Outdoor Adventure Leadership (Foundation Year)

Program Overview

The Outdoor Adventure Leadership (Foundation Entry) BA (Hons) is a four-year program designed for students lacking formal qualifications for direct honors admission. The program provides a comprehensive foundation in sports leadership, physical education, health, and fitness. Students gain a range of skills and knowledge in outdoor adventure leadership, preparing them for careers in coaching, teaching, or working in outdoor activity centers. The program emphasizes practical application and is accredited by the Institute for Outdoor Learning.

Program Outline

It serves as a stepping stone to a full degree. The program aims to provide students with a broad introduction to sports leadership, examining sports from socio-cultural and historical perspectives, along with the study of physical education, health, and fitness. It equips students with a range of skills and knowledge using an interdisciplinary approach.

• Academic and Personal Development in Sport, Physical Activity and Health: This module helps students develop the necessary skills for academic study at the appropriate level.
It encourages reflection on experiences and supports professional and personal development.

Year 1:

• Dynamic Leadership and Risk in Adventure Leadership: This module provides the underpinning knowledge and theory applicable to leading and managing risk in an outdoor adventure leadership context.
It covers contemporary theories of leadership, risk management, the role of risk, law and legislation, and environmental considerations.
• Risk in Adventure Leadership: This module provides the underpinning knowledge and theory applicable to leading and managing risk in an outdoor adventure leadership context.
It covers contemporary theories of leadership, risk management, the role of risk, law and legislation, and environmental considerations.
• Learning Outdoors: This module develops a contextualized understanding of how we learn and the outdoors as a natural learning environment.
It provides opportunities to reflect upon learning experiences within the outdoor context. It covers environmental and lifestyle changes, learning theories, domains of learning, and reflective practice.
• Evidence-Based Practice: This module provides the underpinning knowledge and skills applicable to teaching and coaching within the outdoor context through engagement with relevant research literature.
It covers outdoor pedagogies, Forest Schools, effective coaching practice, and critical thinking.
• Principles of Applied Practice: This module provides the underpinning knowledge and skills applicable to the outdoor adventure leadership context.
It covers risk management, leadership and reflective practice, educational and environmental considerations.

Year 2:

• Adventure Sports Coaching: This module provides underpinning knowledge and skills applicable to coaching in the outdoor adventure context.
It discusses a range of coaching models with specific focus on their constituent parts.
• Applied Research Methods for Outdoor Adventure: This module focuses on the synergy of practice and research, in context, by focusing on quantitative and qualitative research methods and data gathering approaches.
It enables students to generate research ideas with vocational value, construct hypotheses, conduct literature reviews, design effective experimental approaches, and present research findings in real-world settings.
• Expedition Planning, Preparation and Participation: This module requires students to work as part of a group to complete an expedition of their choice.
The expedition brings together practical and theoretical elements studied through this module and develops understanding of environmental stewardship methods for all sectors of the outdoors.
• Facilitating Outdoor Learning: This module investigates the application of theory into practice in the context of outdoor learning.
It considers associated issues that affect group development and analyzes strategies that can be employed to support the delivery of high-quality outdoor learning in a variety of settings. It provides opportunities for students to put their understanding into practice through work placements and enables them to reflect upon personal learning opportunities from a course-wide perspective.
• Group Research Project for Outdoor Adventure: This module builds upon the research methods module and develops students' ability to carry out independent research projects with limited supervision.
Students work in small groups to consider a research theme and design an appropriate research approach to investigate.

Year 3:

• Dissertation: This module provides an opportunity for students to pursue an in-depth study on a topic of their own choice related to their substantive areas of study.
Students work independently, under limited supervision, to develop and demonstrate their academic skills and abilities.
• Entrepreneurship and Enterprise in Sport, Health & Wellbeing: This module encourages students to think conceptually and critically about the role of the individual in developing enterprise and new venture creation through individual self-reflection and analysis of various entrepreneurs.
• Consultancy Project: This module lets students encounter and address the challenges of a consultancy project involving research, critical thinking, and problem solving.
Students focus on engagement with an organization, group, or individual and use their skills to look at an identified client issue.
• Adventure in Global Culture: This module aims to extend students' critical appraisal of the role of leadership in organizational and individual contexts and to develop outdoor practitioners with contemporary awareness of leadership, management, and social justice issues.
It exposes students to current and international perspectives on leading for change in the outdoors and aims to develop critical assessment of strategies and models of behavior change.
• Applied Psychology for Remote Environments: This module provides students with the skills to apply key concepts and theories of psychology in outdoor remote environments.
It draws upon industry best practice and provides further skills training in response and management in the field. Key theories/concepts and techniques are discussed within a range of outdoor adventure contexts. It exposes students to current and international perspectives on leading for change in the outdoors and aims to develop critical assessment of strategies and models of behavior change.

Assessment:

The program uses a variety of assessment approaches, including essays, group and individual presentations, practical observations, and reflective logs. There is no end-of-year exam.

Teaching:

Students are taught by staff with extensive experience, including former teachers and personal trainers, as well as traditional academics. Most lecturers are active researchers, so students benefit from their passion and cutting-edge expertise.

Careers:

The Outdoor Adventure Leadership Foundation Entry Year develops the intellect, knowledge, and skills needed to work in a coaching and leadership capacity, within and beyond the outdoor sector. Graduate careers include positions in the uniformed and public services, teaching, working in outdoor activity centers, running your own business, or being a freelance instructor.

Other:

The program is accredited by the Institute for Outdoor Learning (IOL), the professional body for individuals who use the outdoors to make a difference for others. The program involves working with vulnerable groups of individuals, which may include children. Students are required to obtain a satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service clearance (formerly termed CRB). The program has links to Outward Bound India (Himalaya), Hong Kong, and the UK, as well as with Lancashire County Council Outdoor Education Centre, the Institute for Outdoor Learning, and Cotswold Outdoor in Preston.

2024/25 UK First year £9,250 for the first year Full-time £9,250 per year International First year £16,400 for the first year Full-time £16,500 per year