverwhelminglypositiveeffectsoftheAwardonthelearnerasreportedinpreviousresearch(e.g.Campbelletal.,2009),andbytheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAwardorganisationintermsoftheirimpactstatements,migratethroughthetransformationofthesubjectinto,forexample:increasedlifeprospects,increasedengagementatschoolandimprovedlearningandsocialeffectsingeneral.Thisoptionwillbecalledthetotalattributionoption.

2) TheeffectsoftheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAwardonthelearningofthelearnerare

asubtleandnuancedaffair.Thisoptiontakesintoaccountthesocial/culturalbackgroundsandcontextofthelearnerandthewaysinwhichthelearnermayhavebeenmotivatedinthefirstplace,orhavesubstantialsupportinandfortheirlearningorotherwise.Intermsofthisoption,theDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAwardplaysasubsidiarybutsupportiveroletothewaysinwhichthelearnerprogresses,andwillbedeemedtobetheintermediaryattributionoption.

3) TheeffectsoftheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAwardonthelearnercannotbeattributed.Infact,onecouldstipulatethatthereisafallacyofattribution(Brookes,2003)betweencompletionorpartialcompletionoftheAwardandlearningortransferencefromtheAwardactivitiestolearningingeneral.Thisoptionshallbecalledthenon-attributionoption.

Thispilotproject(conductedin2015)constructedalearningattributionsurvey(AppendixII)andheldfollowuponlineinterviewsandfocusgroupsinNSW,Australia(AppendixIII).ThefollowingreportanalysesthethreeattributionoptionsoftheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAwardonlearningthroughaliteraturereview,researchmethodology,resultsandconclusionsstructure.

TheaimofthisprojectistounderstandwherebesttheAwardsitsintermsoftheattributionoflearninganditseffects,andwhatpossiblefollowupresearchisrequiredtofurtherunderstandthisfield.

• DukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAward=DoEIA

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ContentsPage

Preamble………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…2

1.0ExecutiveSummary……………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………..……….…5

1.1SummaryofResults…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5

1.2SummaryofReport……………….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….6

2.0LiteratureReview…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………….8

2.1Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..8

2.2AttributionTheory……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...8

2.2.1CorrespondenceInterferenceTheory…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………9

2.2.2VariationModel……………………………………….……………………………………………………………………….…………………….10

2.2.3AttributionTheoryinEducation……………….……………...………..……………..……………………….…….…………………….12

2.3OutdoorEducation(OE)……………….……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………...13

2.3.1Claimstoexceptionalism–‘Adventure’intheOutdoors………………….……………………………………………………..14

2.3.2Theurban/ruraldivide–mythmakingintheOutdoors…….………………………………………………………………….…15

2.3.3TimeandtheOutdoors…………………….…………………………………………………………….……………………………………….17

2.4TheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAward(DoEIA)…………………………….…………………………………………………18

2.5Summary….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..20

3.0Methodology……………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………….…22

3.1Introduction…………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...22

3.2Thequantitativemeasure……………….……………………………………………………………………….………………………………...22

3.3DemographicCharacteristicsofParticipants……………….………………………………………………………………………….….24

3.4ROPELOCAnalysis………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…25

3.5QualitativeResearch……………………………….…………….…………………………………………………………………………………..25

4.0Results……………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………27

4.1Introduction……………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………27

4.2EffectivenessScores.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….27

4.3CorrelationAnalysis…………….….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….31

4.4QualitativeResults……………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………….33

4.5Awardleaderresults…………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………….………..33

4.6Focusgroupparticipantresults………………………..………………………………………………………………………………………...39

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4.7SummaryofResults…….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….43

5.0Discussion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…..44

5.1ThemeaningoflearningattributiontheoryfortheDoEIA…….……………………………………..……………………………44

6.0Conclusion/Recommendations………..….…………………………………………………………………………………………………….45

6.1Outcomesofthisstudy…………………………….………………..…………………………………………………………………..…………45

References………………….………….…………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………..46

AppendixI:TheoriginalROPELOCinstrument(usedwithpermission)……………………………………….……………………50

AppendixII:Theadaptedattributioninstrument…………………………………………………………………………………………….52

AppendixIII:Thequalitativequestions…………………………………………………………………………….…………………………..…57

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1.ExecutiveSummary

1.1.SummaryofResults

ThisstudysoughttoanswerthreequestionsofpivotalimportancetotheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAward(DoEIA):

1) WhatisthelearningattributionthattheAwardencourages?2) Isthisattributionmeasurable?3) Howdotheseattributionstranslatetolearningeffects?

Insummary,thisprojectfoundoutthat:

ThelearningattributionoftheDoEIAaccordingtothisstudyisintermediary.ThismeansthatthespecificwaysinwhichtheDoEIAworks,forexample,toencourageself-reliance,effort,servicetothecommunityandpersistencecanbeattributedtothecurrentsetofactivitiesthattheAwardruns.Inparticular,thestudyfoundthatthequalitiesof:

1)Self-Confidence,2)CopewithChange,3)LeadershipAbility,4)OverallEffectiveness,and,5)ActiveInvolvement,

canbeattributedtotheDoEIA,andthislearningcanbemeasured(seequantitativeresultssectionsbelow).Further,thelearningofthequalitiesof:

6)TimeEfficiency,7)Self-Efficacy,8)SocialEffectiveness,9)CooperativeTeamwork,10)StressManagement,and,11)ExternalLOC(LocusofControl)

canalsobeattributedtothecurrentsetupoftheDoEIA,butinalesscompellingmanner.

Thesequalitiesarerankedwiththelargestattributionbeingthatof‘Self-Confidence’,andthesmallestthatof‘ExternalLOC’accordingtotheROPELOCsurveyusedinthisstudy(seemethodologysection).

Inshort,thisstudyshowshowgainsinthesequalitiesasmentionedabove1-11canbemeasuredandattributedasbeingduetoparticipationintheDoEIA.

However,thisstudyfoundthattherewerethosewhosidedwiththetotalattributionoptionandthosewhodeniedattribution,orexpressednon-attribution.FurtherresearchisrequiredtounderstandmorefullyhowandwhythetendenciestoexaggerateandtonegatethelearningeffectsoftheDoEIAareoperantinthefaceofsuchawidespreadandwellknownprogram.Further,theexactconnectionbetweenthespecificlearningeffectsoftheAwardandthetypesofactivities

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thattheDoEIArunswasnotclearlyoutlinedorunderstood,duetothenatureofthissmallscalepilotresearch,andtheinabilityoftheteamtomatchsurveyandinterviewresults.

ThetendencytooverstatethemannerinwhichthegainsthattheDoEIAaffordstheindividualandthegroupmigratetogenerallearninggainswasobserved,aswasthetendencytoremainscepticalwithrespecttothecrossoverfromspecificskillslearningtogenerallearningimprovement.ItisrecommendedthatfurtherresearchisrequiredtounderstandthisaspectoftheDoEIAlearningattributionproject.

1.2.SummaryofReport

i. Attributionwaschosenastheunderlyingtheoryofthisresearch.

Attributionmeanswhenoneascribesacertaintendencyorqualitytosomethingorsomeone.Forexample,whenoneobservesaparticipantintheDoEIAtryingreallyhardtocompleteacertaintask,onemightattributethequalitiesofperseverance,determinationorstrongwill-powertothatperson.Researchinthisareaasksquestionsaboutexactlywhy,how,andwhataretheeffectsofsuchattributiononskillandyouthdevelopment—bothofwhichareofvitalimportancetotheDoEIA.ThemostsignificantaspectofattributiontheoryfortheDoEIAisthatthewayinwhichonecommunicatesinformationaboutspecificqualitiesandcharacterdevelopmenttoparticipants,whichwillaffecttheirbehaviour,maychangebelief,andcanalterthedesiredoutcomeoftheactivity.

ii. Attributionisespeciallypertinentineducation,andtothelearningthathappensduetoacertaineducativeactivity.

Theclassicdistinctionthatisopenedupbyattributiontheoryisbetweeneffortandability.Whenpraisingsomeoneforeffort,aneducatorneedstobeawareofthepossibleimplicationsofthispraise.Forexample,ifastudentperformsbadlyinanexamination,andtheteachersays,“nevermind,youtriedreallyhard”,thestudentmaywellinferthattheyhavealowability,andthattheycouldnothaveinfactdoneanybetterintheexamination.If,ontheotherhand,theteachersays:“Ohno,that’sareallyterribleresultforyou,”thestudentmaywellimputethattheyhaveahigherabilitythanisreflectedinthetest,andthattheyshoulddobetternexttime.IntermsoftheDoEIA,leadersneedtobeawarethattheirfeedbackandverbalassessmentofparticipants’progressintheAwardhasamajorimpactonAwardsuccess.

iii. OutdoorEducationorOEisstillofmajorcomponentsoftheDoEIA.TheapplicationofattributiontheorytotheDoEIA,revealsthatmanyoftheoverestimationsandgeneralisationsthathappenwhendiscussingthelearningthathappensbecauseoftheDoEIAarebecauseoftheimpactofOE.ThereareseveralreasonsforthislossofperspectivewhenassessingtheclaimsofOE.Oneofwhichistheuseoftheterm‘adventure’whenascribingtheeffectsofOE,whichcanoverinflateandeschewthelearningthathappensduetotheexperienceofOE.OtherreasonsforthelossinaccuracyoflearningattributionwithrespecttoOE;isthepotentialculturallyembeddedromanticismassociatedwithnature,howOEexactlydoesrelatetonature,thespecificecologiesandenvironmentalismrelatedtoplace,andthefactsofmodernlife,whichareoftenviewedfromthesafe,narrowandprotectedperspectiveofbeingindoors.ResearchshowsthatOEdoeshave

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beneficialeffectsontheindividual,yetthesebenefits,whenviewedfromtheperspectiveofattributiontheorymaybemademoreaccuratewithrespecttowhatspecificallyhappenswhenoneisimmersedinOE,i.e.improvinginandadaptingtotherigoursofoutsidemobility.iv. PreviousresearchintotheeffectsoftheDoEIAhasproducedalmostuniformlypositiveresults.Thisisduetomethodologicalandtheoreticaldecisionsonthepartoftheresearchers,whichthisreporttriestoimproveupon.Inordertoenableamorebalanced,scientificandaccurateassessmentoftheDoEIA,theteamappliedamixedmethodsresearchdesignandanattributionapproachtolearning.v. ThisprojectfoundthatthefollowingqualitieswereattributedthemoststronglybyparticipantsintheDoEIA:

1. Self-Confidence,2. CopewithChange,3. LeadershipAbility,4. OverallEffectiveness,and,5. ActiveInvolvement,

ThismeansthatthesequalitiesarethemostcompellingeffectsoftheDoEIAasassessedbyparticipantsintheDoEIA.Ofweakerattributionbyparticipantswerethequalitiesof:

6. TimeEfficiency,7. Self-Efficacy,8. SocialEffectiveness,9. CooperativeTeamwork,10. StressManagement,and,11. ExternalLOC(LocusofControl).

vi. Moreresearchisrequiredinthisareatoconfirmtheseresultsorotherwise.ThispreliminarystudysuggeststhattheDoEIAismosteffectiveinimprovingthequalitiesaslisted1-11(1beingthestrongest)above.ThisdoesnotmeanthattheDoEIAhasanecessarilyweakerrolein,forexample,thedevelopmentof‘cooperativeteamwork’,but,thattheseparticipantsmaywellattributethislearningtootheraspectsoftheirlivessuchasparticipationissportsactivities.vii. ThisresearchprojectfoundthatthereareAwardparticipantsandleadersthat‘over’attributelearningtotheDoEIA.Thisresolvesitselfintothestatementofanumberofinter-related,positivebenefitstoAwardparticipation(expressedasgrowth),andallconnectedtolongtermenhancedlearningcapacity.Likewise,thereareAwardparticipantsandleaderswhodoubttheveryconnectionbetweenenhancedlearningandAwardparticipation(approx.17%ofthequalitativesample,or1in6).ThetruthofwhathappensduetoparticipationintheDoEIAliessomewherein-between,withtheparticularsofthecurrentDoEIAsetup,actingonlearninginspecificways(throughthefourdifferentbutrelatedelementsoftheDoEIA,andtheprogressivenatureofthethreeAwardlevels).

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2.LiteratureReview

2.1.Introduction

Thisliteraturereviewcriticallyexaminedliteraturearoundattributiontheory,outdooreducationasamajorcomponentoftheDoEIA,andpreviousresearchthathasspecificallylookedattheeffectsoftheAward.Whilstthisliteraturereviewisnotandcannotbeexhaustiveinthispilotstudy,themajorthemesthatconstitutetheresearchfieldwillbeidentified.ThiswillenableanunderstandingofhowattributiontheoryworksinthecontextoftheDoEIA.Thepictureofexactlyhowattributiontheoryworksiscomplicatedsomewhatbythevariousnon-formalstrandsoftheAward,i.e.:1)Service,2)Skills,3)PhysicalRecreation,and,4)AdventurousJourney(recognisingthatatGoldlevelthereisalsoaResidentialProjectrequirement).However,forthepurposesofthisstudy,thedirectquestionoflearningtransferenceandtheconsequentyouthdevelopmentfortheyoungpeopletakingtheAward(14-25yearsold)willbeassessed.Firstly,themannerinwhichthistransferencehappens,andwhatweunderstandbylearningattributiontheoryshallbeconsidered.

2.2.AttributionTheory

AttributiontheoryaddressesquestionsoffundamentalimportancefortheDoEIAi.e.:Arelearning(s)attributabletotheAward,andifso,aretheymeasurable,anddotheselearningstranslatetodefinitelearningeffects(e.g.increasedresilienceacrosstheboard),whichisoflastingimportancetothelearnerbeyondAwardcompletion?Bydefinition:“attributiontheorydealswithhowthesocialperceiverusesinformationtoarriveatcausalexplanationsforevents.Itexamineswhatinformationisgathered,andhowitiscombinedtoformacausaljudgment”(Fiske,&Taylor,1991,p.2).Attributiontheorydealswithhowandwhyagentsexplaineventsinthewaysthattheydo.Heider(1958)believedthatsubjectsareineffect‘naivepsychologists’,whoaretryingtomakesenseoftheworldthatsurroundsandengulfsthem,especiallywithrespecttosocialrelations.ImportantlywithrespecttotryingtounderstandthetypesoflearningthathappensduetotheDoEIA:agentsoftenattributecauseandeffectrelationships,evenwheretheremaybenone.Asaresult,Heider(1958)didn’tsomuchdevelopanattributiontheoryhimselfasemphasizecertainthemesthathavebeenexploredlatterly,suchas‘causal’attribution.ThereweretwobasicattributionideasthatHeider(1958)putforwardthatareusefultothisstudy.

1.InternalAttribution(IA):Thisdefinestheprocessofassigningthecauseofbehaviourtosomeinternalcharacteristic,ratherthantooutsideforces.Forexample,whenoneexplainsthebehaviourofothers,onepostulatesenduringinternalattributions,suchasdefinitepersonalitytraits,e.g.persistence,braveryorresilience.Consequently,oneattributesthebehaviourofsomeonetotheirpersonality,motivesorbeliefs.AttributionoflearningduetotheDoEIAwouldthereforebeassignableinternallyas‘characterdevelopment’.

2.ExternalAttribution(EA):IncontrasttoIA,externalattributionistheprocessofassigningthecauseofbehaviourtoasituationoreventoutsidetheagent’sdirectcontrol,andnottoaninternalcharacteristicorenduringpersonalitytrait.Externalattributioninvolvestryingto

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explainbehaviourbymakingexternalattributions,suchassituationalorenvironmentfeaturesof/inthelearning.IntermsoftheDoEIA,theEAlearninginvolvedmightemphasisetheimpactoftakingtheagentawayfrombounded,formalclassroomsituations.

2.2.1.CorrespondentInferenceTheory

Attributiontheoryhasdevelopedandexpandedaspsychologistshavelookedmoredeeplyintotheexplanationsofcausalityinbehaviour.Forexample,JonesandDavis(1965)consideredthatagentspay‘special’orexplanatoryattentiontointentionalbehaviourincontrasttoaccidentalorunthinkingbehaviours.Incontrast,asVaughanandHogg(2013)pointout,thispictureiscomplicatedbythefactthatcarelessbehaviourisunintentional,butoftenleadsustoconcludethattheindividualconcernedisacarelessperson.JonesandDavis’(1965)theoryparticularlyhelpsustocomprehendtheprocessofmakinganinternalattribution,eveninthesecircumstances.ThisisbecauseJonesandDavis(1965)hypothesisedthatagentstendtoseeacorrespondencebetweenmotiveandbehaviour.Forexample,whenweseesomeonetryingtheirbesttocompletetheDoEIA,wecorrespondinglyconsiderthemtobeapersistentandhard-workingtypeofresilientindividual.Asaresult,dispositionalorinternalattributionsprovideuswithinformationduetocorrespondencefromwhichwecanmakepredictionsaboutaperson’sfuturebehaviour,accordingtothistheory.

Ineffect,thecorrespondentinferencetheorydescribestheconditionsunderwhichwemakedispositionalattributestobehaviour,andthatoneconsequentlyperceivesasbeingintentional(eveniftheyarecareless).JonesandDavis(1965)usedtheterm‘correspondentinference’torefertoanoccasionwhenanobserverinfersthatanagent’sbehaviourmatchesorcorrespondswiththeirpersonality.JonesandDavis(1965)hypothesisedthatonedrawsonfivesourcesofinformationwhenonemakescorrespondences:

1.Choice:Ifoneobservesbehaviourtobefreelychosen,onebelievesittobeduetodispositionalorinternalfactors.

2.Accidentalvs.IntentionalBehaviour:Behaviourthatisdeemedintentionalislikelytobeattributedtotheagent’spersonalityorcausedinternally,andbehaviourwhichisaccidentalislikelytobeattributedtoexternalcauses(JonesandDavis,1965;Marken,1982).

3.SocialDesirability:Behavioursthataresaidtobelowinsociablydesirability,i.e.theyarenon-conformist,leadonetomakedispositionalorinternalinferenceswithrespecttothesebehaviours.Forexample,ifanagentissaidtobeunwillingtocompletetheDoEIAthatmightleadtoanegativejudgementabouthis/hercharacter.

4.HedonisticRelevance:Ifanotheragent’sbehaviourappearstobedirectlyintendedtobenefitorharmus,weattributeincreasedattributiontothatbehaviour.ThisaspectofattributiontheorycouldbesaidtorelatetocompletionoftheserviceaspectoftheAward.

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5.Personalise:Ifadifferentagentseemstobeaimingtohaveanimpactonus,oneinfersthatitis‘personal’,andnot,forexample,acontingentfeatureofthelifecircumstancesthatwebothfindourselvesin(Juarrero,2000).

2.2.2.VariationModel

Furthertocorrespondentinferencetheory,Kelley’s(1967)variationmodelisperhapsthebestknownattributiontheory(Vaughan&Hogg,2013)anddirectlyrelevanttoassessingthelearningeffectsoftheDoEIA.Kelleydevelopedalogicalmodelforassessingwhetherornotaparticularactioncouldbeattributedtoaninternalcharacteristicoftheagent(IA)ortoexternalenvironmentalcauses(EA).ThetermvariationinKelley’s(1967)modelsuggeststhattheagenthasinformationfromdifferentobservations,frommultipleperspectives,andcanthereforeperceivethevariationsbetweenanobservedeffectanditscauses.Kelley(1967)arguedthatintryingtodiscoverthecausesofandforbehaviour,agentsareabletoactrationallyandlogically,inasimilarmannertoscientists.Morespecifically,thevariationmodelfromKelleyimpliesthattheattributionofcausestobehaviourtakesintoaccountthreekindsofsystematicevidencewhichultimatelyinfluencejudgement:

1) Consensus:thisaspectofattributionsuggeststhattheextenttowhichotherindividualsbehaveinthesamewayinasimilarcontext.ConsensuscouldbeastrongbasisforunderstandingwhytheDoEIAlearningattributesareoftendeemedtobeoverwhelminglypositive(thetotalattributionoption).

2) Distinctiveness:theextenttowhichtheagentbehavesinthesamewayinsimilarcontexts.ThismodeofevidencelinkstheclaimedlearninggainsoftheDoEIAspecificallytothemakeupoftheAward.

3) Consistency:theextenttowhichtheagentbehavesinacertainwayeverytimethecontextoccurs.ThisaspectofattributionencouragesthetypesofbehavioursengenderedbytheAwardtobeunderstoodinandbytheconditionsforlearningthattheAwardencourages,e.g.inOutdoorsEducation(seebelow).

Kelley’svariationmodel(1967)suggeststheagentsattributecausalityonthebasisofcorrelationbetween[consensus-distinctiveness-consistency].However,aproblemforsuchcorrelationis:Howdoweknowwhenorifonehasenoughinformationtomakethatkindofjudgment?Inthecontextofthisstudy,howcanweattributeorcorrelatethetypesoflearningsthataresaidtobebecauseoftheDoEIAtotheDoEIA?

AccordingtoKelley(1967),inthissituation,onefallsbackonpastexperience,andlooksforeither:

1)Multiplenecessarycauses.Forexample,onemightattributethesuccessoftheDoEIAtoavarietyofinterwovenmultiplefactorsinthelearningoftheagent,andnotmakeasingularcausalascription.

2)Multiplesufficientcauses.SuggeststhatonefactorinthelearningoftheagentmightbesufficienttoworktothebenefitoftheagentandpropelthemtosuccessthroughtheDoEIAactivities,forexample,resilience,persistence,determination.

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Insum,Kelley&Michela(1980)inVaughan&Hogg(2013)havefiguredattributiontheorytobeabouttheantecedents,attributionsandconsequences(Figure1)ofbehaviour.Theantecedentsincludeinformation(aboutthebehavioursandagent),beliefsandmotivation,theattributionsareabouttheperceivedcausesforbehaviour,andtheconsequencesincludetheactualbehaviours,affectandexpectancy.Thismodelexpandsupontheclassicattributiontheoriestodeliveranunderstandingofmultipledistinctcausesforunintentionalbehaviours,helpstodefineenablingfactorsforintentionalbehaviours,and,workswithinmodes,forexample,asbeliefvs.desire/reasonsforbehaviours.

Figure1.GeneralModeloftheattributionfield(Kelley&Michela,1980,p.459)

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2.2.3.AttributionTheoryinEducation

TheattributiontheoriesofKelley(1967),JonesandDavis(1965)andHeider(1958)havebeenaddedtoandembellishedsincethattime,especiallybyWeiner(1985;1995)whohasattendedtoattributiontheorytounderstandmotivation,andhasincludedenhancedpersonalitytrackingthroughattribution,in,Vaughan&Hogg(2013).Attributiontheoryhasparticularlyhelpedintheanalysisofeducation,andintheattributionofeducationaleffectssuchasgainsinlearning,andhowtheyareaffectedbyteachingstyles.Forexample,ithasbeenfoundthatteacherstendtoself-praisewhentheirstudentshavebeenworkingpositively,andtheymakeego-enhancingattributions,butconversely,theycanpropoundblameonstudentswhentheyaredoingbadly,andconsequentlymake‘ego-defensive’attributions(Graham&Juvonen,1998).Onecouldsaythatbyblamingstudentfailureonexternalcauses(EA),suchasnegativehomeandsocial/culturalenvironments,teacherscan‘saveface’andprotecttheirself-images.Interestingly,successfulteacherstendtoperceivestudentlearningproblemsandnegativebehavioursasfleeting,andthusareamenabletobeingchanged.Whenteachersseestudentlearningdifficultiesasbeingabletobecircumventedthroughandbytheirpedagogy,theexpectationforfuturestudentimprovementisincreasedandteacherpersistenceisimproved(Graham,1991).Asaconsequence,ithasbeensuggestedthatteachers'attributionsshouldbeevaluatedaspartoftheteacherselectionprocess.

Inaddition,the‘dimensionofcontrollability’inattributionhasbeenshowntocorrelatewithcertainteacheraffectsandbehaviourintentions(Seligman,1990).Controllabilityespeciallyrelatestounderstandingtheeducationalattributionbetweeneffortandability.Thisdivisioninlearningattainmentplaysoutaccordingtoattributiontheory,becauseteachersaremostlikelytowarmtostudentswhenpositiveresultsareseenasaresultofeffort,whichisa‘controllablecause’,whereasteachersdemonstratenegativeemotionssuchasderisionandrejection,whenstudentfailureisperceivedascomingfromalackofeffort(andnotability).Insum,ithasbeenfoundthatteachersarelesslikelytoaidthepupilswhentheinstructorthinksthatthereasonforthelowlevelofachievementiscontrollablebythecohortandmorelikelytohelpthemifitisnotcontrollable(Gordon&Graham,2006).Furthermore,teachers'affectsandtheirconsequentmessageshavebeenprovedtoactas‘abilitycues’tostudents(Ibid.).Forexample,iftheinstructorexpressessympathytoastudentwhoperformsbadlyonanexam,thelearnerismorelikelytoimputethattheadultbelievesthemtohaveaweakability,butiftheteacherarticulatesoutragetothesamestudent,thepupilwillmorelikelyattributeahigh-abilitymessagetothemselves(i.e.“IcouldhavedonebetterifIhadtriedharder”).

Intermsofthenon-formaleducationoftheDoEIA,clearlytheroleofthevoluntaryinstructorswhoorganisetherunningoftheDoEIAwouldanddohavesimilarattributioneffects.However,theseeffectsmaywellbemitigatedandtransformedbythechangednon-formalcircumstancesoftheDoEIA;i.e.thepedagogiccontextasbeingremovedfromtheclassroom.ThenextsectionofthisliteraturereviewwillexplorethischangeinattributionthatisconstitutedbyandthroughtheDoEIA,andtiesinattributiontheorytooneoftheprincipalelementsoftheDoEIA,OutdoorEducation.

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2.3.OutdoorEducation(OE)

WhilstitisunderstoodthattheDoEIAisnotonlyconstitutedbyOutdoorEducation(OE),itisuniversallyrecognisedasbeingoneofitssignatureaspects(e.g.,Bailey,2003;Beames,Higgins,&Nicol,2012;Campbelletal.,2009;Gray,1997;Keighley,1998;Nichol,2002;Rae,2008).ThelearningattributionthatcanbemadetoandbecauseoftheOEaspectoftheDoEIAisthereforecrucialtounderstandingmanyofthedriversandmotivationsfordoingtheDoEIA,andwhatcausallearningattributionscanbemadetotheDoEIAinthemindsofitsparticipantsandAwardleaders.However,twoproblemsfacetheresearcherandanalystintermsofunderstandingandarticulatingthelearningattributionsofOEinthecontextoftheDoEIA:

1) Theromanticismofnature.Contactinandwithnatureisoftenspokenaboutinwhollyromanticterms,makingthetruthofwhathappensinprogramssuchastheDoEIAandOEoftendifficulttofathom(e.g.,North,2015).

2) ThecommercialisationofOE.adventure-styleholidaysarebigbusiness,whichcanleadtoover-claiminganddistortionintermsofwhathappensduetoOutdoorEducation.

Concomitantly,thelargeamountofresearchandinterestinthespecificeffectsofOEistestamenttothewaysinwhichtheover-ridingconsensusandattributionofOEis:“OutdoorEducationisgoodforyou”.Inthiscontext,theclassicdefinitionofOutdoorEducationis(Priest,1986,p.3):

Anexperientialprocessoflearningbydoing,whichtakesplaceprimarilythroughexposuretothe‘out-of-doors’.InOutdoorEducationtheemphasisforthesubjectoflearningisplacedonrelationships,relationshipsconcerningpeopleandinnaturalresources.

ThisdefinitionwouldseemtospeaktothewaysinwhichattributiontheoryworksinthecontextoftheDoEIA,becausethelearningprocessofOEaccordingtothisdefinitionfocusesondevelopingmeaningfulandvaluedrelationshipsbetweenattributesoftheself,otherandnature.Further,Neill(2008)inhisPhDontheeffectsofOutdoorEducation,hasrepresentedthepurposes/outcomesofOEintermsof:Recreation,Physical–Educational–Developmental-Therapeutic,RedirectionalandEnvironmental(Table2).Interestingly,accordingtothiscategorisation,andametastudybyHattieetal.(1997),themostattended-toeffectofOutdoorEducationisthemeasurementofDevelopmentaloutcomes(76%ofmeasuredeffects),followedbyTherapeutic(12%),Physical/Recreational(6%),Educational(5%),andEnvironmental(1%)effects.SuchanalysispointstothefocusonpersonalandsocialdevelopmentaleffectsinthecontextofOutdoorEducationprograms,athemethatissupportedbytheoristssuchas(White&Hendee,2000).Intermsofattributiontheory,theconsistentmessageofdevelopmentalor‘growth’phenomenainpreviousstudiesandinmeasuresofOutdoorEducation,isduetotheintuitionthatmostparticipantshavehadintermsofwhattheyhavegotoutofOE:i.e.somekindof‘personalgrowthexperience’.Suchexperiencesarenotoriouslydifficulttodefine,yetwiththeaidofattributiontheory,thisstudywilltrytounderstandwhatthisgrowthexperiencemeansfortheDoEIAprograminthenexttwosections(2.3.1&2.3.2).

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Table1.ClassificationsofmajorPurposesandExpectedOutcomesofOutdoorEducation(Neill,2008,p.7)

2.3.1.Claimstoexceptionalism–‘Adventure’intheOutdoors

ExceptionalismisatermusuallyassociatedwithAmericancapitalismthatcanbesaidtobe‘exceptional’(Tyrrell,1991)intermsofthehistoryofthegrowthofworldeconomies,democracy,etc.Inaparallelmanner,humanconsciousnesshasbeendeemedtobe‘exceptional’intermsofitsself-reflexivity,abilitytodealwithcomplexproblems,and,indeed,thepropensitytothinkdeeplyaboutarangeofsubjects(e.g.,Gane,1996).Inthecontextofthisstudy,theuseoftheterm‘exceptionalism’couldhelptoexplainhowthepersonalgrowthaspectthatOEissaidtoencouragehasbeenattributedtoOE,andresultsinvariousinternallyattributedcharacteristicssuchastheentwinedbutuni-directional‘growths’inresilience,persistence,motivation,optimismandpositivity.Importantly,itcouldbedirectlystatedthatthetypeofgrowthphenomenonthatOEhasbeenprovedtofosterthroughnumerouspreviousinvestigations(Hattieetal.,1997)isitselfamodeofexceptionalism,inthatitencouragesafeedbackloopfromtheexperienceofOEtothelearningofthesubject:i.e.thisexceptionalismdependsupon‘experiential,reflectivelearning’(Kolb,2014).Intermsofattributiontheory,theexperientiallearningthatOEencouragesresolvesitselfasexceptionalismduetotheascriptionofbeing‘apart’fromor‘separateto’thehumdrum,everyday,frequentlymonotonousinwardlydirectedroutinescontained,forexample,informaleducativecontexts,orevenintheusuallivesoftheparticipants.Further,theexceptionalismthattheexperience,feedbackandresearchintoOEhasfosteredintermsoflearninghasbeensignificantlyaugmentedduetotheattributionof‘adventure’intermsofwhatOEisandwhatitmeansfortheparticipants(Dickson,Gray,&Mann,2008;Gray&Martin,2012).TheascriptionofadventuretoOEconnotesdanger,risk,anexplorationoftheunknown,andanexcitingandnewexperiencethatthelearnertypicallyremembers.However,theattributionof‘adventure’toOEandthedesired,connectedoutcomeofexperientiallearningassumesthat:

• OEisanewadventureforthelearner,whichmaynotbethecaseforruralparticipants,whotypicallylivemostofthetimeoutdoors

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• Theagentdesiresadventure,orthatadventureisawantedpartoftheirlives,asitislackinginsomewayfromtheireverydayroutines• ThereisaculturalandhistoricaspecttotheascriptionofadventuretoOE.Thisascriptionisderivedinlargepartfrom19thcenturyideasaboutwhatadventurewas,andtheseideasmaybedominatedbywhite,male,western,colonialnotions(e.g.Sinha,1995)thatmayexcludeormakeinvisiblelessdominantandothermodesofthought.Forexample,AboriginalAustraliansmaywellhaveacompletelydifferentnotionofadventurethatOEascurrentlypracticeddoesnotaccommodate.

Insum,analysisoftheattributionofeffectstoOErevealsthewaysinwhichithasbecomeaformof‘experientialexceptionalism’.ThisisinpartduetothecloseassociationbetweenOEandadventureinthemindsofmany,butthisassociationdoesnotnegatethenumerouspositiveeffectsandprovengainsthatOEhashadonthelearner(Gray&Martin,2012;Neill,2008).Infact,theassociationbetweenOEandadventureexplainsthewaysinwhichtheseeffectsarefrequentlybundledtogether,andhavebecomebridledundertherubricof‘personalgrowth’,whichisaninternalattributionandmodeofexceptionalism.Interestingly,theideologyoftheoriginsofOEinthe20thcenturycanbefiguredinandbytheOutwardBoundmovement,whichiswhollyconnectedtotheDoEIAthroughtheworkofKurtHahnandtheOutwardBoundProcessModel(Walsh&Golins,1976)whichrequires:

1. Amotivatedandreadylearner,whoisplacedinto2. prescribedphysicalandsocialenvironments,thengivena3. characteristicsetofproblem-solvingtasks(outdoors)whichcreatesastateof4. adaptivedissonanceleadingto5. masteryorcompetence,whichinturnleadsto6. reorganizationofthemeaninganddirectionoftheexperience.Inthisway,thelearner

continuestobe7. orientedtowardlivingandlearning.

Thismodelcreatestheconditionsfor‘adventure’,whichashasbeenarguedistheattributewhichlargelyaugmentstheeffectsofOEthroughthepersonalgrowthmindset,experientiallearningandhencecreatesamodeofexceptionalism.

2.3.2.Theurban/ruraldivide–mythmakingintheOutdoors

OnalargerscalethanthespecificmodeofindividualexceptionalismthatOEencouragesthroughexperientiallearning,feedbackandthegrowthmentality,andparalleltotheexpansionofOE,urbanisationishappeningworldwideatanacceleratedspeed.Approximately55%oftheworld’shumanpopulationcurrentlylivesinurbanareasandthisisprojectedtoriseto66%by2050(UN,2014).Indevelopedcountries,presently75%ofthepopulationliveinurbanisedareas,andthisispredictedtoriseto85%by2030accordingtotheUnitedNationsHumanSettlementsProgram.InAustralia,87%ofthepopulationnowliveinurbansettings(AustralianBureauofStatistics,2006).Furthermore,urbanisedhumansindevelopedcountriesareestimatedtospendapproximately90%

16

oftheirtimeindoors.Inthiscontext,theexperienceofOEismorethan‘exceptionalism’,itisaformofpotentialmythmaking.Again,thisdoesnotdiminishthescientificnatureoftheevidencethathasshownthegainsinresilience,determination,teamworkandself-efficiencythatOEaffords(e.g.Neill,.2008;Maynard,Waters&Clement,2013),butunderlinesthewaysinwhichforalargelyindoorsboundpopulation,contactwithandpositiveactivityintheOutdoorsisbecomingaprogressivelyunsurmountablecognitiveleap,onewheretheimaginationmustintercede.Onecouldarguethatcontemporaryeducationalpractises,forexample,theuseofmobiledevicessuchasiPadsinpre-schooleducation(Dezuannietal.,2015),haveonlyexacerbatedthewaysinwhichyoungpeopleareconditionedawayfromthedifficultiesandadventureofnature,andawayfromthemodesof‘adaptivedissonance’thatOutwardBoundandtheDoEIAencourages.IndevelopedcountriessuchasAustralia,childrenareincreasinglyeducatedinenclosed,screen-basedenvironments,whereonecouldarguethateveryriskhasbeenscrupulouslycalculatedanddiminishedinadvanceforthem,leadingtoasenseofelectronicallymediatedsafetyandpossiblelearnedhelplessnesswithrespecttopractical(unmediated)problemsolvinginthe‘realworld’.Certainly,thereareschoolswhichhaveinvestedinbringingbackelementsofriskandreallifeproblemsolvingbackintotheirenvironments(Jonesetal.,1997),however,theseschoolsandinstancesofreallifelearningareexceptionstocontemporaryeducationalpracticeandnotthepresentdayrule.

ThemythmakingaspectoftheattributionofeffectstoOEindicatestwofactorsthatarerelevanttothisanalysisofDoEIAandOE:

1) Thesignificanceof‘place’inOEandwhatthismeansforthelearner(Wattchow&Brown,2011)isoftenoverlooked,generalisedorbundledtogetherasthe‘outside’,‘wilderness’or‘nature’thereforediminishingtheconnectionwithanyrealparcelsoflandandtheirecologiesassuch.

2) OEhasinmanywaysnowbecomehighlyconstructedandisnowa‘humanised’space.Perhapsatitsinception,KurtHahn’sinitialforaysintotheWelshcountrysideweretrulytransformatoryforhistraineesailors(seeGray,1997;Rohrs,1970),yetnowthehighinterestinOEanditsattributeshasinmanywaysledtoitsoverexploitationandpossibledomestication.

Mythmakingassuchisnotabadthing,itisinmanywaysanessentialhumanpreoccupationthatsomehavearguedunderpinsconsciousnessanddevelopment(e.g.,Feinstein,1997)andisahighlyimaginativeactivity.However,intermsoftheattributionofeffectstoOE,itcanbedetrimentaltocriticalandaffectiveunderstandingsofplaceandthespecificlearningsthatOEencourages.Learningcaninmanywaysbeplace-based,situationalanditiscertainlymultipledimensional:e.g.spatial,time-based,cultural,historical,mathematical,linguistic,artisticandgestural(Stafford,2011).Incontrast,thewholesaleplacementofexperientialmodelsoflearningonOE,suchasthepopularandhighlyinfluentialKolb’s(2014)modelofexperientiallearning,diminishesthepossibilitiesofplaceandotherformsofknowingandunderstandingbeingrelevantinthiscontext.Hence,thetendencytomythmakingintheOutdoors,asamodeofexplanationaboutvague,non-situational,relativelynon-dimensionaldevelopmentalphenomena(i.e.growth),andwhichisanotherfactorintheconsiderationofattributionofeffectstoOE.Insum,themythmakingabout

17

theOutdoorsintheurbanisedpresent,canhidethesubtleandoftenunexpectedwaysinwhichanagentcouldlearnoutdoors.

2.3.3.TimeandtheOutdoors

Lastly,inthisbriefcriticalliteraturereviewontheeffectsofOEonlearning,presentedthroughthelensofattributiontheory,thequestionoftimewillberaised.Inthiscontext,thedimensionoftimeopensuptworesearch-basedproblematics:

1. Howlongdoesittakewithrespecttotheagent’simmersioninnatureorOEtoproducethedesiredattributesandconsequentgrowthmindset?DoesthelengthoftimethatittakesforOEtoworkalsodependonthedevelopmentalreadinessoftheparticipant?

2. Istimeitselfchangedduring/duetotheOEexperience?Ifso,doesthissuggestasenseoftimeoutside/beyondthecontemporaryindoorssituation,whichitcouldbearguedisdominatedbyscreens/televisionandothertime-mediatingdevices?

Interestingly,WalshandGolins(1976)specifyanominaltimeframeof23daysfortheOutwardBoundProcessModeltowork,thoughfewotherstudiesspecifyanytimeframeforthelistedattributesofOEtotakeeffect.InthespecifictermsofaddressingthetwoquestionsfortimeattributionofOE,itisperhapsNeill’s(2008,p.43)sevenelementmodelthatcomesclosesttoexplainingthetemporaldimensionofOE:

1. I.Individual:eachindividualhasauniquehistoryandindividualdifferences;maycontainelementssuchasone’sfitness,ethnicity,self-concept,outdoorskill,andsoon:

2. E.Environment:thephysicalsetting,usuallyrelativelynatural;maycontainelementssuchasweather,terrain,flora,andfauna;

3. A.Activity:thesetofsituationally-contingenttasks,activities,andproblemstobesolved;4. P.Program:theprogramphilosophyandvalues,manifestinchoicesabouteveryaspectof

programdesignandstyle;5. G.Group:theunfoldinggrouppsychodynamic;6. F.Facilitator:thefacilitator’sinsitupresence,actingtowards,andreactingto,elementsin

thesystem;7. C.Theculturalcontextwhichprovidesasocialfabricintowhichelementsfromother

domainsarerichlyembedded.

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Figure2.Neill’s(2008)structuralmodelofinteractive,temporalinfluenceinOE.

Note.i=atemporalinstant;I=Individual(storedpast);E=Environment;A=Activity;P=Program;G=Group;F=Facilitation;C=Culturalmilieu(surrounding,notshown).

Ineffect,accordingtothismodel,thetemporaldimensionisactiveconstantly,asthe7elementsrunthroughthecontextwhichisbeingresearched(i.e.theindividualparticipatinginOE).Furthermore,theseelementswillinfluencetheattributionofeffectstoOEin‘waves’(Rawson,1991),whichcorrespondtothedifferencebetweendoingoftheOEitself,andtheconsequentfeedbackordebrieftime,whereparticipantsreflectonwhathashappenedtothemduetoOE.Inthenextsection,thisliteraturereviewwillexaminespecificresearchthathaslookedattheDoEIAandhoweffectshavebeenattributedtoit.

2.4.TheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAward(DoEIA)

TheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAwardismentionedinaplethoraofpublications.AlibrarycataloguesearchonMarchthe21st,2016inWesternSydneyUniversity’slibraryyielded4,094resourcesthatcontainedthephrase‘DukeofEdinburgh’sAward’and1,187scholarlyarticles.However,complete,research-basedstudies,whichhavefocusedonlyontheattributionoflearningeffectsoftheAwardarequiterare.Thisisbecause:

1) ThefivedifferentelementsoftheAwardaredifficulttodisentangleandtreatseparatelyintermsofspecificresearchgoals.Forexample,thephysicalrecreationandadventurousjourneyaspectsoftheAwardcanbeeasilymixedupintermsoftheattributestheyencourage.

2) TheelementofOEintheDoEIAcandominatetheothersinthemindsofparticipants,especiallywhenfiguredintermsof‘adventure’,ashasbeenexploredabove.Intheseterms,theattributionoflearningeffectstotheDoEIAisreducedtowhathappensonlyorprincipallyduetotheadventurousOEaspectandthereforeexcludesordiminishestheimpactsoftheothers.

3) TheAwardisnowsowidespreadandprevalentworldwidethatspecificresearchintotheattributionofitseffectsareeasilymixedupwiththenumerousyouthdevelopmentprogramsthatattempttoorganizesimilar/parallelactivities(e.g.thoseorganisedbythe

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OutdoorsCouncilofAustralia).

However,specificstudiesintothelearningattributedtotheeffectsoftheDoEIAhavefoundthat:

• InAustralia,Bailey(2003)foundthatlearningwasparticularlyenhancedthroughtheexpeditionaspectoftheAward,wherereallifeproblemscouldbesimulatedtocreatemeaningfulexperiencesforparticipantsandtoencouragethoroughfeedbacksessions.• InIreland,MacMahon&O’Reilly(2015)foundthattheDoEIA,whichiscalled‘Gaisce—ThePresident’sAwardprogramme’,providessubstantialsupportandopportunitiesforthegrowthandmentalwell-beingthatareaffordedtoyoungpeopleduringthecriticalperiodofadolescence,whichhelpsthemtobuildtheirpsychologicalattributesandpositivepersonalstrengths:i.e.,self-efficacy,hope,happiness,self-esteem,andpsychologicalwell-being(positivepsychology).Thisstudyconfirmsthat‘Gaisce’meetsthecriterianecessarytobetermeda“PositiveYouthDevelopmentprogramme,andactsasacatalystintheenhancementofpsychologicalattributesinitsparticipants”(p.47).• IntheUK,perhapsthemostcompletestudyoftheDoEIA(Campbelletal.,2009)similarlyfoundthattheAwardcontributespositivelearningattributionintheareasof:1. Attitudestowardsnewexperiences2. Personaldevelopment3. Communityengagement4. Physicalandmentalwell-being5. Employmentskillsandprospects6. EngagementwithDofELeaders

Furthermore,thestudyfoundthattheDoEIAencouragesyoungpeopletomanagetheirownprogramsoflearning,thereforehelpingthemtobecomesuccessfullearnersingeneral.Inotherwords,thisstudyagreeswiththeIrishstudy,inthetermsofthisstudy,tofavourthetotalattributionoption.QuantitativeandqualitativeevidencefromthisstudysuggeststhatthethreelevelsoftheDoEIAmakeupasuccessfulyouthdevelopmentprogram,especiallyfavouringvulnerableand‘in-need’youth(Campbelletal.,2009).

Inshort,theseandotherstudiesintothespecificlearningattributionsoftheDoEIA(e.g.,Collie,2014)havehelpedtheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAwardOrganisationtoexpandthelearningattributionoftheAwardasseenbelow:

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Table2.TheOutcomesFrameworkforTheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAward(lefthandcolumn)mappedagainstthe9impactsalongthetoprow(orangesectionsnotcompleted):(De-Wintetal.,2014,p.13)

Educational

attainment

Employ-

ability

Improved

Health &

Well-being

Partici- pation in civic life

Social

inclusion

The

Environ-

ment

Gender

equality

Conflict

resolution

Reduced

Re-

offending

Confidence

√ √ √ √ √

Managing feelings

√ √ √

Resilience & Determination

√ √ √ √ √ √

Relationships & Leadership

√ √ √ √ √

Creativity & Adaptability

√ √ √

Planning & Problem Solving

√ √ √ √

Civic competence √ √ √ √

Intercultural competence

√ √ √ √

Personal and social wellbeing

√ √ √ √ √ √ √

Communication √ √ √

2.5.Summary

Attributiontheoryhasarichpsychologicalhistory,whichopensupanewapproachtounderstandinghowtheDoEIAworks.InthecontextofstudyingtheDoEIA,theapplicationofattributiontheoryprovokesandasksquestionsabouthowandwhyweattributelearningtocertainsituationsandtheirconsequences.OutdoorsEducation(OE)hasastrongevidencebaseforimprovingthelivesofyoungpeopleintermsofresilience,effectiveness,decision-makingandteamworking,and,asarguablytheheartoftheDoEIA,stillplaysapivotalroleinenablingmanyofthepositiveattributesthathavebeenassociatedwiththeDoEIA.However,OEcanmakeotherperhapsmoresubtleattributionsoranynegativeattributionsto/oftheAwardlessapparent,andmodelsofhowlearninghappensoutdoors,i.e.onlylearningthroughoutdoorschallenge,experienceandfeedback,canbeunhelpfulintermsofimprovingthesubtletyof/inassessingandunderstandingthespecificlearningattributesthatareencouragedbytheAward.PreviousresearchintotheAwardhastakentherelativelystraightforwardresearchpathofaskingparticipants(qualitativecomponent)abouttheirexperiencesontheAward,andcompletingpsychometricquestionnaires(quantitativecomponent)thataskparticipantstoscorevariousitemsabouttheAwardthatmay,forexamplerelatetochangesinself-confidence(oftenaccompaniedbycontrolgroupswhodonotdotheAward),andthereforeperformingmixed-methodsstudies.Suchresearchprojectshavelargelyresultedinagreeingwiththetotalattributionoptionasmentionedabove,withattributionbeingmergedwiththegeneralnatureofencouragementintheAward,orinthefocuson‘effort’inthe

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variouselementsoftheAward(aclassicattributionquality).Incontrast,thissmallpilotstudywillinquireintotheactualprocessofattributionthattheAwardencourages,asdetailedmethodologicallyinthenextsection.

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3.Methodology

3.1.Introduction

Thissectionwilldiscussthemethodsusedtoobtainandanalysethedataforthepresentattributionstudy.Inthefirstinstance,thispilotstudyobtainedfullethicsapprovalfromtheWesternSydneyUniversityethicscommitteetocarryoutthestudy.Oncethestudywasapproved,theresearchteamusedtheirexistingDoEIAnetworksinNSWtorecruitparticipantsinthetwostagesoftheresearch.Allparticipantsinthisstudywhogaveactiveconsenttotakepartintheresearchwereprovidedwithinformationandconsentsheetsaboutthestudy.Activeconsenttoparticipatewassoughtfromparentsofanychildunder16.Allnamesofschoolsandindividualshavebeende-identifiedinthisreportaccordingtotheethicsapproval.Inthefirststage,participantswereaskedtocompletetheadaptedROPELOCattributioninstrument(AppendixII)anddemographicsurveysectionviaonlinesurveyusingQualtrics.Inthesecondstage,qualitativeresearchquestionswereposedbyemailtoAwardleadersandtakentoAwardparticipantfocusgroups.Thequantitativeandqualitativeresearchmethodsforthestudywillbediscussedbelowinsections3.2.-3.5.

3.2.Thequantitativemeasure

InordertoresearchthelearningattributionoftheDoEIA,asequentialmixed-methodsresearchdesign(Creswell,2013)wasdeployed.Manyconsidermixed-methodseducationalresearchtobethemostcompleteandbestwaytoanswercomplexquestionsthatinvolvechangesinstudentlearningorattribution,asitsimultaneouslyencouragesevidenceforchangesinstudentlearningfromanobjective(quantitative)andsubjective(qualitative)perspective(ibid.).TheresearchdesignoftheprojectinvolvedinthefirstplaceadaptingtheReviewofPersonalEffectivenesswithLocusofControl(ROPELOC)instrument(Richards,Ellis&Neill,2002;seeAppendixI)intoaninstrumentwhichallowedrespondentstoprovideanattributionestimateofthecontributionofDoEIAtothedevelopmentoftheirpersonaleffectivenessskills(seeAppendixII).Forthepurposesofthisproject,lifeeffectivenessissaidtobeunderpinnedbyvariationsinlearning.TheROPELOChas14scales;includingpersonalabilitiesandbeliefs(Self-Confidence,Self-Efficacy,StressManagement,OpenThinking),socialabilities(SocialEffectiveness,CooperativeTeamwork,LeadershipAbility),organisationalskills(TimeManagement,QualitySeeking,CopingwithChange)an‘energy’scalecalled‘ActiveInvolvement’andameasureofoveralleffectivenessinallaspectsoflife.Thetwo‘LocusofControl’scalesmeasurethetendencytotakeresponsibilityforself-actionsandsuccesses.Table3below,describesthe14scalesthattheROPELOCmeasures,thenumberofitemsperscaleandthereliability(alpha),whichhasbeencalculatedfromthepresentDoEIAsample(seesection3.3.).

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ScalereliabilitiesforAdaptedReviewofPersonalEffectiveness(withLocusofControl)ROPELOC

Table3.ScalereliabilitiesforAdaptedReviewofPersonalEffectiveness(withLocusofControl)ROPELOC.

ROPELOCScale ScaleDescriptionNo.Items

Reliability(α)

CooperativeTeamwork

Cooperationinteamsituations 3 .83

Self-Efficacy

Abilitytohandlethingsandfindsolutionsindifficultsituations

3 .82

LeadershipAbility

Leadershipcapability 3 .90

InternalLOCTakinginternalresponsibilityforactionsandsuccess

3 .55

ExternalLOC

Acceptingthatexternalissuescontrolordeterminesuccess

3 .50

ActiveInvolvement

Useactionandenergytomakethingshappen

3 .83

QualitySeeking

Puteffortintoachievingthebestpossibleresults

3 .80

Self-Confidence

Confidenceandbeliefinpersonalabilitytobesuccessful

3 .85

SocialEffectiveness

Competenceandeffectivenessincommunicatingandoperatinginsocialsituations

3 .88

StressManagement

Self-controlandcalmnessinstressfulsituations

3 .85

TimeEfficiencyEfficientplanningandutilizationoftime

3 .89

CopewithChange

Theabilitytocopewithchange 3 .85

OpenThinkingOpennessandadaptabilityinthinkingandideas.

3 .58

OverallEffectiveness

Theoveralleffectivenessofapersoninallaspectsoflife

3 .86

ROPELOCScaledescriptionwithreliabilities(Cronbach’salpha)withcurrentsample.

Thereliabilityofameasurereferstotheconsistencyorlackoferrorofmeasurement.Thatistheextenttowhichtheitemsaremeasuringthesameunderlyingattribute.Thetraditionalmethodof

24

estimatingtheinternalconsistencyreliabilityofameasureisCronbach’salpha,‘α’(Juddetal.,1991;Cronbach,2004).Alphacanrangefrom0to1,with0beingcompleteunreliabilityand1meaningcompletereliability(i.e.,norandomerror).Althoughthereisnouniversalconsensusaboutwhatisanacceptablelevelofreliability,internalconsistencyreliabilityshouldpreferablybeabove.70or.80(Anastasi&Urbina,1997).FromTable3,itcanbeseenthatthemodifiedROPELOCachievedexcellentreliabilityfor11oftheareasitmeasures.Lowerreliabilitieswereachievedin3otherareas(internalandexternallocusofcontrol&OpenThinking).TheseresultsindicatethatoveralltheadaptedROPELOCisareliablemeasureofpersonaleffectivenessintheparticipantsofthisstudy.

TheadaptedROPELOCinstrument(AppendixII)wassentouttoDoEIAparticipantswithfulluniversityethicsapproval.TheattributionanddemographicitemswerehostedonlinebytheQualtricssurveysoftwarepackage.TheinstrumentwaslivefromNovember2014-November2015(12months)duringwhichtime,51completeresponseswerecollected.Specificquantitativesampledetailsappearbelowinsection3.3.

Followingthecollectionoftheonlinesurveys,thedatawasscreenedforerrorsandforuncompletedsurveys.Therewereatotalof70attemptstocompletethesurvey,51ofthesewereabletobeusedforthepresentanalysis.Theomittedsurveyswereincompleteordidnothavesufficientinformationtobeincludedintheanalysis.

3.3.DemographicCharacteristicsofParticipants

Finalparticipantsinthesurveydatasetconsistedof51students.Thegreatmajorityofrespondentswerefemale(n=43;84%)withanaverageageof16years(rangefrom14to25years,SDof2.8years).Three(5.9%)oftheparticipantsidentifiedthemselvesasAboriginaland/orTorresStraitIslander.ThemajorityoftheparticipantswereborninAustralia(90%),however,28%ofthemcamefromfamiliesinwhichtheirmotherorstepmotherwasbornoverseasand35%reportedthattheirfatherorstepfatherwasbornoverseas.

TherewasanevenspreadofparticipantsfromeachoftheDoEIAlevelswith35.4%fromBronze,27.5%Silverand37.3%fromtheGoldAwardLevel.Atotalof40(78%)ofparticipantshadstartedtheirawardin2014-2015and51%hadpreviouslyparticipatedintheschemebefore,withnearly50%ofthosecompletingtheirprogram.

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3.4.ROPELOCAnalysis

TheROPELOCwasadaptedforthepurposesofthisstudytoprovidetwoscoresforeachofthe14personaleffectivenessorlearningscales.ParticipantswerefirstaskedtorateonafourpointscalehowtrueorfalseeachstatementoftheROPELOCwasinrelationtothemcurrently.Availableresponsesrangedfrom‘False/Notlikeme’to‘True/Likeme’.Immediately,participantswereaskedtoindicateonanotherfourpointscale,howmuchtheirparticipationintheDoEIAhadhelpedthemindevelopingthatparticularqualityinthem.Availableresponsesrangedfrom‘Notatall/Itdidn’thelp’to‘Alot/Ithelpedmeagreatdeal’(seeFigure3below).ScoresforeachoftheROPELOCfactorswerecalculatedbyobtainingthemeanofthethreeitemsrepresentingeachfactor.Thescorescanrangefromzerotothree.HigherscoresindicategreaterbeliefinpossessingthequalityandgreaterbeliefthattheDoEIAhelpedindevelopingthisqualitythroughlearning.

Figure3.SamplequestionsfromadaptedROPELOCsurvey.ParticipantswerefirstaskedtorateonafourpointscalehowtrueorfalseeachstatementoftheROPELOCwasinrelationtothemcurrently.Immediately,participantswereaskedtoindicatehowmuchtheirparticipationintheDoEIAhadhelpedthemindevelopingthatparticularqualityinthem.

3.5.QualitativeResearch

Thequalitativemethodologyoftheprojectusedamulti-siteandmulti-sourceapproachtocollectdata.EmailquestionnairesweresentouttoparticipatingDoEIAleaders(n=6),andfocusgroupswereheldonsiteatschoolswheretheDoEIAisorganisedandrun(n=4)acrossurbanandsuburbanSydneybetweenMarch-May2015.Thetotalnumberofparticipantsinthe4focusgroupswas38,withanagerangeof15-18.DoEIAAwardleadersdidnotparticipateinthefocusgroups.Thisdualstranded,multi-siteapproachtreatseachschoolinNSW,AustraliathatrunstheDoEIAseparately,whilstsimultaneouslyexaminingthemesandcommonqualitativeattributionlearningeffectsacrosstheschools.Themulti-sitedatafromthequalitativestudiesofDoEIAlearningattributionisnon-generalizable,andpresentsinformativelocalinsightsintotheopinions,judgementsandviews

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aboutthelearningattributionoftheDoEIA,bythosewhorunandparticipateintheAward.Audiorecordingsfromthefieldworkwerethematicallycodedandanalysedbytheresearchersforattributionandaninterpretativematrixwasplacedonthedatatoproducethequalitativeattributionresults(sections4.4.&4.5.).TheresearchquestionsusedinthequalitativeresearchappearinAppendixIII.

Thequalitativeattributionmethodologyprovidesrich,contextuallyspecificrepresentationsofhowlearningduetotheDoEIAisattributedateachoftheschoolsites.Whileevidencefromeachfocusgroupisparticulartoasinglecontext,asnotedabove,thecoding,thematicanalysisandcommonresearchquestionsacrossthefourschoolshasenabledcross-schoollearningattributionsimilaritiesanddifferencestobeidentified.Inthiscomponentofthestudy,qualitativethematicanalysis(Saldaña,2009)wasusedtounderstandprecisewaysinwhichlearningattributiontotheDoEIAisconceptualised,positionedandoperationalisedinthefourschools.Alltranscriptdatacollectedfromthefocusgroupsandtheemailresponseswereopen-codedusingNVivosoftware.Robustandevidence-basedthemes(Walsh,2003)thatillustrateandexplaintheDoEIAlearningattributionattheschoolsweredevelopedthroughanalysisofgeneratedcodes.Notably,althougheachschooldeliverstheAwardindependently,thereisastrongcross-schoolDoEIAnetworkamongstschoolsinNSW,whichcomprisesofregularmeetings,commonprofessionaldevelopmentandextensivesharingofresourcesandapproacheswithinthatnetwork.TosomeextentexaminingthesefourschoolsandhavingemailresponsesfromAwardleaderstotheresearchquestions,providesaninsightintotheDoEIAandOEprofessionallearningcommunityinNSWthatexceedstheindividualschools.FocusgroupswithstudentshaveidentifiedhowstudentsperceiverelationsbetweentheAward,learningattributionandparticularlearningeffectsastheyperceivethem.QuotesfromAwardleadersviaemailresponsesandstudentsfromthefocusgroupsareusedintheTables7&8inSection4belowtoillustratewhateachperceivethelearningattributionoftheDoEIAtobe.

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4.Results

4.1.Introduction

Intheresultssectionsbelow,thequantitativeresultswillbeanalysedbeforethequalitativeresults,astheyaredemonstrativeofdifferentresearchtechniquesandprocedurestodata.Inamixed-methodsstudyofthistype,theanswerstotheresearchquestionswillvaryinthefirstinstanceaccordingtothequantitativeorqualitativeapproachthatistaken.Theresearchmainquestionsare:

1) WhatisthelearningattributionthattheAwardencourages?2) Isthisattributionmeasurable?3) Howdotheseattributionstranslatetolearningeffects?

Thesectionsbelowwillthereforedetailthequantitativeresultstothesurveyandthequalitativeresultstotheemailresponseandfocusgroupdatasetsseparately.Inthelastsection,asynthesisofthetworesearchapproacheswillbringtogetherthedatasetsandanalysiswiththeaimofansweringthethreemainquestionsaslistedabove.

4.2.EffectivenessScores

Initialresultsinrelationtotheparticipant’sresponsestotheirlearningattributioncanbeobtainedbylookingatthemeanscoresforStep1(S1)andStep2(S2)sidebyside(seesection3.4.above).ThislevelofanalysisallowsustoseewhetherthetwoscoreslookeddramaticallydifferentfromeachotherindicatingadifferencebetweenhavingtheskillandbelievingitwasduetoparticipationinDoEIA.Table4belowshowsthemeanscoresforeachofthe14scalesforbothS1(How‘true’individualsfeltthecommentswereforthem)andS2(HowmuchtheyhadfeltDoEIAhadhelpedindevelopingthisskillthroughlearning).Scoresrangefrom0to3,higherscoresindicatingahigherlevelofagreement.

Table4.MeanscoresforeachoftheeffectivenessfactorsmeasuredbytheadaptedROPELOC

ROPELOCScale

MeanS1

MeanS2

CooperativeTeamwork 2.52 2.57

Self-Efficacy 2.01 2.29 LeadershipAbility 2.33 2.40 ActiveInvolvement 2.42 2.44 QualitySeeking 2.50 2.22 Self-Confidence 2.03 2.11 SocialEffectiveness 2.21 2.13 StressManagement 1.86 2.01 TimeEfficiency 1.76 2.14 CopewithChange 1.96 2.13 OpenThinking 2.41 2.26

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InternalLOC 2.43 2.13 ExternalLOC 1.16 1.11 OverallEffectiveness 1.95 2.07

Mean 2.11 2.14Note:S1(How‘true’individualsfeltthecommentswereforthem)andS2(HowmuchtheyhadfeltDoEIAhadhelpedindevelopingthisskill).Scoresrangefrom0to3.Withhigherscoresindicatingahigherlevelofagreement.LOC:LocusofControl.

Therelationshipbetweenthescorescanalsobevisualisedintheformofagraphplottingbothscoressidebyside.Figure4belowvisuallyshowstherelationshipbetweenbothS1andS2.

Figure4.Meanscores(n=51)fortheAdaptedROPELOCscalesforS1(How‘true’individualsfeltthecommentswereforthem)andS2(HowmuchtheyhadfeltDoEIAhadhelpedindevelopingthisskill).Scoresrangefrom0to3,higherscoresindicatingahigherlevelofagreement.LOC:LocusofControl.

ItcanbeseenfortheresultsthatDoEIAparticipantsratetheirpersonallevelsofeffectivenessquitehighwithanaveragescoreof2.1.Participantsalsoratethelearningattributionthattheprogramhashelpedtodevelopintermsoftheireffectivenessqualitieshigh,withanaveragescoreof2.14.

Someinterestingpatternsarisefromtheparticipantsresponses.DoEIAparticipantsdonotendorsethebeliefthatexternaleventscontroltheirlearningorlives(ExternalLOC),nordotheybelievethatparticipatinginDoEIAwouldteachthemthis.Thisisaverypositivefinding,asitservestovalidatethatthegoalsofDoEIAarebeinglearnedbyparticipants,butalsothatthepatternofrelationshipsthattheDoEIAprogramconsistsofisconsistentwithwhatwouldbehypothesised(e.g.increasedlevelsofteamwork).EffectivenessqualitieswhichwouldbeexpectedtobeencouragedbyparticipationinDoEIAsuchas‘CooperativeTeamwork’,‘LeadershipAbility’,‘Self-Confidence’and‘SocialEffectiveness’areendorsedashavingbeenencouragedbyDoEIA(asdemonstratedbyhigherscores)thanthosethatmaybelesssosuchastimeefficiencyandqualitythinking.

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Furtheranalysiswascarriedouttounderstand‘howmuch’participantsattributedDoEIAwithhelpingthemtodevelopthespecificlifeeffectivenessqualitiesmeasuredbytheadaptedROPELOC.Participant’smeanresponsesforeachscalewereaggregatedintoeachofthefourscalepointsoftheROPELOCforS2whichaskedhowmuchtheyhadfeltDoEIAhadhelpedindevelopingtheirskills(seefigure4above).Thepossiblefourresponseswere:NotatAll,Little,MuchandAlot.Table5providestheresultsofthisanalysis.Thetableshowsthepercentageofparticipantswhoendorsedeachofthefourcategories.

Table5.Percentageofparticipantswhoendorsedeachofthe4categoriesofS2

ROPELOCScale

NotatAll Little Much

Alot Total

CooperativeTeamwork 2 4 28 67 100Self-Efficacy 2 8 45 45 100LeadershipAbility 4 6 33 57 100ActiveInvolvement 0 14 24 63 100QualitySeeking 0 14 45 41 100Self-Confidence 4 16 47 33 100SocialEffectiveness 4 16 45 35 100StressManagement 8 18 37 37 100TimeEfficiency 2 18 41 39 100CopewithChange 4 18 35 43 100OpenThinking 0 16 39 45 100InternalLOC 0 22 49 29 100ExternalLOC 24 49 24 4 100OverallEffectiveness 8 14 47 31 100Note:n=51.S2:HowmuchtheyhadfeltDoEIAhadhelpedindevelopingtheirskill(learningattribution).ValuestakenfrommeanscoresforeachofthemodifiedROPELOCscales.Allvaluesareroundedtonearestwholenumber.LOC:LocusofControl.

TheresultsclearlyindicatethatparticipantsattributedDoEIAinhelpingthemtodevelopeachofthelifeeffectivenessskillsmeasuredbytheROPELOC.Theresultsshowthat67%ofparticipant’smeanscoreforCooperativeTeamworkwasinthehelped‘Alot’range,28%inthehelped‘Much’andapproximately6%inthehelped‘little’to‘Notatall’range.TheExternallocusofcontrolscalewhichassessesparticipantsopinionthatexternaleventsruletheirsuccessshowsaninverserelationship,thatis,thatparticipatinginDoEIAhelped‘little’to‘Notatall’(73%)tofosterthisview.

ThefactthatmostparticipantsfeltthatDoEIAcontributedtotheiracquisitionofeachskillisrepresentedinFigure5.ThegraphshowsthepercentageofparticipantswhofeltthatDoEIAeitherhelped‘Little’,obtainedbycombining‘Notatall’with‘Alittle’results;orMuch,obtainedbycombining‘Much’and‘ALot’results.

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Figure5.percentageofparticipantswhofeltthatDoEIAeitherhelpedaLittle,obtainedbycombining‘Notatall’with‘Alittle’results;orMuch,obtainedbycombining‘Much’and‘ALot’results(specificlearningattribution).LOC:Locusofcontrol.

Ascanbeseen,participantsoverwhelminglyattributedlearningkeylifeeffectivenessskillstoparticipationinDoEIA,whilstnotcontributingtothoselessdesirable,suchasexternallocusofcontrol.

Althoughlookingatmeanscoresforeachscalecanbequiterevealing,itdoesnotallowustodiscernthestrengthoftherelationshipbetweenhavingtheeffectivenessskillandattributingitsdevelopmenttoparticipatingintheDoEIA.Italsodoesnotallowustoquantifywhethertheserelationshipscouldhaveoccurredbychance.Tobetterappreciatethenatureoftheattributionbeingmadebyeachparticipant,acorrelationalstatisticalanalysiswascarriedout,lookingattherelationshipbetweenbelievingtohavealifeeffectivenessskillsandattributingthelearninganddevelopmentofthatskilltoparticipatingintheDoEIA.Theresultsoftheseanalysesarepresentedinthenextsection.

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4.3.CorrelationAnalysis

InordertoascertainwhetherparticipantsintheDoEIAcouldattributethelearningthathadenhancedtheirlifeeffectivenessinareasmeasuredbytheROPELOC,abivariatePearsoncorrelationanalysiswasconducted.Acorrelationisastatisticwhichascertainswhethertwovariablesareassociatedwitheachotherinanon-randomfashion.Inthisinstance,whetherpossessinganattributesuchas‘LeadershipAbility’byaparticipantisassociatedwiththeirattributionsthatparticipatinginDoEIAhelpedthemdevelopthatability.Variablescanbepositivelyornegativelycorrelated.Positivecorrelationsmeanthathigherlevelsofonevariabletendtobeassociatedwithhigherlevelsofthesecondvariable.Sothathigherlevelsof‘LeadershipAbility’areassociatedwithhigherlevelsofbeliefthatDoEIAhelpedindeveloping‘LeadershipAbility’.Anegativecorrelationmeanstheopposite,sothatasonevariablerises(e.g.possessingLeadershipAbility)theotherlowers(e.g.beliefthatDoEIAhelpedindevelopingLeadershipAbility).Correlationscanrangefrom-1.0(perfectnegativecorrelation),zero(indicatingnorelationshipbetweenthetwovariables)to+1.0(perfectpositivecorrelation).Thestrongertheassociation,thecloserthecorrelationcoefficientcomesto±1.Furthermore,eachcorrelationcoefficientcanbesubjectedtosignificancetesting.Astatisticallysignificantcorrelationisindicatedbyaprobabilityvalueoflessthan0.05.Thismeansthattheprobabilityofobtainingsuchacorrelationcoefficientbychanceislessthanfivetimesoutof100,orifacriterionof0.01lessthanonetimeoutof100.Thepresenceofastatisticallysignificantcorrelationthereforeindicatesthatthepresenceofarelationshipisunlikelytobecausedbychancealone.

Anotheradvantageofusingacorrelationstatisticisthatthetestofsignificancedoesnottellusabouttheimportanceofaneffect.Wegainedaninsightbasedonthepatternofreportingbyparticipantsabove(seeFigure5andTable5)thattheyfeltthatithadhelped‘Much’to‘Alot’.Althoughuseful,thoseresultsdonotprovideanobjectivemeansbywhichtojudgehowmuchofaneffectparticipatingintheDoEIAhasondevelopinglifeeffectivenessskillsaccordingtotheparticipants.Whenwemeasurethesizeofaneffectitisknownasaneffectsize(Field,2001).Aneffectsizeisastandardised(objective)measureofthemagnitudeoftheobservedeffect(Field,2013).Cohen(1988)developedawidelyacceptedsetofaxiomsinrelationtowhatconstitutesalargeorsmalleffect:

• r=.10(smalleffect)• r=.30(mediumeffect)• r=.50(largeeffect)

Theseguidelinescanbeusedtoassesstheimportanceoftheeffectsinthisstudy(Field,2013).

Table6,belowshowstheresultsofthecorrelationanalysis.ThemeansscoreforeachscaleoftheROPELOCwasused.Correlationswerecarriedoutbetween:S1(How‘true’individualsfeltthecommentswereforthem)anindicationofpossessingaLifeEffectivenessskillandS2(HowmuchtheyhadfeltDoEIAhadhelpedindevelopingthisskill)anindicationofDoEIA’scontributiontothedevelopmentofthatskill.Table6alsoshowswhetherthesecorrelationsweresignificant,aswellas

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aqualitativeinterpretationoftheeffectsizeofthiscorrelation.Foreaseofinterpretation,theeffectsizeshavebeenrankedindescendingorderfromlargesteffectstosmallest.

Table6.CorrelationbetweenS1andS2foreachoftheROPELOCLifeEffectivenessscales.ROPELOCScale r(S1xS2) EffectSizeSelf-Confidence .69** LargeCopewithChange .69** LargeLeadershipAbility .65** LargeOverallEffectiveness .60** LargeActiveInvolvement .52** LargeTimeEfficiency .49** MediumSelf-Efficacy .48** MediumSocialEffectiveness .48** MediumCooperativeTeamwork .44** MediumStressManagement .44** MediumExternalLOC .43** MediumInternalLOC .33* MediumOpenThinking .24 SmallQualitySeeking .18 SmallNote:S1(How‘true’individualsfeltthecommentswereforthem)andS2(HowmuchtheyhadfeltDoEIAhadhelpedindevelopingthisskill).r=Pearsoncorrelation.LOC:LocusofControl.n=51.**Correlationissignificantatthe0.01level(2-tailed).*Correlationissignificantatthe0.05level(2-tailed).EffectsizeestimatesanddescriptorsbasedonCohen(1988).

FromTable6,itcanbeseenthatforallbuttwoofthequalities(QualitySeekingandOpenThinking)theattributionthatparticipationintheDoEIAdevelopedeachofthelifeeffectivenessskillmeasureswasstatisticallysignificantandunlikelytobeduetochance.Importantly,bytreatingcorrelationsaseffectsizes,andbyapplyingCohen’sguidelines,anestimationofthesizeoftheeffectasattributedbytheparticipantscanbeobtained.

Theresultsclearlyshowthatparticipant’slearningattributionofthecontributionofDoEIAtothedevelopmentoftheirpersonaleffectivenessissubstantial.Theseresultsareextremelyencouraging,anddemonstratethatparticipantsattributeexperiencingsignificantpositivedevelopmentoflifeeffectivenessasaresultofDoEIAparticipation.Whenexaminingthesizeofthesereportedeffectsinrelationtoobjectivequalifiers(effectsizes)theresultsdemonstratethattheseattributionsarenottrivial,andbytheparticipantsownratings,theirdevelopmentwashighlyinfluencedbytheirparticipationinDoEIA.Moreimportantly,thepatternofeffects,i.e.whereDoEIAhadthemosttoleasteffects,isconsistentwiththeprogram’sobjectives.Assuch,participantsfeltthatDoEIAhadthelargesteffectsinrelationtodevelopingtheirself-confidence,abilitytocopewithchange,leadershipabilityandoveralllifeeffectiveness(overalleffectivenessofapersoninallaspectsoflife).Mediumleveleffectswerefoundfortimeefficiency,self-efficacy,socialeffectiveness,cooperativeteamwork,stressmanagementandexternalandinternallocusofcontrol.Whilstonlysmalleffectswerefoundfortwoofthelifeeffectivenessqualitiesthatmeasuredopenthinkingandqualityseeking.

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4.4.QualitativeResults

Thequalitativeresultswereanalysedseparatelyfromthequantitativesurveydataset,and1)forthethemesthatcameoutoftheemailresponsesbyAwardleaderresultsand,2)fortheparticipantsinthefocusgroups,accordingtotheresearchquestions(AppendixIII)andspecificallyintermsoftheattributionoptions,i.e.totalattribution,intermediaryattributionandnon-attribution(Tables7&8).TheresultsshowhowtheemailrespondentsandfocusgroupparticipantsunderstandthelearningattributionoftheDoEIAfromtheirperspectives.Allresponseshavebeende-identifiedaccordingtotheethicsrequirements.

4.5.Awardleaderresults

Selectedquotesfromtheemailresponsestotheresearchquestionsweredistributedacrossthethreeattributionoptionsinthetablebelow:

Table7.QualitativeresearchquestionsandattributionsforAwardleaders(n=6)

Question Totalattribution Intermediaryattribution

Non-attribution

WhatarethemeasurablelearningeffectsonstudentsofparticipationintheDukeofEdinburghawardscheme?

Developslearningacrossahugerangeofcontexts.Learningisenhancedthroughgainsinself-confidence&skilllevels.

Itgivesanopportunityforstudentstolearnhowtomanagerisk.Somespecificlearningeffects,e.g.theserviceelement/tryingnewoutsidesports.

Therearenone.Learningisnotmeasurable.

WhataretheeffectsoftheDukeofEdinburghawardsonlearningfromyourperspective?

Arangeofinterpersonalskillslikeconfidencearelearntanddevelopedandcommunicationandinteractionskillswithadults,peoplewhoarenotusualpeers.

Thereareanumberofopportunitiesforstudentstolearnaboutthemselvesandothers-howbesttomanageforthemselves,abouttheirstrengthsandweaknesses,aboutotherpeopleintheirgroup,workingtogether,howtheydealwithstressfulsituations.

Idon’tbelieveithasanyeffectonlearning,or,it’sonlyhearsay.

HowcanyouexplaintheseeffectsonstudentlearningoftheDukeofEdinburgh¹sInternationalAwardprogram?

StudentswhodoDukeofEdtendtobemoreengagedintheirlearningbecausetheyhavetobeorganised,involvedandactive.Itallowsthemtoactuallyputinformationlearnt

Difficulttoseeiforhowtheseopportunitiesduringtheexpedition(forexample),haveaneffectonthestudentslearningwhentheyreturntotheirnormalenvironments.

Ithinkmostofthestudentswhoareengagedwiththeprogramareconscientioustobeginwith.

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intopracticeandthismakesitsomuchmoremeaningfulforthem.

HowenduringaretheseeffectsonlearningoftheparticipantsoftheDukeofEdinburgh¹sInternationalAward?

Lifeskillslearntareenduringaspersonalskills,interpersonalskillsetc.willnotdisappearespeciallyiftheyarecontinuedtobeused,whichinmostcaseswouldhappen.Everysinglestudentwhohasbeeninvolvedhasbeenaffectedsignificantly.Theystilltalkabouttheexperiencestheywereabletobeinvolvedwith,particularlytheAdventurousJourney.Thesememories,bothpositiveandnegative,willstaywiththemforalongtimebecauseoftheuniquenessoftheopportunitycomparedtotherestoftheirschooling

Theopportunitytogiveservice(forexample)overanextendedperiodoftimealsoenablesyoungpeopletowitnessandexperiencethebenefitsthattheirAwardprovidestoboththemselvesandothersandencouragesthemtobecomebettercitizens.

Youneedtodevelop/deviseawaytomeasurewhethertheirresultshaveimprovedbeforeyoucansaywhethereffectsthey’reenduringornot.Wedonotkeepatrackonthisinformation.

HaveyounoticedanysignificantdifferencesinthelearningeffectsonthetypesofparticipantsintheDukeofEdinburgh¹sInternationalAward,e.g.ingender,cognitiveabilities?

Theyallexperiencethebenefitsandpositiveeffectsintheirownway,nomatterwhattheirgenderorcognitiveability.

Increasedawarenessandacknowledgementofpeoplefromdiversebackgroundsforsome.Studentsfromsupportivefamilies/backgroundswhovalueeducationandextra-curricularprogramsaremorelikelytobeinvolvedinDukeofEd.Generally,studentsfromhigherincomesdoDukeofEd.

NoIhavenot,becausethereisnowayofmeasuringthis

Howcanyouunderstandthedifferencesinlearningthattakesplaceinaclassroomand

Itstartswiththerelationshipyouhavewithyourstudents…atoughstudentintheclassroomis

Unlikestructuredclassroomlearning,outdooreducationoftenprovidesparticipantswithknowledgeonhow

Idon’tbelievethetwoaremutuallyexclusive-inregardstoimpactingresults.But,thereis

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thatwhichhappensintheoutdoorseducationcontextsuchastheDukeofEdinburgh¹sInternationalAward?

instantlybetterafteranexpedition,asyouseetheminadifferentlightandyougettoknowthemonawholenewlevel.Thenyoucantailortheirlearningtotheme.g.withexamplesandquestionsthatrelatetowhattheylikeanddo;andtheyalsohaveadifferentlevelofrespectforyouaswell.Nomoretoughstudent.

toovercomeadversityandoutdoorsurvivalskills,enhancedpersonalandsocialdevelopment,advancedproblemsolvingskills,enhancedteamworkandamoreprofoundrelationshipwithnature.Therearefewopportunitieswithinschooltoexperienceanythingelseoutsidetheclassroom.Theoutdooreducator/teacherinvolvedusuallybuildsrapportwiththeyoungpeoplequicklyandeffectivelyandthisleadstomoreimpactinlearning

different‘learning’thattakesplace-inregardstoimprovedsocialandculturalliteracy,thatoneexperiencesoncampsorindifferenteducationalsettings.

Whatdoyourparticipantsthinkabout?i)Serviceii)Skilliii)PhysicalRecreationiv)AdventurousJourney(recognisingthatatGoldlevelthereisalsoaResidentialProjectrequirement).

Theylovethetrainingandtheexpeditions/AdventurousJourneys.Theyenjoytakingupneworfurtherprogressingtheirskillsandphysicalrecreation.WefindthattheServicecomponentisthehardestonetosetupbutoncetheyhavefoundthetimeandgotthemselvesorganisedthattheygetagreatdealoutofthiscomponent.

1) Service,Theparticipantsenjoyedgivingbacktothecommunity,particularlythosethatwereinvolvedwithhelpingthoseinneed,suchasthroughSalvationsArmyandcharityprogramsinthelocalcommunity.2) Skills,Participantsfoundthissectionthemostdifficulttoengagein.Quiteoftentheylackedideasofwhattodo,andweresometimeslimitedwithwhatwasavailableinasmallercommunity.3) PhysicalRecreationThiswasbyfartheeasiestforthemtoparticipatein.Themajorityofstudentswerealreadypartakinginphysicallyactive

Thestudentsfindtheservicethemostdifficulttocomplete,butalsooneofthemostrewardingaspects.Skillstendtobethingstheyarealreadydoing-e.g.reading,however,Ifeelasthoughthiscomponentisalittle‘loose’intermsoftheirengagement.Studentsseemtopicksomethingeasy,likereading,butaren’tactuallyimproving.Ibelievetheyfeelthisistheeasiestonetocomplete,anddon’tnecessarilyimproveinanyway.Physicalrec,againissomethingmostofthemalreadydo,e.g.soccerordancing.Theyfindthisonetheeasiesttocomplete.AJ’saretheaspectsthattheyseemtolookforwardto,and

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pursuits,orwereabletomakethemostofextra-curricularclubsafterschool.4) AdventurousJourney(recognisingthatatGoldlevelthereisalsoaResidentialProjectrequirement).Wehaven’thadanyGoldlevelparticipantsasyet.AllparticipantsintheBronzeandSilverlevelshavebeenchallengedthroughout,andhaverelishedtheexperiences.ThisisthesectionthatIpersonallybelievewillberememberedforthelongesttime.Eventhedifficultpartsofthejourneyallowedtheparticipantstomusterstrengthandcouragetheydidn’tknowexisted(basedonconversationsattheconclusionaswellasreflections).Thisistheparttheyalsolookforwardtothemost.

isthemostattractivecomponentoftheAwardformanystudents.

Doyouwanttomakeacommenthere(9ptsbelow)?Thesepartsoftheawardhave9stipulatedimpacts:1)Improvededucationalattainment2)Improvedemployabilityandsustainablelivelihoods3)Improvedhealthandwell-being4)Increasedparticipationinciviclife5)SocialInclusion6)Theenvironment

Theyallagreethattheyseeimprovededucationalattainmentandwellbeing.Theymakefriendsinalltheyeargroupsandtheawardhasassistedinnewgirlstotheschoolcementingfriendships.Theylovethattheycandoeverythingthattheboysdoandtheyenjoydoingitinstyle!Iamveryfortunatetoworkinaschoolwherewedon’thavealotof

1) Improvededucationalattainment;Difficulttosay.Noneoftheparticipantshavesignedoutofschool,andsomethatIhavepersonallytaught/currentlyteachinghaveimprovedsincethebeginningoftheiraward.2) Improvedemployabilityandsustainablelivelihoods;Neveranissue

1. Noevidenceofsuch.2. Agreetheawardisdesirableforemploymentandmoststudentscontinuethroughthestagesoftheawardcreatingcontinuityandsustainingfunctionalandactivelifestyles.3. Seeabove.4. Agreedithelps.Putsthemoutoftheircomfortzonesandforcesthemtoengagewiththecommunity.Ithinkthisisanessential

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7)Genderequalityandtheempowermentofwomen8)Reductionandpreventionofviolence,conflictresolutionandpeace-building9)Reducedreoffending(recidivism)rates

conflict,wehavenoviolenceandallthepeace-buildingthatwehavedoispredominatelyaroundmisunderstandingsbetweenfriendsandwedon’thaveanyoffendingbehaviourstoseeanyreducedrates.

3) Improvedhealthandwell-being;Withoutdoubt.Theywereallhappierandhealthier.Theyshowedarecognitionthatexperiencesinnaturehaveapositiveimpactonhealth(holistically).4) Increasedparticipationinciviclife;Withsomeparticipantsyes,otherswerenotinterestedormatureenough5) SocialInclusion;Connectionsmadewithsocialgroupsandindividualsthatwerenotpreviouslythere,butcontinuedevenaftercompletingtheaward.6) Theenvironment;Greaterappreciationfortheenvironment,astrongerunderstandingofethicalpracticeandbeingabletoacknowledgetheheritageofsomesites.7) Genderequalityandtheempowermentofwomen;Thiswasneverreallyanissuewiththestudentsthatwereinvolvedfromourschool.8) Reductionandpreventionofviolence,conflictresolutionandpeace-building;Again,notreallyanissue-thestudentsinvolvedwerenot

aspectoftheawardprogram.5. Definitelyhelpsstudentsinteractonasociallevelacrossdifferentmediums.Itmaynotnecessarilyenhancetheirsocialinclusionwithinaclassroom/schoolcontext,butcertainlyengagesthemwithinmeaningfulsocialinteractionsonAJ’s.6. Helpsthemtodevelopanimprovedawarenessandappreciationfortheenvironment.InourparticularschoolcontextwepromotetheenvironmentasGod’sCreationandstudentsareencouragedtorespectit.7. Itdefinitelyempowerswomen,particularlytheAJ’s.IstillfindmoremalesthenfemalescompletetheAwardprogram(whichIalsofindsurprising).8. Noevidenceofthiswhatsoever.Moststudentswhopartakeintheprogramare‘good’kids.9. Noevidenceofthiswithinourschoolcontext.

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reallyviolentoranythinglikethat.However,theyweredefinitelyabletodevelopconflictresolution.Thereweresomeminortrustissuesattimesthroughouttheawardthatwereabletobeeffectivelyresolved.9) Reducedreoffending(recidivism)ratesN/A

ThethemesfromtheAwardleaderemailresultsweredividedintothethreecolumnsinthetableabove,i.e.,totalattribution,intermediaryattributionandnon-attribution.Intermsofthetotalattributionoption,themesthatcouldbededucedfromthequalitativeresultsincluded:

• ‘Award-believers’—thosewhoattributelearningtotheAwardasamatterofbelief.• ‘Life-learners’–attributionoflearningsforlifetotheAward.• ‘Learningtransference’—thelearninggainsthathappenduetotheAwardcanbewholly

transferredandthereforeattributedtoothercontexts/situations.• ‘PersonalAward’—thosewhoattributeadifferentAwardforeverydifferentlearner,

thereforeattributingthepersonalisationoftheAward.• ‘Awardcontext’—theattributionofthelearningthattheAwardaffordsfitsinwiththe

learningneedsandcontextoftheparticularschool/cohort.

Intermsoftheintermediaryattributionoption,thethemesdeducedfromtheAwardleaderresultsincluded:

• ‘Reflectivelearners’–thosewhosuggestthatthelearningattributionoftheAwardisamatterofparticipantsfindingoutaboutthemselvesmorefully.

• ‘Newexperiences’–thenotionthatthelearningoftheAwardisamatterofconstructingnewpositiveexperiencesforthelearner.

• ‘Characterdevelopment’–thethemethatthelearningattributionoftheAwardisamatterofcharacterbuilding,andthisdevelopmentdependsonthetypeofcharacterthattheparticipanthasinthefirstplace

• ‘Socialnature’—thethemethatlearningattributiondependsonworkingwiththesociabilityoftheparticipants,whichisassumedtobemutable.

• ‘Contextfluctuations’—suggeststhatthereareaspectsoftheAwardthatfitinexactlywiththelearningneedsofthecohort(usuallytheadventurousjourney),andotherthatdon’t,e.g.physicalrecreationbecauseitisalreadycoveredatschool.Learningattributionthereforefluctuatesaccordingtothecohort/context/element.

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Lastly,intermofthenon-attributionoption,thethemesderivedfromtheAwardleaderemailfeedbackinclude:

• ‘Awardsceptics’—thosewhodonotattributelearningtotheAward.• ‘Parallellives’—thisthemeinvolvesthenotionthatanylearningattributionoftheAwardis

parallelandseparatefromothermodesoflearning.• ‘DomesticatedAward’—thethemethattheAwardcananddoesleadtoparticipants

choosingsafeoptionswhichdonotchallengethemorproduceanynewlearning.• ‘Awardapplicantseffect’—thethemethattheAwardonlyattractsthetypesofstudents

whowouldhaveachievedthetypeoflearningthatcouldbeattributedtoitinthefirstplace.• ‘Learningmystics’—thethemethatthelearningattributionoftheAwardcannotbe

measured.

4.6.Focusgroupparticipantresults

Selectedquotesfromthefocusgrouptranscriptstotheresearchquestionsweredistributedacrossthethreeattributionoptionsinthetablebelow:

Table8.Qualitativeresearchquestionsandattributionsforfocusgroups(n=38)

Question Totalattribution Intermediaryattribution

Non-attribution

WhatarethemeasurablelearningeffectsonparticipationintheDukeofEdinburghawardscheme?

Ihavelearnthowtoparticipateinallareasoflifeandschool.IcanmeasurethelearningoftheAwardthroughhowmuchbetterIfeelaboutmyselfonadailybasisandhowmuchmoreIamtryingtodobetter.

Wehavelearnthowtoplayinstrumentsbetter,andhaveimprovedourskillsinsports.Ihavelearnthowtoreadmapsbetterandcannowtakecareofmyselfinadangeroussituation,especiallyoutdoors.Iambetterathorseriding.

IcannotmeasurethelearningthattheAwardhasgivenme.Idonotunderstandthequestion.

WhataretheeffectsoftheDukeofEdinburghawardsonlearningfromyourperspective?

TheAwardhastaughtmetoworkwithothersandtocooperatebetterwithadults.Ihavelearnthowtomakebetteruseofmytimeandtoworkwithmyfriendstomakethebestofwhatwehave.

ThelearningthattheAwardhasgivenmehashelpedwithcommunicationandwithbeingorganisedinadvanceforthingsthatmighthappen.Ifeelmorematureandabletocopewithwhatishappeningnow.TheAwardhasbeenhardtocompletebecauseoftheextraworkthatwehavetododuringtheweekandthereisn’t

Iamgoodatlearning,sotheAwardhasnothelpedwiththat.

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enoughtimeforhomeworkandotherclubs.

HowcanyouexplaintheseeffectsonlearningoftheDukeofEdinburgh¹sInternationalAwardprogram?

ThelearningformtheAwardisexplainedbythefactthatittakeusoutofourcomfortzones.TheDukeofEdisaverybeneficialthingtodoandencourageslearningbecauseitisgoodtodo.TheAwardgivesmesomethingtolookforwardto.

WelearninadifferentwayduetotheAward.Forexample,wearehelpingwitholdpeopleinmyarea,andwehavetobepatienttodothatproperly,butitisveryrewarding.IcanexplainthatdoingtheAwardmakesmefeellikeabetterperson,andthatIwillsucceedinthelongrun.IhavetowritedownwhatIamdoingontheAwardandthatmakesmemoreawareofmylearningandconscientious.

No,Ican’t.Thisisaverydifficultquestiontoanswer.

HowenduringaretheseeffectsonlearningoftheparticipantsoftheDukeofEdinburgh¹sInternationalAward?

IthinkthattheAward’svalueswillchangemylifeforever.Iwilllearnhowtolivebetterwithothersandeverythingaroundmefortherestofmylife.IcannowseethingsinanewwayafterdoingtheAward.

IhaveonlyjustfinishedtheBronze,sodonotknowhowlongtheseeffectswilllast,IdofeelmoremotivatedtogooutanddothingsthanIusedto.IamcurrentlydoingtheGoldawardandbelievethattheseeffectsoftheAwardwilllastatleastforacoupleofyears.Iammoreadventurousnow.TheamountthatthepositiveAward’seffectsenduredependsuponhowmuchyoutrytoemulatetheminotheraspectsofyourlife,forexample,personalrelationships.

Iamnotsure.IhaveonlyjuststarteddoingtheAwardthisyear.

HaveyounoticedanysignificantdifferencesinthelearningeffectsonthetypesofparticipantsintheDukeofEdinburgh¹s

Everyonetakespartequallywell.Theteachersencourageeveryonetotrytheirbest,despitetheirlevelsorabilities.

GirlsgetmoreoutoftheAwardthantheboys.IwasveryunsureaboutmycontributiontotheAward,butnowIhaverealisedthatIcantakepartjust

Therearenosignificantdifferences.TheAwarddoesnotchangepeople.

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InternationalAward,e.g.ingender,cognitiveabilities?

likeeveryoneelse.Youdon’thavetobeverysmarttodotheAward.

HowcanyouunderstandthedifferencesinlearningthattakesplaceinaclassroomandthatwhichhappensintheoutdoorseducationcontextsuchastheDukeofEdinburgh¹sInternationalAward?

IlovethewaysinwhichtheAwardhashelpedmetolearnaboutimportantthingsinthecommunity.Itisthebestthingthathashappenedtomeatschool.Icannowsharebetterwithmyfriends

Iliketheoutsideactivitiesthebestaswefeelfree.Learninginsideaclassroomcanbeveryboring.Thewaysinwhichtheinstructorletussolveproblemsontheadventurousjourneywasjustace.TheadventurousjourneyhashelpedmetothinkaboutwhatIwanttodowithmylife.Learningoutsideismuchmorerelaxing.TherearenotestsintheDukeofEd.

No,thedifferencebetweenthelearningthathappensintheclassroomandintheDukeofEdinburghistoogreat.

Whatdoyouthinkabout?i)Serviceii)Skilliii)PhysicalRecreationiv)AdventurousJourney(recognisingthatatGoldlevelthereisalsoaResidentialProjectrequirement).

IlovedallaspectsoftheAward,especiallythefactthatwearetrustedtolearnandnottoldwhattodoallthetime.Ihavelearnttolearnindependentlyandtomakebetterchoices.

Peoplehavedroppedoutoftheadventurousjourneybecauseitistooexpensive,thereshouldbecheapoptions.TheserviceaspectoftheAwardwasnotwellorganised,andwehadtodoalotofitourselves,thoughintheendIenjoyedit.TheadventurousjourneyiseasilythebestpartoftheAwardbecauseitisexcitinganddifferent.AllmyfriendsdidtheAward,soIchoseitaswell,andithasbeenagreatandworthwhileexperience.

Peoplechoseveryeasyskillstocompleteatourschoolasifwasajoke.Somestudentswentonholidayfortheadventurousjourney,andthatwasnotright.

Doyouwanttomakeacommenthere(9ptsbelow)?Thesepartsoftheawardhave9stipulatedimpacts:1)Improvededucational

IhavebecomeabetterlearnerandcannowdecidewhatIwanttodo.Iammoreambitious.MymindismoreconcentratedonwhatIwanttodo,asIhavebeengiven

IwillusetheAwardlevelsthatIachieveinmyCV,employerslikethat.IamgoingtotakepartinSchoolCouncilwhereasIcouldn’tbebotheredbefore.Therearecertain

IhavenotimprovedatallinmymarksatschoolafterdoingtheAwardfor3years.Ihavereallyenjoyeddoingtheadventurousjourney,butIcouldhavedoneitwith

42

attainment2)Improvedemployabilityandsustainablelivelihoods3)Improvedhealthandwell-being4)Increasedparticipationinciviclife5)SocialInclusion6)Theenvironment7)Genderequalityandtheempowermentofwomen8)Reductionandpreventionofviolence,conflictresolutionandpeace-building9)Reducedreoffending(recidivism)rates

awiderrangeoflearningexperiencesduetotheDukeofEd.tothinkaboutthingsandtoacton.

skillsthatIdefinitelyhavepickedup,e.g.sailingandthathadmadeadifferencetomyoutlookonwhatIwantoutoflife.TherearelotsofdifferentpeopleatourschoolwhohavelearnttotalkandworktogetherbecauseoftheDukeofEd.TheskillofconflictresolutionhasbeenaddressedatschoolbutputintoactionbytheDukeofEd.Ourschoolisquitepeaceful,everyonegetsonbetterwhogoesontheDukeofEd.GirlsthatIknowatourschoolreallytryhardattheAward.

myfriendsasanadventureholiday.ThekidswithreallybadproblemsdonotdotheDukeofEd.

ThethemesfromtheDoEIAparticipantfocusgroupsweredividedsimilarlytotheAwardleaderemailresponses,andaccordingtothe3attributionlearningoptions.Intermsofthetotalattributionoption,thededucedthemeswere:

• ‘Awardbeneficent’—thislearnerisdeeplychangedforthebetterbyspecificparticipationintheAward,andattributesthistransformationtotheelementsoftheAward.

• ‘Awardidealist’—similartotheAwardbeneficent,thislearnerwillattributepowerfulandmulti-leveleffectstoparticipationintheAward(e.g.spiritualadvancement).

• ‘Innovativelearners’—thisthemecoverslearnerswhoareabletousethelearningfromtheAwardinotherpartsoftheirlives,and‘grow’assuch,holisticallyandasimproved/roundedindividuals.

• ‘Groupcohesion’—describesthewaysinwhichparticularsocialdynamicscanbesubmergedandovercomeifnecessaryintheoverallsenseofprogressduetothetotallearningattributionoftheAward.

Intermsoftheintermediaryattributionoption,thethemesdeducedfromthefocusgroupresultsincluded:

• ‘Peer-to-peerlearners’—theselearnersattributetheirsuccesstotherelationshipsestablishedduetoparticipationintheAward.

• ‘Awardsurprises’—thenon-formalaspectoftheAwardcanproduceunlikelyheroesandstudentswhodonotthriveelsewherehavingachancetosucceedandattributelearningsuccesstotheirgrowthduetotheAward.

43

• ‘Awardenunciation’—thisthemecoverstheabilitytoexpresstheparticularlearningsfromtheAwardandtothereforeattributethem.

• ‘Singularadventurers’—thisthemeinvolvesAwardparticipantswhoattributemostlearningstotheadventurousjourney.

Finally,intermofthenon-attributionoption,thethemesderivedfromtheparticipantfocusgroupsinclude:

• ‘Awardego-resisters’—describesparticipantsintheAwardwhodonotattributeanyofitseffectstotheAward,butare‘ego-resistant’toattribution.

• ‘Learningnon-articulation’—isthethemeofAwardparticipantswhoareunabletoexpressthelearningsthathappenduetotheAward.

• ‘Awardnon-co-operant’—referstoindividualists,whoresistthesocial/collectiveaspectoftheAward.

• ‘Awardcoasters’—referstoAwardparticipantswhowantthebenefitsoftheAward(e.g.havingitontheirC.V.),withoutmakingthenecessaryefforttoachieveanygains.

4.7.Summaryofresults

Thequantitativeandqualitativeevidencefromthissmallpilotstudypointstotheintermediaryattributionoptionasdefinedbythisprojectabove.ThisisbecausethespecificlifeeffectivenessattributesthatwerefoundtobemostattributedtotheDoEIAprogram,i.e.,Self-Confidence/CopewithChange/LeadershipAbility/OverallEffectiveness/ActiveInvolvement,arethespecificqualitiesthattheDoEIAasanon-formalyouthdevelopmentprogramencourages.Therefore,thereisnoevidencefromthissmallpilotschemethatthetotalattributionornon-attributionoptionscanbeproperlyusedtodescribethelearningthattheAwardencourages.Intermsofthequalitativeresultsfromtheproject,therewerethosewhodescribedtheeffectsoftheAwardintermsoftotalattributionandthosewhoresistedlearningattributiontotheAward(non-attribution).Thequantitativeresultsareinterestinginthisrespect,inthatlearningattributionoflifeeffectivenessskillsthatonemightexpecttobeattributedtotheAward,suchas:TimeEfficiency/Self-Efficacy/SocialEffectiveness/CooperativeTeamwork/StressManagement/ExternalLOC(LocusofControl)/InternalLOCareinfactshowntobeonlycorrelatedinamediumstrengthtotheAward.ParticipantsarethereforeattributingthislearningtoactivitiesthattheydoelsewhereaswellastotheAward.Notsurprisingly,theacademicattributesof:OpenThinkingandQualitySeekingareonlymildlyattributedtotheAward,asparticipantswilljudgethattheylearntheseattributeselsewhere,usuallyinthetraditionalformalclassroomsetting.ThequalitativeattributionresultspointtothespectrumofreactionstotheAward,andthethemesthatarenestledinandthroughtheAward’sfunctioning.Tosomeextent,thisisaresultofthesocialmilieuinwhichtheAwardsits,i.e.asayouthdevelopmentprogramfor14-25yearoldswithvoluntaryAwardleaders,oftenamongsttheteachingprofession.

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5.Discussion

5.1.ThemeaningoflearningattributiontheoryfortheDoEIA

JohnHattie(2009)hasbenchmarkedthecorrelationaleffectsizeasbeing0.4frommorethan800meta-studiesonlearning.Ineffect,thismeansthataccordingtoHattie,anyeffectsizesfoundduetothecorrelationalanalysisover0.4amounttolearninghappeningduetowhateverprocedureorinterventionthathastakenplaceandbeeninvestigated.Anythingbelow0.4meansthatineffectnolearninghastakenplaceduetotheintervention.Intermsofthespecificsofthisstudy,wheretheDoEIAistheintervention,thelearningattributionsthathaveaneffectsizeover0.4are:1)Self-Confidence,2)CopewithChange,3)LeadershipAbility,4)OverallEffectiveness,5)ActiveInvolvement,6)TimeEfficiency,7)Self-Efficacy,8)SocialEffectiveness,9)CooperativeTeamwork,10)StressManagementand,11)ExternalLOC(LocusofControl).Thisisanimportantresultforthispilotstudy,andpointstotheabilityofthesmallsamplethattookpartinthestudybeingabletoattributethelearningoftheseskillsspecificallytotheDoEIA.

LearningattributiontotheeffectsoftheAwardarethereforepowerfulindicatorsofthetypesofdevelopmentalprocessesthattheAwardencouragesandpossiblymaintains.However,suchlearningattributiondoesnotnecessarilymeanthatthesedevelopmentalprocesseswillresultinthetypesoflongtermoutcomessuchas:increaseemployability,increasedhealthinessorreducedoffendingbehaviours.WhilsttheAwardcancertainlyactasapivotandbasisfortheseclaimsaslongtermpossibleeffects,oneoftheusesoflearningattributiontheoryistounderstandhowlearningismutableandcanberedirectedbylifecircumstancesbeyondthecontroloftheAwardoranysuchyouthdevelopmentprogramortheauspicesofschooling.Forexample,researchhasshownthatsevereproblemsathome,economichardshipandcontactwithviolent,anti-socialordisruptiveadultbehaviours(eveniftheyareonline),canactascounterandopposingforcestothebeneficialaspectsofprogramssuchastheAward(Gewirtz&Edleson,2007).Thequalitativepartofthisstudyshowshoweventhoughonbalance,theAwardcouldbesaidtohaveanintermediarylearningattributioneffectonitsparticipants,therearethoseeveninthissmallsamplewhoresisttheattributionoflearningtotheAwardandthosewhooverattributelearningeffectstotheAward.Bothoftheseperspectivesshowhowthecommonsense,positiveappraisaloftheeffectsoftheAwardonyouthdevelopmentcanbedoubtedorover-stated.

Insum,learningattributiontheoryisarealisticandbalancedwaytolookatwhateffectstheDoEIAhasonyouthoutcomesandtheprocessesofyouthchange.Itisanunstatedclichétopointoutthatyouthdevelopmentisarocky,contradictoryandpotentiallyfraughtaffair.However,withthehelpoflearningattributiontheory,theWSUresearchteambelievethattherealeffectsoftheDoEIAcanbesensiblymeasured,articulatedandunderstood.

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6.Conclusion/Recommendations

6.1.Outcomesofthisstudy

Firstly,thisisasmallpilotstudy,whichrequiresalargersampletoverifyandvalidatetheresultsabove.Furtherstudyisalsorequiredto:

1) EnhancetheunderstandingofhowlearningattributiontheoryworkswithrespecttotheAward.Inthepresentstudy,thequantitativeandqualitativecomponentsweredisconnected.Ifbettercoordinationandcohesionhadhappenedaroundthesurveyandqualitative,followupwork,thewaysinwhichthespecificattributeshadbeenmadebytheDoEIAparticipantsonthesurveycouldhavebeenunderstoodinmoredepththroughqualitativeinvestigation.Enhancedcontinuitybetweenphasesintheresearchcouldbefashionedwithalargercohortandmoreresourcingfortheresearchproject.2) UnderstandtheroleoftheAwardleaders.Clearly,thisvoluntaryactivityisofmajorimportancetotherunningandreputationoftheAward.However,eventhissmallpilotschemefoundsignificantvariationsinthelearningattributionsmadebyAwardleaders.FollowupspecificresearchintotherolesoftheAwardleadersisrequiredtomorefullyunderstandtheirresponsibilitiesandmodesofaction,especiallyastheyhavesuchanimportantparttoplayinthemajor,internationalyouthdevelopmentprogramthatisrealityoftheAward.Aswasmentionedabove,educationalresearchshowsthatattributionisanimportantpartofateacher’srole,especiallywithrespecttoclassroommanagementandinfeedbackonlearning(Vaughan&Hogg,2013).AsmuchoftheAwarddependsonfeedbackoneffort,progress,andinmediatingbetweentheparticipantsanddifferentpartsandstagesoftheAward,thewaysinwhichtheAwardleaderscommunicatewiththeirDoEIAcohortsiscrucial.Ineffect,investigationintotheirattributionskillsisnecessaryinfollowupresearch.3) ExaminethecontinuitiesanddiscontinuitiesbetweenthedifferentpartsandstagesoftheAward.Atthemoment,thepresentresearchstudyhastendedtogeneraliseabouttheparticipantsandtheAwardasawhole,thoughitisclearthat,forexample,theadventurousjourneycananddoeshaveaverydifferenteffectonyouthdevelopmentthanthelearningofskillsortheserviceaspectoftheAward.MorespecificresearchisrequiredtounderstandthelearningattributionofeachpartoftheAward,andhowthesepartsdovetailandrelatetooneanotherasparticipantschangeastheypassthroughtheBronze,SilverandGoldstagesoftheAward.4) LookinmoredepthhowtheAwardrelatesto,complements,contrastsordoublesupwiththeattributionofformal,school-basedlearning.Atthemoment,thestudyhasgainedinklingsintothispotentiallyinterestingrelationship,thoughmoreresearchisneededtounderstandexactlyhowtherelationshipbetweenthetwospheresworksintermsoflearningattributiontheory.

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AppendixITheoriginalROPELOCinstrument(usedwithpermission):

NAME:____________________________________AGE:____(years)____(mths)DATE:___/___/____MALE/FEMALE(circleone)PROGRAM:_________________________GROUP:________________

ROPELOC©GER20/9/00

PLEASEREADTHESEINSTRUCTIONSFIRSTThisisnotatest-therearenorightorwronganswers.

Thisisachanceforyoutolookathowyouthinkandfeelaboutyourself.Itisimportantthatyou:

• arehonest• giveyourownviewsaboutyourself,withouttalkingtoothers• reporthowyoufeelNOW(nothowyoufeltatanothertimeinyourlife,orhowyoumightfeeltomorrow)

Youranswersareconfidentialandwillonlybeusedforresearchorprogramdevelopment. Youranswerswillnotbeusedinanywaytorefertoyouasanindividual.Usetheeightpointscaletoindicatehowtrue(likeyou)orhowfalse(unlikeyou),eachstatementoverthepageisasadescriptionofyou.Pleasedonotleaveanystatementsblank.FALSE TRUENOTLIKEME LIKEME1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Thisstatementdoesn’t MorefalseMoretrue Thisstatementdescribemeatall;itisn’t thantruethanfalse describesmeverywell;likemeatall itisverymuchlikeme.

SOMEEXAMPLESA.Iamacreativeperson. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

(The6hasbeencircledbecausethepersonansweringbelievesthestatement“Iamacreativeperson”issometimestrue.Thatis,thestatementissometimeslikehim/her.)B.Iamgoodatwritingpoetry. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

(The2hasbeencircledbecausethepersonansweringbelievesthatthestatementismostlyfalseasfarashe/sheisconcerned.Thatis,he/shefeelshe/shedoesnotwritegoodpoetry.)CIenjoyplayingwithpets. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

(The6hasbeencircledbecauseatfirstthepersonthoughtthatthestatementwasmostlytruebutthenthepersoncorrecteditto7toshowthatthestatementwasverytrueabouthim/her.)

Ifstillunsureaboutwhattodo,ASKFORHELP.

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STATEMENT FALSE TRUE notlikemelikeme

01.WhenIhavesparetimeIalwaysuseittopaint. 1234567802.Ilikecooperatinginateam. 1234567803.NomatterwhatthesituationisIcanhandleit 1234567804.Icanbeagoodleader. 1234567805.Myowneffortsandactionsarewhatwilldeterminemyfuture. 12345678-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------06.Iprefertobeactivelyinvolvedinthings. 1234567807.Iamopentodifferentthinkingifthereisabetteridea. 1234567808.IneverythingIdoItrymybesttogetthedetailsright. 1234567809.Luck,otherpeopleandeventscontrolmostofmylife. 1234567810.IamconfidentthatIhavetheabilitytosucceed 12345678-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11.Iameffectiveinsocialsituations. 1234567812.Iamcalminstressfulsituations. 1234567813.Myoveralleffectivenessinlifeisveryhigh. 1234567814.Iplanandusemytimeefficiently. 1234567815.Icopewellwithchangingsituations 12345678-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16.Icooperatewellwhenworkinginateam. 1234567817.Ipreferthingsthattastesweetinsteadofbitter. 1234567818.NomatterwhathappensIcanhandleit. 1234567819.Iamcapableofbeingagoodleader. 1234567820.Ilikebeingactiveandenergetic. 12345678-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21.WhatIdoandhowIdoitwilldeterminemysuccessesinlife. 1234567822.Iamopentonewthoughtsandideas. 1234567823.ItrytogetthebestpossibleresultswhenIdothings. 1234567824.WhenIapplymyselftosomethingIamconfidentIwillsucceed. 1234567825.Myfutureismostlyinthehandsofotherpeople. 12345678-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------26.Iamcompetentandeffectiveinsocialsituations. 1234567827.Icanstaycalmandovercomeanxietyinalmostallsituations. 1234567828.Iamefficientanddonotwastetime. 1234567829.Overall,inallthingsinlife,Iameffective. 1234567830.WhenthingsaroundmechangeIcopewell. 12345678-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------31.Iamgoodatcooperatingwithteammembers. 1234567832.Icanhandlethingsnomatterwhathappens. 1234567833.Isolveallmathematicsproblemseasily. 1234567834.Iamseenasacapableleader. 1234567835.Iliketogetintothingsandmakeaction. 12345678-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------36.Icanadaptmythinkingandideas. 1234567837.IfIsucceedinlifeitwillbebecauseofmyefforts. 1234567838.ItrytogettheverybestresultsineverythingIdo. 1234567839.Iamconfidentinmyabilitytobesuccessful. 1234567840.Icommunicateeffectivelyinsocialsituations. 12345678-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------41.Mylifeismostlycontrolledbyexternalthings. 1234567842.Iamcalmwhenthingsgowrong. 1234567843.IamefficientinthewayIusemytime. 1234567844.Icopewellwhenthingschange. 1234567845.Overall,inmylifeIamaveryeffectiveperson. 12345678

AppendixIITheadaptedattributioninstrument

PLEASENOTETHISINSTRUMENTINCLUDINGINSTRUCTIONSWILLBEONLINE.

Purpose

Thepurposeofthissurveyistohelptofindout:

! Whatyouthinkandfeelaboutyourself! WhatyouthinkandfeelaboutparticipatingintheDukeofEdinburgh'sInternationalAward

The results of this studywill help to identifyways of improvingwellbeing support for youthparticipatingintheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAward.

Participation

Yourparticipationinthestudyisvoluntaryandyoucanwithdrawfromthestudyatanytime.NotparticipatinginthestudywillnotaffectyourrelationshipwiththeDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAward,oryourschooloranyotherorganizationassociatedwiththeDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAwardScheme.

This is not a test.There is no right orwrong answer and everybodywill have differentanswers.Itwilltakeabout20minutestoanswerallthequestions.

Your answers will only be seen by the researchers and will not be shown to anyone inassociatedwiththeDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAwards,schooloryourcommunity.Duetothis,yourconfidentialityisassuredandtherewillbenonegativerepercussionsresultingfromyouranswers,sopleaseanswerhonestly.Theresearchteamwillnotreportthenamesofpeoplethatparticipateinthestudy.

StudentConsent

ELECTRONICCONSENTONLINE

StudentConsentFormtoParticipateinResearchStudy_________________________________________________________________Iagreetoparticipateinthestudy

53

Firstly,wewould liketoasksome backgroundinformation aboutyou.A1.Whatisyourdateofbirth? _____/______/_______(Day/Month/Year)A2.Howoldareyounow? ___________yearsA3.Areyou: Male 1 Female 2A3.1Whatisthepostcodeofwhereyoulive?____________A4.WhereareyouconductingtheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAward?___________________________________________________A5.WhichleveloftheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAwardareyoucurrentlyparticipatingin?1Bronze 2Silver 3Gold

A5.1.Inwhichyeardidyoustart?(e.g.2010)___________A6.HaveyouparticipatedintheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAwardbefore? Yes 1 No 2A6.1.IfYes,inwhichyeardidyouFinish?(e.g.2010)___________or Ididnotfinish.A7.AreyouanAboriginaland/orTorresStraitIslander: Yes 1 No 2A8.1WherewereYOUborn?

1 Australia 2 UnitedKingdom 3 NewZealand 4 Italy5 Greece 6 Germany 7 Netherlands 8 Yugoslavia9 Lebanon 10 Vietnam 11 China 12 HongKong13 Philippines 14 India

15 Other:Pleasewritenameofcountry:____________________________________________

A8.2WherewasyourMotherorStepmotherborn?

1 Australia 2 UnitedKingdom 3 NewZealand 4 Italy5 Greece 6 Germany 7 Netherlands 8 Yugoslavia9 Lebanon 10 Vietnam 11 China 12 HongKong13 Philippines 14 India

15 Other:Pleasewritenameofcountry:____________________________________________

A8.3WherewasyourFatherorStepfatherborn?

1 Australia 2 UnitedKingdom 3 NewZealand 4 Italy5 Greece 6 Germany 7 Netherlands 8 Yugoslavia9 Lebanon 10 Vietnam 11 China 12 HongKong13 Philippines 14 India

15 Other:Pleasewritenameofcountry:___________________________________________

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INSTRUCTIONS

Thisisachanceforyoutolookathowyouthinkandfeelaboutyourself.Itisimportantthatyou:• arehonest• giveyourownviewsaboutyourself,withouttalkingtoothers• reporthowyoufeelNOW(nothowyoufeltatanothertimeinyourlife,orhowyoumightfeeltomorrow)Firstusethefourpointscaletoindicatehow‘TRUE’(likeyou,thestatementdescribesyouverywell)orhow‘FALSE’(unlikeyou,thestatementdoesn’tdescribeyouatall),eachstatementisadescriptionofyouatthispresenttime.NextindicatehowmuchyourparticipationintheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAward(DoEIA)hashelpedyouindevelopingthisqualityaboutyoufrom‘Notatall’(youdon’tbelieveparticipatingintheDoEIAhashelpeddevelopthisquality)to‘Alot’(youbelievethatparticipatingintheDoEIAhassignificantlyhelpedyoudevelopthisquality). STEP1

FirstusetheFourpointscaletoindicatehowTRUE(likeyou)orhowFALSE(unlikeyou),eachstatementisasadescriptionofyouatthispresenttime.

STEP2

Next,indicatehowmuchyourparticipationintheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAward(DoEIA)hashelpedyouindevelopingthisqualityaboutyou.

FALSENotLikeme

MoreFALSEthantrue

MoreTRUEthanfalse

TRUELikeme

Notatall

Verylittle

Much Alot

1 WhenIhavesparetimeIalwaysuseittopaint. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

2 Ilikecooperatinginateam 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

3 NomatterwhatthesituationisIcanhandleit 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

4 Icanbeagoodleader 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

5 Myowneffortsandactionsarewhatwilldeterminemyfuture

0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

6 Iprefertobeactivelyinvolvedinthings. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

7 Iamopentodifferentthinkingifthereisabetteridea. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

8 IneverythingIdoItrymybesttogetthedetailsright.

0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

9 Luck,otherpeopleandeventscontrolmostofmylife.

0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

10 IamconfidentthatIhavetheabilitytosucceed 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

55

inanythingIwanttodo

11 Iameffectiveinsocialsituations. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

12 Iamcalminstressfulsituations. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

13 Myoveralleffectivenessinlifeisveryhigh. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

14 Iplanandusemytimeefficiently. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

15 Icopewellwithchangingsituations. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

16 Icooperatewellwhenworkinginateam. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

17 Ipreferthingsthattastesweetinsteadofbitter. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

18 NomatterwhathappensIcanhandleit. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

19 Iamcapableofbeingagoodleader. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

20 Ilikebeingactiveandenergetic. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

21 WhatIdoandhowIdoitwilldeterminemysuccessesinlife.

0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

22 Iamopentonewthoughtsandideas. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

23 ItrytogetthebestpossibleresultswhenIdothings.

0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

24 WhenIapplymyselftosomethingIamconfidentIwillsucceed.

0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

25 Myfutureismostlyinthehandsofotherpeople. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

26 Iamcompetentandeffectiveinsocialsituations. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

27 Icanstaycalmandovercomeanxietyinalmostallsituations.

0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

28 Iamefficientanddonotwastetime. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

29 Overall,inallthingsinlife,Iameffective. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

30 WhenthingsaroundmechangeIcopewell. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

31 Iamgoodatcooperatingwithteammembers. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

32 Icanhandlethingsnomatterwhathappens. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

33 Isolveallmathematicsproblemseasily. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

34 Iamseenasacapableleader. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

56

35 Iliketogetintothingsandmakeaction. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

36 Icanadaptmythinkingandideas. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

37 IfIsucceedinlifeitwillbebecauseofmyefforts.

0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

38 ItrytogettheverybestresultsineverythingIdo.

0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

39 Iamconfidentinmyabilitytobesuccessful. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

40 Icommunicateeffectivelyinsocialsituations. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

41 Mylifeismostlycontrolledbyexternalthings. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

42 Iamcalmwhenthingsgowrong. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

43 IamefficientinthewayIusemytime. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

44 Icopewellwhenthingschange. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

45 Overall,inmylifeIamaveryeffectiveperson. 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3

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AppendixIIIThequalitativequestions:

Focusgroupprotocols:Mainresearchquestion:Fromtheperspectiveofthelearner:WhatarethemeasurablelearningeffectsonstudentsofparticipationintheDukeofEdinburghawardscheme?Secondaryresearchquestions:

• WhataretheeffectsoftheDukeofEdinburghawardsonlearningfromyourperspective?

• HowcanyouexplaintheseeffectsonstudentlearningoftheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAwardprogram?

• HowenduringaretheseeffectsonlearningoftheparticipantsoftheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAward?

• HaveyounoticedanysignificantdifferencesinthelearningeffectsonthetypesofparticipantsintheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAward,e.g.ingender,cognitiveabilities?

• HowcanyouunderstandthedifferencesinlearningthattakesplaceinaclassroomandthatwhichhappensintheoutdoorseducationcontextsuchastheDukeofEdinburgh’sInternationalAward?

Surveyquestions:

• Arethesurveyquestionsclear?• Ifnot,whynot,whichdidyounotunderstand?• Indicatewhatwouldhelpyoutounderstandthesurveyquestionsbetter?• Didyougetstuckinanypartsofthesurvey?• Howcouldthesurveybeimproved?• Howeasywasthesurveytoscore?

DukeofEdinburghpartsandimpacts–thesecanbeusedasthematictopicsfordiscussion.Whatdoparticipantsthinkabout?

i) Service,ii) Skills,iii) PhysicalRecreationandiv) AdventurousJourney(recognisingthatatGoldlevelthereisalsoaResidential

Projectrequirement).

Thesepartsoftheawardhave9stipulatedimpacts:1)Improvededucationalattainment;2)Improvedemployabilityandsustainablelivelihoods;3)Improvedhealthandwell-being;4)Increasedparticipationinciviclife;5)SocialInclusion;

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6)Theenvironment;7)Genderequalityandtheempowermentofwomen;8)Reductionandpreventionofviolence,conflictresolutionandpeace-building;9)Reducedreoffending(recidivism)ratesItisrecognisedthatthefocusgroupswillnotbeabletocoveralloftheseresearchquestionsandtopics.