8p.; In: Outdoor Education and Experiential Learning in the

A study examined personal and professional development experienced by women youth workers participating in five 5-day, residential, single-sex, outdoor education courses in England. Analysis of diaries and poetry at the end of the courses and questionnaires completed 1 year later by participants and their managers yielded findings in the areas of constraints on the participation of women in outdoor activities, individual learning from the outdoor experience, and benefits to the women's work in the youth service. Constraints on women's participation in outdoor activities included the need to service the maintenance and leisure needs of others, blind prejudice, dominant attitudes about respectability, financial considerations, fear of the unknown, concerns about their physical fitness, and for some, the all-women environment. Positive outcomes in the area of individual learning included the opportunity to step down from the role of mother and be oneself, the development of confidence in physical skills, the development of new strengths, and the opportunity to reassess life paths. Benefits to the women's work in the youth service included increased knowledge about group processes, role changing, and leadership roles, and an increase in confidence, motivation, and environmental awareness. It was important to value the knowledge, skills, and experience that the women brought to the group. A more flexible approach to the processes of outdoor education courses might increase their accessibility to women. (TD