What Type of Outdoor Professional Are You?  

Critically Evaluate Your Personal Attributes in Relation to Professional Outdoor Practice and Potential Career Pathway

 Harriet Hills

Introduction

Brown et al (2015) describes professions as a product of social constructivism. A social construct is an idea, theory, thing or practice created by society (people) that has been adopted as a normal part of society (Gerbrand, 2013).  A profession and a professional are different; a profession refers to a person who has individual autonomy, is providing public service, has a code of practice and regulations (Carr, 2000). Furthermore, a profession is someone who has both theoretical and grounded expertise; they are traditionally doctors, lawyers and other such vocations; whereas, a professional is someone who receives payment their services and produces theses services to a high standard (Carr, 2000). Brown et al (2015) makes no distinction between profession and a professional choosing to describe a professional as having all of the same components as Carr’s definition on profession. According to Brown et al (2015) a professional person is seen as someone who is capable of providing an important public service, has theoretical and or practical expertise in their chosen field, follows a code of practice, has individual autonomy and finally is someone who follows defined regulations and or is part of an organisation (Brown et al, 2015).

A professional is someone who has a set of knowledge, skills, values and behaviours (Brown et al, 2015). However, professionalism is something that is not inherent, it must be taught and can be improved through experience (Cruess and Cruess, 1997). In terms of outdoor adventure education, a professional is qualified and experienced person who is a member of a national governing body. Martin and McCullagh, (2011) write that an outdoor professional is someone who has all the qualities previously discussed and as outdoor education as traditionally been vied as a subset of physical education professionals in this field are therefore classed as professional physical educators with a focus on outdoors education. Similarly, Moon (2013) writes that an outdoor professional is someone who reflects both during a session, called reflection in action, and after a session, called reflection on action.

My future career pathway involves working for the Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails in the United States. I wish to work in their year-round position as Camp Director for both Camp Elliott Barker and Camp Rancho Del Chaparral (please see appendix 7.1 for job listing) and them when the current position becomes available taking over as the Outdoor Program Manager for the whole of New Mexico and parts of Colorado (please see appendix 7.2 for job listing).

Although these jobs are essentially my dream there are many factors to be considered about whether I achieve them the main being that they both require a complete relocation to the USA (Pleases see appendix 7.3- Career SWOT Analysis). However, on the other hand I am not yet at a place where I am capable of completing these jobs just yet and have some time to work on both the weaknesses and threats identified in the SWOT analysis.

A SWOT analysis stands for Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat analysis and is a well-known and extremely useful tool (Coman and Ronen, 2009). SWOT analysis is used to identify and gather data before then interpreting and assessing this data which can be ether internal and external (Al-Arak, 2013). Both strengths and weaknesses are seen as internal factors whereas opportunities and threats are external (Al-Arak, 2013) (Coman and Ronen, 2009).

In relation to my future career the SWOT analysis has identified the following things about myself. The SWOT analysis identified the following things as my strengths; experience in job area and experience working for the company in the past. Along with a degree in outdoor adventure education, professional contacts within the sector and relevant qualifications. On the other hand, my weaknesses are the cultural difference and homesickness that I will no doubt experience if I were to work in a foreign country. The threats presented are that the job is in the USA and will therefore require a complete relocation and I will require a work visa this is of course balanced out as the bosses already have experienced my work ethic and have given me an open job invitation should I decide this is the path I want to take.

Despite vast differences in teachings and outcome objectives outdoor education has traditionally been taught as a subset of physical education (Martin and McCullagh, 2011). School teaching is not an area I wish to pursue however I am very interested in education. Although I do not wish to become a teacher I do wish to work closely with children and young people. However, in a more informal setting than a school.

What type of outdoor practitioner am I?

My beliefs and values are centred around concern for the environment and preserving our wild spaces for future generations. John Muir is one of my inspirations and someone who I aspire to be like. John Muir was a Scottish born man who lived in the USA and is most famous for convincing the US President Theodor Roosevelt sign the Yosemite grant in 1964; creating the first national park protecting this unspoilt wild place for future generations (Muir, 2006).

Any fool can destroy trees…It took more than three thousand years to make some of [these] trees- trees that are still standing in perfect strength and beauty, waving and singing in the mighty forests. Through all the wonderful, eventful centuries … God has cared for these trees but he cannot save them from fools. (Muir, 2006).

In accordance with these values I view myself as the following type of professional outdoor practitioner; an environmental educator. An environmental educator is defined as someone who focuses on creating an awareness and an understanding of environmental issues through developing a person’s critical thinking, decision making and problem-solving skills (Henderson and O’Connell, 2018). Environmental issues are a highly relevant issue at the moment, I personally feel strongly for the environment and therefore wish to and believe it is my duty to continue to educate young people in this very poignant topic.

I identify as being place based outdoor educator as I believe that the environmental situation has grate baring on learning. A place based outdoor educator is someone who believes that a connection to the environmental surrounds is paramount to education and learning, a person who interrogates their teachings with place, the curriculum and the learner (Lloyd et al, 2018). Roberts (2018) writes that outdoor education and nature in general have been romanticized and as a result during this proses we have lost our connections to the environmental place. He writes that it is our responsibility as educators to ensure that social issues are not forgotten or pushed aside during outdoor education sessions but rather embraced (Roberts, 2018).

Professional Attributes

 Professional attributes are skills that are seen as desirable by employers, they are made up of three key components; graduate competencies, interpersonal skills and technical skills (Cole, 2007), and all of these things will help me to gain employment as a professional outdoor practitioner.

Graduate competencies are skills that although not unique to graduates are things that all graduates can do and have developed whilst gaining their degrees (Teijeiro et al, 2013). My assets in this area are (Pleases see appendix 7.4- Graduate Competencies SWOT Analysis) working as part of a successful team, I am good at making decisions and problem solving, and the SWOT analysis also identified communication and leadership skills as one of my strengths.

Interpersonal skills, which are often called soft skills or people skills, are skills we use every day and are related to the way we communicate and interact with others (Pavord and Donnelly, 2015). After completing a SWOT analysis, (Pleases see appendix 7.5- Interpersonal Skills SWOT Analysis) I identified the following things as my interpersonal strengths; I am motivated to complete any tasks to the best of my abilities and in a timely manner, good at problem solving, a practical person and finally I am determined when I apply myself to a task.

Technical skills are more directly related to the development of a participants trust in their outdoor leaders than either graduate competencies or interpersonal skills (Humberstone et al, 2016). Often called hard skills technical skills are seen as more valuable to employers than the ‘soft’ skills Humberstone et al, 2016). My technical skills (Pleases see appendix 7.6- Technical Skills SWOT Analysis) are that I hold qualifications in archery, have a level 1 challenge course qualification and am a qualified Leave No Trace practitioner. As well as this I also hold competencies in many different sports and disciplines of outdoor adventure education.

The SWOT analysis’s that I completed for all of the three personal attributes identified these things as my weakness’. I only have direct experience working and operating within my degree area, outdoor adventure education, and therefore do not have much understanding of the wider issues outside of my degree area; also, I lack confidence in myself and have poor stress management skills. As well as this, I have a tendency to misunderstand people’s meanings when talking to people both in person or in writing. This effects my ability to communicate effectively as I often misread a situation meant in jest or do not realise the seriousness.

APIOL Benchmarks

For some people becoming a professional in the field of outdoor adventure education means gaining an accreditation with the instate for outdoor learning. After having evaluated my own skill sets and worked out a viable career plan I believe that I would find it useful in the future to become an accredited APIOL practitioner which stands for accredited practitioner with the institute for outdoor learning. The criteria required to become a APIOL accredited practitioner (Pleases see appendix 7.7 for APIOL criteria) are aimed for those practitioners who have not only a passion for outdoor learning but also have experience planning, leading and evaluating programmes for all types of both individuals and groups (IOL, 2018).

APIOL Benchmarks are the standers to which accredited outdoor professionals hold themselves (Pleases see appendix 7.8 for table of APIOL Benchmarks). They are a recognition of a professional’s approach, values, ethics and experience with delivering outdoor learning programmes. The APIOL Benchmarks puts value on reflective practice and is a recognised as a source of continuing professional development (IOL, 2018). In regards to my own professional practice I have evaluated myself against the APIOL benchmarks below.

Benchmark	Evaluation	Reasoning
Knows what basic principles of outdoor learning and ethics guide them; why they do the things they do	Below Benchmark	I have an understanding of the basic principles off outdoor learning and am beginning to form my own strong ethical guidelines
Uses a flexible range of approaches and styles in facilitation and in work relationships	Below Benchmark	I have a basic understanding of how to do this but rarely put it in to practice
Takes an interest in the approaches to outdoor learning in their workplace, and the challenges the field is facing	At Benchmark	I enjoy educating both myself and others on current issues and know how to apply approaches to outdoor learning
Continuously reflects on and evaluates their own practice	At or Above Benchmark	I have spent three years learning and practicing both reflection and evacuation and do it almost without realising
Finds better ways to do their work, aiming to fix/improve the causes of situations, not just the symptoms	At or Above Benchmark	Have done this numerous time during employment. Implementing new procedures to fix issues
Knows how their outdoor practice has changed over the years, and what they are learning at present	Below Benchmark	I simply do not have enough experience
Puts something back into the outdoor field, inside or outside their workplace	Below Benchmark	I don’t understand what this statement is asking of me which suggests that I must be below benchmark in this area
Has worked in more than one context where they have had overall responsibility for groups and/or individuals	At Benchmark	I have experience with all kinds and ages of both groups and individuals however all were in extremely similar situations
Has led groups in challenging situations in the outdoors	Below Benchmark	Always worded in relatively controlled environments
Has had some responsibility for client liaison, needs analysis and programme and/or expedition design	At Benchmark	Has significant responsibility for curriculum or programme design
Has had responsibility for implementing programmes and/or expeditions and for carrying the can when they go wrong	Below Benchmark	Have always been successful so far
Has had some responsibility for the work of other staff	At or Above Benchmark	Have been in a position of management over staff
Has worked with a number of different client groups	At Benchmark	Need more experience with males

Figure 1: Personal Evaluation of APIOL Benchmark Standard

Referring back to Brown et al’s (2015) two pillars of professional practice; reflection and independent decision-making mirror the APIOL benchmarks; with the first page, all about reflection and the second focusing on independent decision-making. I believe that the APIOL Benchmarks are more accessible to graduates because we have spent three plus years practicing both our independent decision-making skills and both reflecting on our own practices and our peers as well as practicing writing reflection pieces.

Summary

In summary, I am not yet in the positon to become an accredited practitioner with the institute for outdoor learning but would be interested in achieving this accreditation in the future. Furthermore, as I am lacking in experience I would not yet identify myself as a professional. However, having said this I believe that in time I will become an outdoor professional; a place based, environmental educator. Through the use of strength, weakness, opportunities and threat analysis I have been able to evaluate my position with in the field of outdoor adventure education and discovered what type of outdoor practitioner I am and that I inspire to be. As well as this I have also been able to identify my future career path and discern both how to achieve this goal and the practical realities that come along with this goal.

References

 Al-Arak, M. (2013) SWOT Analysis Revisited Through PEAK-Framework. Journal of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems. Vol. 25, No. 1: 615-625.

Brown, H., Harris, I., & Porter, S. (2015). Professional accreditation in the UK outdoor sector. In Humberstone, B., Prince, H., & Henderson, K. A. (Eds.). Routledge International Handbook of Outdoor Studies, 178-188.

Carr, D. (2000). Professionalism and Ethics in Teaching. London: Routledge.

Coman, A. and Ronen, B. (2009) Focused SWOT: diagnosing critical strengths and weaknesses. International Journal of Production Research. Vol. 47, No. 20: 5677–5689.

Cole, M. (Ed.) (2007) Professional Attributes and Practice. (4th ed.) London: Routledge.

Cruess, S.R. & Cruess, R.L. (1997). Professionalism Must be Taught. British Medical Journal, 315, 1674–1677

Gerbrand, T. (2013) The Social Construction of Competition for Graduate Jobs: A Comparison between Great Britain and the Netherlands. Journal of Sociology. Vol. 47, No. 2: 267-283.

Henderson, K. and O’Connell, T.S. (2018) Resilience as Experienced by Environmental Educators. Coalition for Education in the Outdoors and Cornell University. Vol. 10, No. 1: 26-37.

Humberstone, B., Prince, H., & Henderson, K. A. (2016). Routledge International Handbook of Outdoor Studies. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

IOL. (2018) Institute of Outdoor Learning. [Online] Available from: https://www.outdoor-learning.org [Accessed 03 December 2018].

Leigh, R.J. (2006) Workers in the outdoor adventure sector – should they be considered part of a wider professional body of people? Horizons 49, 28–31.

Lloyd, A., Truong, S. and Gray, T. (2018) Place-Based Outdoor Learning: More than a Drag and Drop Approach. Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education. Vol. 21, No. 1: 45-60.

Martin, P & McCullagh, J (2011). Physical Education & Outdoor Education: Complementary but Discrete Disciplines, Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Physical Education, 2:1, 67-78.

Moon, J. A. (2013). Reflection in Learning and Professional Development: Theory and Practice. London: Routledge.

Muir, J. (1901, 2006) Our National Parks, 2^ndEd, New York: Cosmo Classics

Pavord, E. and Donnelly, E. (2015) Communication and Interpersonal Skills. (2nd ed.) Banbury: Lantern Publishing.

Roberts, J.W. (2018) Re-Placing Outdoor Education: Diversity, Inclusion, and the Microadventures of the Everyday. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership. Vol. 10, No. 1: 20-32.

Tan, M.S.Y. and Atencio, M. (2016) Unpacking a place-based approach – “What lies beyond?” Insights Drawn from Teachers’ Perceptions of Outdoor Education. Teaching and Teacher Education. Vol. 56, No. 1: 25-34.

Teijeiro, M., Rungo, P. and Freire, M.J. (2013) Graduate Competencies and Employability: The Impact of Matching Firms’ Needs and Personal Atainments. Economics of Education Review. Vol. 34, No. 1: 286-295.

 Appendix

 Camp Director Job Description

The Camp Director is responsible for the administration and coordination of camp operations and logistics and business operations including purchasing, personnel record keeping, customer service, financial records, and transportation. This person should have administrative and supervisory experience in organized camps. Further the mission of the camp through the planning and delivery of program and unit activities and events. Oversee responsibilities for program, units or operations as assigned. Assist the Associate Camp Director with management of camp operations.

Knowledge of Girl Scout program desired. Promote high standards in all aspects of the camp program. Serve as a role model to campers and staff by your actions, appearance, manners, language, and general conduct. Participate enthusiastically in all camp activities, planning and leading those as assigned. Directly supervises Health Supervisor, Ropes Course Supervisor, Aquatics Supervisor, and Program Specialists (not Wranglers).

Must be 21, with a valid driver’s license, and willing to drive company vehicles (transport children, staff, luggage, shopping trips, etc).

 Outdoor Program Manger Job Description

 Job Opening

Program Manager – Outdoors

Work with the Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails to launch and support exciting outdoor-based programs throughout two thirds of the state of New Mexico. This is a part-time position that requires someone who:

-Understands how to plan and implement high quality programs for children that cover a variety of outdoor experiences including but not limited to:

• Hiking, Mountaineering, Rock Climbing, Trail Running, Trekking etc.
• Wilderness Camping
• Environmental Stewardship
• High Adventure Outdoor Experiences
• Outdoor Skills and Badge work
• Recruit and deploy Outdoor Core Champions

-Can establish and maintain key partnerships in the community to support the creation and delivery of programs.  Maintain a partnership with the State Parks.

-Has experience developing and fulfilling general program deliverables.

Qualifications

• Experience working in youth development and diverse communities.
• Experience in grant management.
• Budget management experience.
• Good public speaking and communication skills.
• Experience through careers and/or degree programs in Outdoor-related fields.
• Experience in volunteer management including delegation, recruitment, supervision, planning, evaluation and conflict management.
• Proven ability to identify and utilize community resources.
• Experience developing a strategic plan of work.
• Ability to be flexible with travel, as assigned.
• Ability to work independently and to manage multiple tasks.
• Proficiency with MS Outlook and e-mail, MS Word, Excel, Publisher, Skype, Facebook, Google Docs, and other software programs as needed.

Willingness to support the mission and goals of Girl Scouts. (Visit http://nmgirlscouts.orgfor more details.)

• Ability to work evenings and weekends as needed. The workweek may be Tuesday-Saturday.
• Registered Girl Scout member of GSUSA
• Must be 18 years old and complete a GSNMT Staff Application/Background Check.
• Must have a valid driver’s license and access to an insured and operational vehicle.
• Ability to travel for long distances on potentially uneven terrain.
• Ability to lift a minimum of 50 pounds without assistance.

Responsibilities:

1. On-site and off-site program administration (outdoor and General program delivery).
2. Program facilitation as needed – includes afterschool programs, series, and day camps.
3. Kit development and management for Troop Leaders.
4. Program preparation and implementation (family nights, outdoor Saturdays).
5. Support State Parks partnership.
6. Training for Girl Scout specific curricula and programs will be provided.
7. Complete other duties as assigned.

 SWOT Analysis of Future Career Plan

Strengths

• Have a degree in Outdoor Adventure Education
• Experienced the job
• Shadowed current person in the position
• Worked way up though company
• Relevant qualifications
• Professional contacts

Weaknesses

• Cultural differences
• Homesickness
• Isolated location

Opportunities

• Been offered jobs within this company
• Bosses already know me
• Bosses already know my abilities / work ethic

Threats

• Job is in USA
• Issues surrounding Visa’s, living situations etc.
• I’m not American
• Requires complete relocation

SWOT Analysis of Graduate Competencies

Strengths

• Have a degree in Outdoor Adventure Education
• Teamwork
• Decision making
• Communication
• Leadership
• Problem solving

Weaknesses

• Dyspraxia
• Dyslexia
• Less hands-on job experience

Opportunities

• Jobs in management
• Marjon graduate support
• Networking

Threats

• Peers have more hands-on / direct experience
• Only have experience in degree area

 

 SWOT Analysis of Interpersonal Skills

Strengths

• Motivated
• Good at problem solving
• Practical
• Determined
• Have a degree in Outdoor Adventure Education

Weaknesses

• Stress Management
• Clumsiness
• Spelling

Opportunities

• Open to learning

Threats

• Injuries
• Tendency to misinterpret people’s meanings

 

 SWOT Analysis of Technical Skills

Strengths

• Qualified Leave No Trace practitioner
• Challenge course level 1 qualification
• Archery qualification
• Power boat level 2 qualification
• Competent, practiced and knowledgably at:
  • Swimming
  • Skiing
  • Canoeing
  • Kayaking
  • Climbing
  • Outdoor skills (i.e. fire building, shelter building, knife skills etc.)

Weaknesses

• Need to gain more qualifications
• USA and UK qualifications are not compatible

Opportunities

• Mountain Leader Training
• Work in Outdoor Adventure Education field
• More likely to be hired by a centre or company such as PGL
• More likely to be hired in a managerial role

Threats

• Fear of injury
• Peers having more experience / actual qualifications

 APIOL Benchmarks and Criteria

APIOL Benchmarks Table-1f0d8lf

APIOL Criteria -1883sq9