Foreword

vii Foreword Research in Outdoor Education (ROE), the official journal of the Coalition for Education in the Outdoors, is a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal seeking to support and further outdoor education and its goals, including personal growth and moral development, team building and cooperation, outdoor knowledge and skill development, environmental awareness, education and enrichment, and research that directly supports systematic assessment and/ or evidence-based advances in outdoor education. The journal is intended to appeal to researchers, practitioners, teachers, and post-secondary students through the exploration and discussion of diverse perspectives on the theoretical , empirical, and practical aspects of outdoor education in its broadest sense. Research in Outdoor Education aims to: 1. Improve the understanding of outdoor education through the critical examination of issues, trends, practices and conceptualizations of outdoor education in contemporary society. 2. Disseminate and unite current outdoor education research and theories and their implications and applications for practice in a wide range of contexts . 3. Offer a medium through which practitioners, researchers, and students can exchange and debate ideas and research. 4. Complement the existing body of knowledge related to outdoor education. The Coalition for Education in the Outdoors is a nonprofit network of outdoor and environmental education centers, nature centers, conservation and recreation organizations, outdoor education and experiential education associations , institutions of higher learning, public and private schools, fish and wildlife agencies, and businesses that share a mission: the support and furtherance of outdoor education and its goals. Founders believed the Coalition would fill a need in the outdoor education community for an organization that “would unite outdoor associations, institutions, businesses, and agencies to better serve both professionals and consumers in the outdoors.” Beginning with this 2015 issue (volume 13), Dr. Tim O’Connell and Dr. Garrett Hutson from Brock University have assumed the role of co-editors of ROE. We, and the Coalition for Education in the Outdoors Research Committee , wish to extend a heartfelt thank you to past editor, Alan Ewert, and assistant editor, Yun Chang for their leadership and strengthening of the journal. Due to their efforts and vision, ROE continues to publish high-quality research viii studies related to education in the out-of-doors. We also wish to extend a thank you to Sagamore Publishing for its continued support, development, and refinement of ROE. Volume 13 contains four articles for your reading and thinking enjoyment. The issue starts with a paper from past ROE editor, Alan Ewert, titled “The Use of Biomarkers in Outdoor Education Research: Promises, Challenges, and the Development of Evidence.” This paper argues that biomarkers such as cortisol may be another important type of data that can broaden outdoor education research. The second paper by Jeremy Jostad, Jim Sibthorp, Mandy Pohja, and John Gookin is titled “The Adolescent Social Group in Outdoor Adventure Education: Social Connections That Matter.” This paper investigates how students from 22 different National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) courses connected socially with their groups as well as what factors influence those connections. The third paper, by Tracy Mainieri and Denise Anderson, is titled “‘There Was More Out There than Our Street’: Exploring Summer Camp Programming as a Context to Foster Social Capital and Civic Engagement after Camp.” This paper explores the connections between camp programming and its potential to foster social capital and civic engagement in campers’ home communities. The final paper in this issue by Barry Garst, Sarah Baughman, Anja Whittington, and Ryan Gagnon is titled “Influences of Resident Camp Experiences on Career Choice: A Case Study of Female Alumnae.” This paper explores the long-term impacts of camp experiences on the future career paths of women. The quality of the aforementioned papers is directly due to the commitment and rigor of both the authors and the anonymous reviewers of the papers featured within this issue. We are actively exploring ways to increase the exposure of ROE. We ask that all of those associated with the Coalition for Education in the Outdoors continue to get the word out about ROE to potential authors and reviewers, especially to those who have not submitted a paper or served as reviewers in the past. In closing, we are grateful for the opportunity to sustain and hopefully expand...