Young people and organised outdoor activities: a study of opportunities in national parks
type: CreativeWork
description: This thesis examines young people's opportunities to participate in organised outdoor activities. It is set within a context of changing leisure interests, a growth in private sector leisure provision, and increasing emphasis on consumer choice. It argues that whilst, in principle, there is widespread support for young people's participation in outdoor activities, in practice, opportunities are becoming increasingly limited. The study aims to examine the nature of outdoor facilities, to determine their use by young people, to identify changes occurring within the outdoor sector, and to consider the changes in relation to young people's access to the outdoors. The empirical research focuses~ on outdoor activity centres, in acknowledgement that the residential experience offered by such centres can contribute to the social and personal development of young people. It also focuses on the National Parks of England and Wales. These areas possess a wealth of natural resources suitable for a wide range of outdoor activities and, collectively, contain the highest number of outdoor centres in the UK. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection, including a questionnaire survey of outdoor centres, interviews with centre operators, and a review of National Park policies, has been used to build up a picture of centre operations, visitor profiles, and the nature of outdoor programmes. The study findings suggest that a number of factors influence young people's opportunities to participate in outdoor activities. These include centre ownership, safety and educational reforms, planning and environmental policies, and young people's leisure behaviour. Recent years have seen a significant growth in privately owned centres and an associated rise in skills-based activities and non-sporting special interest holidays. These programmes have been largely directed at the adult market. There are few indications that this pattern is about to change. Regulation of …
abstract: This thesis examines young people's opportunities to participate in organised outdoor activities. It is set within a context of changing leisure interests, a growth in private sector leisure provision, and increasing emphasis on consumer choice. It argues that whilst, in principle, there is widespread support for young people's participation in outdoor activities, in practice, opportunities are becoming increasingly limited. The study aims to examine the nature of outdoor facilities, to determine their use by young people, to identify changes occurring within the outdoor sector, and to consider the changes in relation to young people's access to the outdoors. The empirical research focuses~ on outdoor activity centres, in acknowledgement that the residential experience offered by such centres can contribute to the social and personal development of young people. It also focuses on the National Parks of England and Wales. These areas possess a wealth of natural resources suitable for a wide range of outdoor activities and, collectively, contain the highest number of outdoor centres in the UK. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection, including a questionnaire survey of outdoor centres, interviews with centre operators, and a review of National Park policies, has been used to build up a picture of centre operations, visitor profiles, and the nature of outdoor programmes. The study findings suggest that a number of factors influence young people's opportunities to participate in outdoor activities. These include centre ownership, safety and educational reforms, planning and environmental policies, and young people's leisure behaviour. Recent years have seen a significant growth in privately owned centres and an associated rise in skills-based activities and non-sporting special interest holidays. These programmes have been largely directed at the adult market. There are few indications that this pattern is about to change. Regulation of …
author: Houghton, Helen L.
language: en
date published: 1998
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:44:28Z
provider: Oxford Brookes University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Oxford Brookes University