Perceived long-term influence of youth expeditions ❔

💥 Problem Statement:
Perceived long-lasting influence on life of people who participated on a BES expedition 30 or more years ago

British Exploring Society (BES or BSES) 🗺

Previous Research

😃 Modern British Youth Expeditions

Lord Robert Baden-Powell: Scouts

George Murray Levick: British Exploring Society

Kurt Hahn: Outward Bound

Daniel (2003)

Gassner (2006)

Takano (2010)

Asfeldt and Hvenegaard (2013)

Marshall (2016)

Sibthorp et al. (2008)

🚩 Gaps

Lack of Long-Term Studies

Excessive Focus on Outcomes over Processes

Lack of Robust Theoretical Models

Research questions ❓

Do young explorers perceive an influence of the expedition on their lives 30+ years later?

What kind of influences do they report?

What elements of the expedition experience do participants report as influential in their lives?

UK based Charity

Youth development

Organizes expeditions to remote places with a scientific aim

Founded on 1932 by Murray Levick

Data Collection

Phase 2:
Semi structured interviews

17 face-to-face
1 by Zoom

30+ years of retrospection

19 past participants 👥

✏ Trustworthiness and Reliability

Prolonged time in the field

Triangulation

Thick descriptions

Members check-in

Peer Debriefing

Ethical Considerations

Approve IRB

Privacy of BES members

👓 Data Analysis

Thematic Analysis

Retrospective study

Significant Life Experience Literature

Inductive

Purpose ❤

⭐To understand the perceived long-term influence on life and the elements that contributed to it, for people who participated in a British Exploring Society expedition for the first time 30 or more years ago ⭐

Phase 1:
Online survey sent to all BES members

Interpretive/constructive paradigm

Limitations in autobiographical memory

Rhetoric OAE programs are “life-changing” experiences ⚡

Evidence is scarse 🔍