A critical look at adventure education programs

Programs based on Adventure Education models are increasingly applied in schools, thanks, among other reasons, to the inclusion of physical activity in the natural environment as a mandatory part of the current educational legislation. The scientific literature has demonstrated over the years the wide range of benefits that these educational models offer to students on a personal, social, health and habit of staying active, among others. For a better application of this model, it is necessary to know the various programs that exist and that use "adventure" to educate and thus select the most appropriate for the group with which we work, the space available and the possibilities it offers. Therefore, the aim of this study has been to analyze and compare the characteristics of the best known and most widely used Adventure Education models in the international panorama, highlighting those most used in Spain. For the elaboration of this work, the models approached were outdoor adventure education, adventure learning, experiential learning, challenge rope courses, adventure pedagogy and adventure education. After an analysis of each of these educational models, it is concluded the importance and necessity of knowing how to apply each of these models, as well as the benefits they produce in a differentiated way, for a correct educational application.