The impact of an adventure education model on psycholosocial satisfaction and academic confidence in university students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v74.116877Keywords:
Adventure education, Physical activity in natural environments, Academic confidence , Academic variablesAbstract
Introduction: Adventure Education (AE) is an innovative pedagogical strategy that integrates physical activity, personal challenges, and social experiences in non-traditional contexts. Although its benefits are documented, evidence in higher education remains scarce, particularly regarding psychosocial well-being and academic confidence.
Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the AE Model on university students’ psychosocial well-being and academic confidence by comparing pre- and post-intervention changes.
Methodology: A quasi-experimental design was applied with 92 second-year students of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (21 women and 71 men, aged 19–30). The AE program lasted three days and two nights and included outdoor activities, active tourism, and adventure sports. Data were analyzed using regression, correlation, and paired-sample tests.
Results: Findings revealed significant improvements in satisfaction (p < 0.001), while no effects were found on pessimism (p = 0.106). Correlations showed relevant associations with satisfaction, frustration, and life satisfaction (r = 0.00, p < 0.001).
Discussion: The results support the effectiveness of AE as an educational tool to enhance psychosocial well-being and academic confidence. Nevertheless, the lack of significant effects on pessimism highlights the need to further explore emotional variables that may moderate the outcomes of such interventions.
Conclusions: AE proved to be an effective strategy to improve students’ psychosocial well-being and academic confidence, underscoring the importance of promoting psychological and emotional factors in higher education to foster satisfaction and overall well-being.
References
Abulfaraj, M., Upsher, R., Zavos, H., & Dommett, E. (2024). The impact of resilience interventions on university students’ mental health and well-being: A systematic review. Education Sciences, 14(5), 510. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14050510
Achi, S. S. J., Villao, M. L. S., Díaz, K. E. M., Benavides, M. A. R., Litardo, C. I. M., y Barberán, G. E. V. (2024). El impacto de la inteligencia emocional en el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes de educación básica. South Florida Journal of Development, 5(11), e4612. https://doi.org/10.46932/sfjdv5n11-013
Antunes, I., Serpa, S., y Carita, I. (1999). Liderazgo y satisfacción en la educación física. Revista de Psi-cología del Deporte, 8(1), 0147-162.
Atienza, F. L., Pons, D., Balaguer, I., y García-Merita, M. (2000). Psychometric properties of the Satisfac-tion with Life Scale in adolescents. Psicothema, 12(Supl. 2), 314–319.
Baena-Extremera, A. (2011). Programas didácticos para Educación Física a través de la Educación de Aventura. Espiral. Cuadernos del Profesorado, 4(7), 3–13.
Baena-Extremera, A., y González-Melero, E. (2024). Beneficios psicológicos, cognitivos, fisiológicos y académicos que aportan las actividades físicas en el medio natural: Revisión bibliográfica. EmásF: Revista Digital de Educación Física, 15(86), 3–44.
Baena-Extremera, A., y Granero-Gallegos, A. (2013). Efecto de un programa de educación de aventura en la orientación al aprendizaje, satisfacción y autoconcepto en secundaria. Revista Iberoame-ricana de Diagnóstico y Evaluación Psicológica, 2(36), 16–22.
Baena-Extremera, A., Granero-Gallegos, A., y Ortiz-Camacho, M. M. (2012). Quasi-experimental study of the effect of an adventure education programme on classroom satisfaction, physical self-concept and social goals in physical education. Psychological Belgica, 52(4), 368–386. https://doi.org/1.5334/pb-52-4-369
Bagdžiūnienė, D., Žukauskaitė, R., & Bulotaitė, L. (2025). Study and personal resources of university students academic resilience and the relationship with positive psychological outcomes. Fron-tiers in Psychology, 16, 1517359. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1517359
Bandura, A. (2006). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W. H. Freeman and Company.
Bandura, A. (2012). On the functional properties of perceived self-efficacy revisited. Journal of Man-agement, 38(1), 9–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311410606
Botella, A. M., & Ramos, P. (2019). La teoría de la autodeterminación: Un marco motivacional para el aprendizaje basado en proyectos. Contextos Educativos: Revista de Educación, 24, 253–269.
Bracho-Amador, C. M., Granero-Gallegos, A., Baena-Extremera, A., y López-García, G. D. (2023). The effect of the motivational climate on satisfaction with physical education in secondary school education: Mediation of teacher strategies in maintaining discipline. Behavioral Sciences, 13(2), 178. https://doi.org/1.3390/bs13020178
Brown, M. (2008). Outdoor education: Opportunities provided by a place-based approach. New Zea-land Journal of Outdoor Education, 2(3), 7–25. https://hdl.handle.net/10289/4423
Cano-García, F. J., Sanduvete-Chaves, S., Chacón-Moscoso, S., Rodríguez-Franco, L., García-Martínez, J., Antuña-Bellerín, M. A., y Pérez-Gil, J. A. (2015). Factor structure of the revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R): A validation study in Spain. Personality and Individual Differences, 85, 155–160
Chawla, L. (2020). Childhood nature connection and constructive hope: A review of research on con-necting with nature and coping with environmental loss. People and Nature, 2(3), 619–642. https://doi.org/1.1002/pan3.10128
Chen, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Beyers, W., Boone, L., Deci, E. L., Duriez, B., Lens, W., Matos, L., Mouratidis, A., Ryan, R. M., Sheldon, K. M., Soenens, B., Van Petegem, S., Van der Kaap-Deeder, J., y Verstuyf, J. (2015). Basic psychological need satisfaction, need frustration, and need strength across four cultures. Motivation and Emotion, 39(2), 216-236. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-014-9450-1
Deci, E. L., y Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Springer. https://doi.org/1.1007/978-1-4899-2271-7
Diener, E., Oishi, S., y Tay, L. (2018). Advances in subjective well-being research. Nature Human Be-haviour, 2(4), 253–26. https://doi.org/1.1038/s41562-018-0307-6
Escartí, A., Gutiérrez, M., Pascual, C., y Marín, D. (2010). Applying the personal and social responsibility model based on teaching strategies in physical education. Journal of Teaching in Physical Edu-cation, 29(1), 85–98. https://doi.org/1.1123/jtpe.29.1.85
Fernández-Baños, R. (2020). Intención de práctica, satisfacción con la educación física y con la vida en función del género en estudiantes mexicanos y españoles. Retos, 37, 412–418. https://doi.org/1.47197/retos.v37i37.73019
González-Melero, E., Baena-Extremera, A., y Baños, R. (2023). Situación actual en España de la activi-dad física en el medio natural en educación física. Apunts. Educación Física y Deportes, 153, 9–26. https://doi.org/1.5672/apunts.2014-0983.es.(2023/3).153.02
González-Melero, E., Granero-Gallegos, A., y Baena-Extremera, A. (2024). Los modelos educativos de educación de aventura desde la perspectiva docente española. Revista Fuentes, 26(3), 251–266. https://doi.org/1.12795/revistafuentes.2024.21940
Granero-Gallegos, A., Baena-Extremera, A., Escaravajal, J. C., y Baños, R. (2021). Validation of the Aca-demic Self-Concept Scale in the Spanish university context. Education Sciences, 11(10), 653. https://doi.org/1.3390/educsci11100653
Granero-Gallegos, A., Baena-Extremera, A., Ortiz-Camacho, M. D. M., y Burgueño, R. (2024). Influence of empowering and disempowering motivational climates on academic self-concept amongst STEM, social studies, language, and physical education pre-service teachers: A test of basic psychological needs. Educational Review, 76(7), 2020–2042. https://doi.org/1.1080/00131911.2023.2179164
Neill, J. T., y Dias, K. L. (2001). Adventure education and resilience: The double-edged sword. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 1(2), 35–42. https://doi.org/1.1080/14729670185200061
Hoffmann, T. C., Glasziou, P. P., Boutron, I., Milne, R., Perera, R., Moher, D., Altman, D. G., Barbour, V., Macdonald, H., Johnston, M., Kadoorie, S. E. L., Dixon-Woods, M., McCulloch, P., Wyatt, J. C., Chan, A.-W., & Michie, S. (2014). Better reporting of interventions: Template for intervention description and replication (TIDieR) checklist and guide. BMJ, 348, g1687. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g1687
Iznaola, M. B., y Gabriel, J. (2008). La satisfacción del profesor de educación física. Educación Física y Deporte, 27(2), 27–35.
Kuo, M., Browning, M. H. E. M., Sachdeva, S., Lee, K., y Westphal, L. (2019). Might school performance grow on trees? Examining the link between “greenness” and academic achievement in urban high schools. Frontiers in Psychology, 1. 1669. https://doi.org/1.3389/fpsyg.2019.01669
Louv, R. (2008). Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder. Algonquin Books.
Mann, J., Gray, T., y Truong, S. (2022). Rediscovering the potential of outdoor learning for developing 21st century competencies. En High-quality outdoor learning (pp. 211–229). Springer. https://doi.org/1.1007/978-3-031-04108-2_12
Notario-Pacheco, B., Solera-Martínez, M., Serrano-Parra, M. D., Bartolomé-Gutiérrez, R., García-Campayo, J., y Martínez-Vizcaíno, V. (2011). Reliability and validity of the Spanish version of the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (10-item CD-RISC) in young adults. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 9, 63. https://doi.org/1.1186/1477-7525-9-63
Nowland, L. A. (2024). Exploring physical educators’ self-efficacy to teach students with disabilities in general physical education. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 41(2), 247–267. https://doi.org/1.1123/apaq.2023-0112
Palenzuela, D. L. (1983). Construcción y validación de una escala de autoeficacia percibida específica de situaciones académicas. Análisis y Modificación de Conducta, 9(21), 185–219.
Papalia, D. E., Martorell, G., y Feldman, R. D. (2022). Desarrollo humano (14.ª ed.). McGraw-Hill Educa-tion.
Puertas-Molero, P., González-Valero, G., y Sánchez-Zafra, M. (2017). Influencia de la práctica físico-deportiva sobre la inteligencia emocional de los estudiantes: Una revisión sistemática. ESHPA: Education, Sport, Health and Physical Activity, 1(1), 10–24. http://hdl.handle.net/10481/48957
Retete-Ochoa, M. C., y Heredia-León, D. A. (2024). Incidencia del modelo aventura sobre las necesida-des psicológicas básicas y satisfacción deportiva en educación física. Revista Polo del Conoci-miento, 9(1), 347–359. https://doi.org/1.23857/pc.v9i1.6381
Rodríguez-Medellín, R., Zamarripa, J., Otero-Saborido, F., Baños, R., Marentes-Castillo, M., y Morque-cho-Sánchez, R. (2022). Validación mexicana del compromiso y disafección en la escala de educación física. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(23), 15862. https://doi.org/1.3390/ijerph192315862
Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). La vida que florece: Una nueva concepción visionaria de la felicidad y el bie-nestar. Ediciones B.
Tillmann, S., Clark, A. F., Gilliland, J. A., y Irwin, J. D. (2018). Children and nature: Linking accessibility of natural environments and children’s health-related quality of life. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(6), 1072. https://doi.org/1.3390/ijerph15061072
Tipismana, O. (2019). Factores de resiliencia y afrontamiento como predictores del rendimiento aca-démico de los estudiantes en universidades privadas. REICE. Revista Iberoamericana sobre Ca-lidad, Eficacia y Cambio en Educación, 17(2). https://doi.org/1.15366/reice2019.17.2.008
Vargas, B. A. (2023). Introducción al análisis cualitativo comparado (QCA): Conceptos, implementación y aplicaciones en América Latina. Estudios Políticos, 58, 233–259. https://doi.org/1.22201/fcpys.24484903e.2023.58.84841
Vega Rojas, M. R., Arroyo Resino, D., y Ulloa Guerra, O. (2024). Estrategias de aprendizaje y su impacto académico en estudiantes de educación superior: Revisión sistematizada 2016-2023. Ciencia Latina Revista Científica Multidisciplinar, 8(1), 663–689. https://doi.org/1.37811/cl_rcm.v8i1.9451
Zheng, S., Ji, X., Cheng, L., Xu, J., y Cronin, L. D. (2023). Perceptions of the motivational climate, basic psychological needs, and life skills development in Chinese physical education students. Fron-tiers in Psychology, 14, 1232849. https://doi.org/1.3389/fpsyg.2023.1232849
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Jose Javier Horno-Tomé, Antonio Baena-Extremera, Cayetano Medina-Molina, Julio Fuentesal-García
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and ensure the magazine the right to be the first publication of the work as licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of authorship of the work and the initial publication in this magazine.
- Authors can establish separate additional agreements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal (eg, to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Is allowed and authors are encouraged to disseminate their work electronically (eg, in institutional repositories or on their own website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as to a subpoena more Early and more of published work (See The Effect of Open Access) (in English).
This journal provides immediate open access to its content (BOAI, http://legacy.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/boaifaq.htm#openaccess) on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. The authors may download the papers from the journal website, or will be provided with the PDF version of the article via e-mail.
