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Changes in latitude, changes in
attitude: analysis of the effects
of reverse culture shock – a study
of students returning from youth
expeditions
Peter Allison a , Jennifer Davis-Berman b & Dene Berman c
a Institute for Sport, Physical Education and Health Sciences
at The Moray House School of Education, The University of
Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland
b Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work at the
University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, USA
c School of Professional Psychology, Wright State University,
Dayton, OH, USA
Available online: 19 Oct 2011
To cite this article: Peter Allison, Jennifer Davis-Berman & Dene Berman (2011): Changes in
latitude, changes in attitude: analysis of the effects of reverse culture shock – a study of students
returning from youth expeditions, Leisure Studies, DOI:10.1080/02614367.2011.619011
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2011.619011
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Downloaded by [Dr Pete Allison] at 11:35 24 October 2011
Changes in latitude, changes in attitude: analysis of the effects of
reverse culture shock –a study of students returning from youth
expeditions
Peter Allison
a
*, Jennifer Davis-Berman
b
and Dene Berman
c
a
Institute for Sport, Physical Education and Health Sciences at The Moray House School of
Education, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland;
b
Department of Sociology,
Anthropology, and Social Work at the University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, USA;
c
School of
Professional Psychology, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, USA
(Received 15 February 2011; final version received 28 August 2011)
Despite the long history of youth expeditions and a growing number of partici-
pants and claims of being concerned with ‘youth development’, expeditions
have received little attention by leisure and/or educational researchers in the
UK. Recent literature specifically examining expeditions in the UK demonstrates
an increasing interest in this phenomenon that sits on the juncture of education
and leisure. There has been some critique regarding lack of clarity of recrea-
tional or educational aims and ethical issues. Literature from travel and tourism,
management learning and international education all indicate that culture shock
and reverse culture shock (RCS) are experienced in a range of contexts. These
two literatures are summarised and inform the present research. This research
focused on gaining an initial understanding of young people’s experiences of
returning home after an expedition. Data were gathered six months after a
six-week expedition (n= 19) to south-west Greenland to undertake science and
journeys on the ice cap. Using a qualitative approach to analyse these data the
following themes were identified as affecting the participants’expedition reverse
culture shock (ERCS): Sense of Isolation, Extending the Lessons of the Group
and Using the Group as a Compass for the Future. Connections are made to lit-
erature on RCS and some suggestions made for facilitating ERCS. Other impli-
cations are considered.
Keywords: expedition; reverse culture shock; wilderness; residential; adjustment
Introduction
Expeditions have been used in the UK as an educational tool since 1932 when the
Public Schools Exploring Society (later renamed British Schools Exploring Society,
BSES) ran their first expedition to Finland (Allison, 2000; Allison, Stott, Felter, &
Beames, 2011; Stott & Hall, 2003). Recent literature specifically examining expedi-
tions in the UK demonstrates an increasing interest in this phenomenon (Loynes,
2008). Many expedition providers now consider themselves to be engaged in youth
work using expeditions as the medium. The aims of such expedition providers are
typically expressed in terms of youth development, growth and learning but some
*Corresponding author. Email: peter.allison@ed.ac.uk
Leisure StudiesAquatic Insects
iFirst article, 2011, 1–17
ISSN 0261-4367 print/ISSN 1466-4496 online
Ó2011 Taylor & Francis
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2011.619011
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Downloaded by [Dr Pete Allison] at 11:35 24 October 2011
critique in recent years suggests that these are recreational experiences dressed up
as education (Allison & Beames, 2010). Furthermore, such experiences typically
take place outside the formal education system and yet are often presented in a nor-
mative fashion as being somehow more than leisure or adventure travel.
It appears that the popularity of expeditions and gap years (taking a year off
either between school and work or university or after finishing university and prior
to seeking employment) is increasing. While gap years and expeditions are slightly
different, the former often incorporates the latter. Jones (2004) estimated that
250,000–350,000 Britons between 16 and 25 years old were taking a gap year annu-
ally. The Geography Outdoors Fieldwork and Expeditions section (formerly Expedi-
tion Advisory Centre) of the Royal Geographical Society lists 135 organisations
currently recruiting expedition members (Royal Geographical Society, 2009).
The popularity of gap year experiences is illustrated by the recent launch of the
Gap Year Tool Kit by the Royal Geographical Society (2010) and by the emergence
of an insurance company which specifically focuses on this market, Mind the Gap
Year (2008):
... understand the importance of making sure you get the most out of your travelling
experience. That’s why we have created our package of Gap Year and Backpacker
insurance and services to ensure hassle free travel for you, and peace of mind for your
family.
The field of overseas expeditions in the UK is now guided by the British Stan-
dard 8848 (BS8848) which provides guidelines for organisations and individuals
offering expeditions and field trips outside the UK. There is no widely agreed defi-
nition of an expedition but for the purposes of this paper we define them as experi-
ences that involve physical journeys (e.g. walking, sailing), have some degree of
uncertainty involved (e.g. of destination) and some self-sufficiency (e.g. carrying
personal equipment and food supplies). In addition, youth expeditions typically take
place in locations that are different from the young people’s own environment or
culture (e.g. urban to wilderness, developed country to developing country). While
historically many expedition opportunities have been restricted to those who can
pay, this has changed in recent years with the introduction of numerous bursary
schemes, and similar, to ensure that finances are not a barrier to accessing opportu-
nities (Allison & Beames, 2010).
Such travel and overseas experience, particularly involving some form of out-
door education, is normally seen by young people, parents, university admissions
tutors and employers as in some way beneficial to a young person’s development.
However, there is a surprising absence of literature to support such beliefs. Outdoor
Experiential Learning (OEL) research has, in the UK, received increasing criticism
for being generally weak (Allison, 2000, 2007; Barret & Greenaway, 1995). More
recently Thomas, Potter, and Allison (2009, p. 24) summarised this issue saying
that ‘... previous criticisms have suggested that the literature in the fields of out-
door education, experiential learning and adventure education is fragmented, dispa-
rate, weak, easily criticised and in need of alternative approaches’. Despite the long
history and the growing number of participants, expeditions have received little
attention by recreation and/or educational researchers in the UK.
The current study has taken an emic (or inductive) approach, focusing on indi-
viduals’experiences as recommended in several studies (Barret & Greenaway,
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1995; Donnison, 2000; McIntyre & Roggenbuck, 1998; Patterson, Watson,
Williams, & Roggenbuck, 1998).
Summary of expeditions literature
While there has been extensive research into the personal gains achieved through
participation in adventure education, outward bound programmes, outdoor recrea-
tion and wilderness therapy experiences (e.g. Barret & Greenaway, 1995; Davis-
Berman & Berman, 2008; Hattie, Marsh, Neill, & Richards, 1997; Russell, 2007;
Wurdinger, 1997), a relatively small amount of research into personal, social and
educational gains of UK-sponsored youth overseas expeditions has been conducted.
It is useful to briefly examine some of the work in this area.
Kennedy (1992) studied Saharan expeditions from a socially deprived area of
inner city Liverpool. Taking a psychosocial perspective, he conducted mixed
method research and concluded that expedition experiences could contribute to indi-
vidual members, the school, communities and to the nation in positive ways. While
he did not specify what these ‘positive ways’were, our reading suggests he was
referring to moral understandings and behaviour.
Allison and Higgins (2002) suggested ways for the field to self-regulate and
ensure quality experiences for young people within a framework of safety manage-
ment. Their philosophical exploration regarding youth expeditions raised a collec-
tion of questions and dilemmas including cultural insensitivities, educative
potentials of such experiences, use of drugs to assist in the process of acclimatisa-
tion, fiscal strains placed on families and communities to pay for expeditions, gen-
der leadership balances, risk management and pedagogy.
Stott and Hall (2003) conducted a quasi-experimental study of an expedition to
Greenland in 1998 involving science and adventure, measuring self-reported
changes in personal, social and technical skills. Results of the study indicated sig-
nificant pre–post changes in 22 of the 49 domains identified. Examples of domains
of significant changes include setting priorities, achieving goals, solving problems
efficiently, being enthusiastic and leading through consultation with others.
Beames reported on a qualitative study of a three-month expedition to Ghana
involving community work and adventurous activities. In the first of two articles
based on this study, Beames (2004a) argued that expeditions may be providing a
‘rite of passage’for young people making transitions from adolescence to young
adulthood moving away from home to begin employment or university study. In
the second article, Beames (2004b) identified five ‘critical elements’to the success
and power of the expedition: (1) social environment, (2) diverse group of people,
(3) physical demands, (4) self-sufficient living arrangements and (5) changing
groups.
More recently, Rea (2006) used observations and semi-structured interviews dur-
ing a school mountaineering expedition to Iceland. He concluded that, during and
after the expedition, reflection and learning were natural processes that occurred
when there was space and time (for example, during walking). Furthermore, he
found that ‘spontaneous reflection’often started at a superficial level and regularly
led to deeper learning three days after an experience.
In 2010, Allison and Von Wald suggested that while the claims of youth
expeditions in the UK were typically couched in youth development terms,
there was very little evidence of understanding of processes that lead to this
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‘development’–arguably as a result of drawing primarily on leaders with a leisure
and recreation background. They suggested that opportunities for exploring values
through making individual and group choices provides a helpful conceptual frame-
work for leaders of such expeditions. In doing so they drew heavily on the work of
John Dewey and contemporary values education literature.
Takano (2010) studied 67 Japanese expeditions’participants who took part in
a British-organised expedition 20–23 years ago. Using questionnaires she found
that 99% of participants considered the expedition to be significant in their lives
and 96% replied that the expedition influenced their present selves. Findings in
the study are similar to the above literature with one additional finding that
‘80% of respondents agreed that it was a particular stage in their lives which
made the experience more influential’(p. 89) which aligns with work by Allison
(2002).
In 2011, Greffrath, Meyer, Strydom, and Ellis (2011) undertook a mixed method
comparative study in South Africa to explore differences between centre-based
experiences and wilderness experiences. They concluded that experience-based wil-
derness programmes are more effective for personal development for students.
It is evident from the above summary that most of the extant literature focuses
on the benefits of expeditions and a small literature is developing on the processes
that lead to such benefits. No research concentrates on the adjustment back to the
home environment although Gair (1997) has suggested that this is an area of con-
cern in a chapter titled all stressed up and nowhere to go. His chapter is based on
experience and provides no empirical evidence.
This research focused on gaining an initial understanding of young people’s
experiences of returning home after an expedition on the basis of empirical evi-
dence. The current research bridges a gap between the expedition literature men-
tioned above and the literature on reverse culture shock (RCS). Thus, it is useful to
briefly summarise literature on RCS.
Reverse culture shock
RCS has developed from the literature on culture shock (CS) which is normally
attributed to anthropologist Oberg (1960) who conceptualised the anxiety and frus-
trations associated with the absence of familiar signs and symbols associated with
daily social interactions. He identified six components of CS:
(1) psychological strain;
(2) sense of loss and feelings of deprivation;
(3) feelings of rejection by the new culture;
(4) confusion in role expectation, values and feelings;
(5) surprise and anxiety at realisation of cultural differences;
(6) feelings of impotence at inability to cope with, or integrate into the new
environment.
Since this initial work others have attempted further research but a lack of clar-
ity remains, as might be expected with such a term that has entered into common
parlance (Furnham, 1984, p. 45).
Similar to the literature on dying and grief some researchers have suggested
stage processes such as Adler (1975) which can be likened to a U curve moving
4P. Allison et al.
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from initial happiness and fascination to depression, anxiety and discomfort before
returning to happiness. While there are ongoing discussions regarding the value of
such models and the empirical support for them, for the purposes of this paper it is
sufficient to note that researchers in, among other areas, tourism and travel, have
paid some attention to the challenges of adjusting to new and often significantly dif-
ferent cultures. Further, the literature notes that there are multiple factors involved
in CS such as purpose of visit (holiday, gap year, business travel, business reloca-
tion), nationality, prior travel experiences, expectations, intimacy of experience and
social network support (Stewart & Legatt, 1998).
Management learning literature has also paid some attention to CS, for example
Griffiths, Winstanley, and Gabriel (2005) drew on some of the above-mentioned lit-
erature in tourism to study ‘sojourners’leaving their workplace temporarily for
higher education (MBA study) with the intention of returning to their workplace.
They adapted the term CS to learning shock to describe some of the challenges
associated with return to education such as ‘acute frustration, confusion and anxi-
ety’(p. 276). They conclude that managing learning shock can involve a range of
strategies such as discussions with students and attention to creating ‘the right emo-
tional climate, where conflicts and disagreements are aired and contained and where
respect for difference is enhanced’(p. 292).
Pyvis and Chapman (2005) studied CS of students from Singapore studying in
Singapore but being taught by Australian academics through a partnership arrange-
ment. This exploratory work involved in-depth semi-structured interviews and is
valuable as ‘studies of culture shock have tended to assume that a culture foreign to
an individual is in a country that is foreign to that individual’(p. 40). The study
suggested that CS may be further emphasised by the intensive nature of the course
delivery but that further work in this area is needed.
RCS is a less researched term but builds on the above-mentioned literature to
describe the experience of returning back to a familiar (usually home) environ-
ment. Hirshon, Eng, Brunkow, and Hartzell (1997) studied the psychological
impact of evacuation from Peace Corps experience. Of the 265 individuals in the
study they found that 60% of evacuees reported depression in contrast to 29% in
the control group. Similar patterns were identified for: feelings of disorientation,
difficulty in making decisions, anxiety and numbness of feelings. These findings
are not surprising and vary from the current research in that they involve evacua-
tion rather than returning to ‘home culture’at an expected time and in an
expected manner.
Business literature also touches on RCS for expatriates who have been working
abroad (often for a large company) and then return back to their home country to
continue work following an ‘overseas assignment’. A summary of this area by
Bonache, Brewster, and Suutari (2001) highlights the importance of RCS and indi-
cates that 10–25% of expatriates leave their employment within a year of returning
to their home country. They suggest that expatriate expectation management is of
primary importance in the repatriation process.
Finally, Gaw (1995) studied Americans returning from studying at high schools
abroad to attend university. Using a modified version of the Personal Problems
Inventory (PPI) (Cash, Begley, McGown, & Weise, 1975) he found that those suf-
fering with higher level of RCS were more likely to report shyness concerns and
that the higher the level of RCS the less likely students were to access counselling
services (negative correlation). Similar work by Fail, Thompson, and Walker (2004)
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with international school students found that returning to home countries to go to
university often resulted in ‘major identity crisis’(p. 333).
With the above literature in mind we were interested to consider the experiences
of people returning from wilderness expeditions. In this respect the present research
drew on both the expedition literature and the RCS literature.
Research context
The research reported on in this paper was undertaken on a six-week expedition
with BSES to south-west Greenland. BSES is based at the Royal Geographical
Society (RGS) in London and runs expeditions to remote areas of the world for
young people. It is also worth noting that the participants in these expeditions are
not typically characterised as ‘youth at risk’and are young people from the upper
end of the social class spectrum who either have access to funds or engage in fund-
raising to cover the costs of their participation. Specific information on this is delib-
erately not collected by the organisation.
The Society’s expeditions aim to help in the development and personal growth
of young people through the challenge of living, undertaking science and adventur-
ous journeys in remote and challenging areas of the world. As such the Society is
the first youth overseas expedition organisation in the UK and arguably the world
(Loynes, 2008).
This research was undertaken on an expedition to Greenland involving 72 young
people (referred to as young explorers or YEs) between 16 and 20 years of age who
applied for and were interviewed to secure a place. A total of 30 females and 42
males participated in the expedition. Applicants were selected on the basis of their
enthusiasm, determination, common sense, ability to work as a member of a team,
physical fitness and sense of humour. Some experience of camping and walking
was expected but the main selection criteria were attitude and the potential for
demonstrating suitable expedition behaviour.
Once accepted on the expedition young people are expected to raise funds to
support their expedition. To do this they are provided with information and advice,
put into contact with previous YEs from their area (who offer advice), directed
towards grant-making trusts and supported by staff in the office.
BSES expeditions are led by experts drawn from universities, teaching and med-
ical professions, industry and the Armed Services. Leaders were selected on the
basis of their relevant experience. Selection of leaders is completed by application
forms followed by interviews (normally by the chief leader). All leaders are volun-
teers. On this expedition there were 16 leaders from various backgrounds including
an archaeologist, a medical student, two doctors, two marines, one botanist, four
geographers, two mountaineers and a biologist.
The expedition was broken up into 6 fires (or groups) with 12 young people in
each fire and two leaders. Additional leaders were responsible for base camp man-
agement, mountaineering, boats and overall responsibility (chief leader). Everyone
camped throughout the expedition in three-person tents and cooked on stoves. Once
arriving at base camp, this expedition was situated in a wilderness environment with
no contact with people outside the expedition.
The expedition was broken into two phases –science and adventure. During the
six-week period, fires spent around two or three weeks studying environmental sci-
ences such as botany, geology, glaciology and archaeology and trekking through the
6P. Allison et al.
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impressive mountains and valleys. Fires spent the remaining time (around 10 days)
training in mountaineering skills before undertaking multi-day journeys on the ice
cap. Throughout the expedition young people were given increasing levels of
responsibility. It took seven days for the expedition to travel from the UK to base
camp and the same time to return, delayed by inclement weather conditions and
pack ice.
The research team had previous involvement in various expeditions in different
countries with numerous organisations, and BSES was identified as a suitable orga-
nisation for this work.
Methodology
The purpose of this research was to gain insight into the experiences of young
people returning from an expedition. Specifically we were interested in understand-
ing any challenges to adjusting back to the home environment. Gaining insights
and understandings of this nature suggested a qualitative approach, often used in
similar circumstances in education (Greener, 2011, pp. 8–10, 94; Pyvis & Chapman,
2005), life history and narrative research (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2011, p.
552; Gill & Goodson, 2011) and in outdoor experiential education (Allison, 2000).
This study was intended to elaborate holistic understanding of the phenomenon and
provide ‘granular detail’(Greener, 2011, p. 94), or to say in other words using
social anthropologists’terminology, it was aimed to produce ‘thick description’of
the phenomenon and develop insights and meaning (Crotty, 1998, p. 9) into the
process of returning from an expedition. Proponents of the positivist paradigm
might question the ability of such kind of theory to predict and explain (Thomas &
James, 2006) while qualitative researchers have typically reversed objections as
highlighting strengths of the methods (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009, p. 171). Further,
epistemic value of the constructivist knowledge is not about making predictions but
is about providing in-depth understanding of the phenomenon (Crotty, 1998;
Dowling & Brown, 2010).
In qualitative work the researchers are typically the instrument for analysis as
the purpose is to emerge themes from data (Richards, 2009, p. 73). Flick (2007)
suggests that the key to managing quality in qualitative research is by focusing on
process and transparency. Hence, throughout the research process and in this paper
we have strived to be clear and transparent about the process of data collection,
management and analysis. This point is explicated by Schofield (1993, p. 93):
At the heart of qualitative research is the assumption that a piece of qualitative
research is very much influenced both by the researcher’s and participants individual
attributes and perspectives ... The goal is not to produce a standardised set of results
that any other careful researcher in the same situation or studying the same issues
would have produced ... however, they do not expect other researchers in similar or
even the same situation to replicate their findings in the sense of independently com-
ing up with a precisely similar conception. As long as the other researcher’s conclu-
sions are not inconsistent with the original account, differences in the reports would
not generally raise questions related to validity or generalisability.
Following the expedition all participants received letters asking them to write
about the influence of the expedition on them. The letters asked them to ‘take time
to write a page or so about any ways in which you think the expedition has
impacted you: as an individual and as a member of a group/community’. Letters
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were selected as opposed to questionnaires or interviews for three reasons. First, we
wanted to avoid ‘leading’or making assumptions as much as possible. Second, we
wanted people to be able to communicate at a time that suited them rather than at a
pre-arranged meeting for an interview or similar. Third, the impracticality of travel
and associated costs to visit and interview all of these people several times were
prohibitive.
Letters were sent to all 72 young people on the expedition six months after
return from the expedition and 19 young people returned responses. Data presented
here are based on the 19 participants who completed the study, 12 of whom were
17 years of age (five females; seven males) and seven of whom were 18 years of
age (three females, four males). All of the respondents are British citizens from a
variety of locations across the UK.
Inevitably this decision impacts on data that are received: some people are more
comfortable expressing themselves in written format while others prefer verbal,
some prefer groups while others prefer solo. In the future it might be interesting to
employ different methods for similar studies and also to consider alternative forms
of data such as paintings, collages and poetry to encourage young people to express
their experiences using a variety of media.
All letters were coded line by line to maintain context and keep data chunks
manageable. Two of the researchers engaged in an independent reading and coding
of data (Richards, 2009, pp. 108–109; Silverman, 2001a, 2001b). This was done to
confirm that themes were inducted from data and not imposed on data and to ensure
reliability (consistently assigning comments to the same themes) (Greener, 2011,
pp. 94–108).
Participation in the research was entirely voluntary. Contact with YEs after the
expedition was directly from the lead researcher rather than through the Society.
University ethical approval was received prior to undertaking the research. The fol-
lowing themes for analysis: Sense of Isolation, Extending the Lessons of the Group
and Using the Group as a Compass for the Future.
Presentation of themes and discussion
Sense of Isolation
Many of the participants reported that the expedition to Greenland had been so
unique that it was difficult to share it or communicate it to others in a meaningful
way. One respondent implied a different way of being when around those who were
on the expedition:
Apparently I have become vacant again (according to my mum), having just spent this
weekend with people from the Greenland expedition at the reunion, and I can’t stop
thinking about them. (Mr. D)
Others talked about how hard it was to process what they had experienced. For
example, this person sought others out who had been on the expedition saying:
We have had some really good reunions. I have spoken to someone from the expedi-
tion every week and seen someone virtually every other week. I think that we all
needed to talk to each other because it is so difficult to talk to people who didn’tgo
on the expedition. (Mr. M)
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These sentiments were echoed:
The most annoying thing is that no one else in the real world knows what it was like. It’s
not their fault, but it’s still annoying. With everyone from the fire being so spread out all
over the UK, I can’t even discuss or reminisce our adventures frequently. (Miss F)
Afinal example of this Sense of Isolation:
I met most of my friends the day after I got back. I went into the pub brimming with
confidence with an ‘I’ve just got back from a major expedition’feeling. Nobody asked
me how it was; nobody was really interested when I told them where I’d been. The
big news was all about who ‘got off’with whom the night before. That’s when I
really landed, from the high of the expedition. (Mr. F)
These comments can be connected to the work of Rea (2006) whose study of an
expedition to Iceland noted that the majority of reflection took place in discussion
with others. In doing so he questioned much of the received wisdom in OEL litera-
ture which assumes that experience is followed by reflection as a primarily individ-
ual process (Roberts, 2008; Seaman, 2008). However, Rea’s work concentrated on
the facilitation and reflection processes during the expedition rather than afterwards.
The sense of wanting to share the reflection is particularly evident in the above
comment. What is clear from these data is that on return from expedition people
experienced a sense of isolation and loneliness as they adjusted from their time and
experiences in the wilderness to their home community where there were not others
around who apparently could appreciate and share their experience. This finding
supports Oberg (1960) and subsequent CS and RCS literature outlined above. In
particular Oberg’s sixth category: feelings of impotence at inability to copy with, or
integrate into the new environment.
The themes of loneliness and isolation speak to the difficulty that some face
when leaving an expedition. There seems to be a sense of loss and grief that is
experienced during the adjustment phase. These topics have not been addressed
when talking about ERCS or other outdoor experiences generally. Perhaps issues of
CS, loss, grief and separation could be addressed with participants during pre-expe-
dition preparation and during the final days of the expedition when return is immi-
nent and ERCS probable.
Indirectly related to this issue of grief and support for young people an Austra-
lian study (Abbott-Chapman, Denholm, & Wyld, 2008) found that young people
with a wide range of social support are less likely to participate in risk-taking activ-
ities than those with a small support network. The same study found that both par-
ents and pre-service professionals placed greater value on wilderness and adventure
programmes than students (p. 626). Although the work had a different focus to the
present research, the support from a social network is important (also evident in the
above quotations) in providing a stable context for young people to make choices.
This is supported by Allison and Von Wald (2010) and Phillips (2010).
A further explanation of this post-expedition sense of loss can be found by consid-
ering the work of Scippa (1997) and Scott (1997), both of whom propose that humans
are in a constant state of grieving but that this grieving does not have to relate to death
per se. Scippa argues that from an early age humans grieve leaving their mothers,
when school friends move away and even when leaving places they have been.
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Viewing grieving as a normative post-expedition transition is an acknowledge-
ment of the closeness that occurs in expeditions, the value that people place on their
‘fire mates’, as well as ERCS. Preparing young people to draw on their social
network for support during this time of transition may be useful.
Extending the Lessons of the Group
Discussions about lessons learned from the group process and how these lessons
affected ERCS were common. There was an emphasis on using the lessons learned
while working and living with the expedition group after the expedition was over.
Some of these lessons involved interacting with others in a different way. For
example:
The expedition itself taught me a lot too about being a member of a group and partic-
ularly about showing tolerance to others and dealing with individuals in awkward situ-
ations. (Mr. F)
The above can be read as an illustration of developing an ability to recognise
what Oberg (1960) described as signs and symbols associated with daily social
interactions. Similar to the above quote, the ERCS period was affected by lessons
learned in the group. After the expedition one YE explained how their interaction
patterns changed:
I’ve really chilled out since I’ve been back. I tend to let negative things just pass over
my head. I really don’t care when someone is being annoying or acting unusual. I let
them get on with their life and I get on with mine. (Miss F)
Furthermore, the following comments really illustrate very directly how the les-
sons from the group affected adjustment in life after the expedition and how they
changed their patterns of interaction:
I used to just voice my opinions and expect everyone else to be thinking the same.
Now I want to know what everyone thinks, even if it leads to arguments over differ-
ences of opinion. I’m more tolerant of my family and friends. (Miss G)
These lessons were used and adjustments made since the expedition ended:
I’ve made the most amazing friends from people in Cornwall to Yorkshire to
Edinburgh and I’ve learned from forming these friendships I’m trying not to be so
judgmental, and I know that first impressions are rarely right. (Miss G)
Finally, for many the power of the group not only affected their interpersonal
relationships, but the way they saw themselves. The expedition seemed to open the
world for some, increasing their self-confidence after the expedition. These comments
can be tentatively connected to the U curve theory (discussed above) and might indi-
cate the latter stages of the curve as ERCS come to an end and individuals gain a
sense of autonomy over their lives. This was illustrated when one YE explained:
I think the expedition has given me a totally different outlook on life and a strong
urge to travel to other isolated places again, and I will certainly be back in Greenland.
(Miss J)
10 P. Allison et al.
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This was echoed by another comment:
I think that my perspective on life changed over the summer. I now look on life as a
mass of opportunities and challenges rather than a narrow route that has to be
followed to the university, get a job, etc. (Miss W)
This sense of empowerment can be seen in the same person’s further comment:
Since I have returned from Greenland I have done things that I would definitely not
have done before I left, for example, overcoming my fear of drunk people by going
down to the pub with my mates on New Year’s eve.
Thus, it can be seen through these comments that young people are taking the
lessons learned through their expedition experience and extending them into their
lives whether it be to home, further study or employment. Furthermore, the lessons
span a range of aspects of their personal development including becoming more
‘chilled out’, tolerant of others, less judgmental; pursuing opportunities for further
travel and considering life to involve a mass of opportunities and endless options.
In summary, it appears that people take the intense learning experiences of the
group, who they did not know before the expedition, into their home community to
inform their ‘way of being’in the world.
Participants’letters reflected the uniqueness of their experiences, thereby set-
ting them apart from friends and family, making reintegration at home difficult
and illustrating ERCS. The changes reported both inter- and intra-personally as a
result of the group experience lasted as least as long as the follow-up period of
six months. Participants saw themselves as reacting with greater tolerance, less
judgement and more compassion toward others. They felt more self-confidence
and were more willing to tackle the world. These findings develop Stott and
Hall’s (2003, p. 167) suggestion to research the contribution of skills and traits
developed on expeditions to higher education, employment and life in the future.
Our findings indicate that the skills and traits developed do contribute to life
beyond the expedition and that young people consider them to be valuable.
Advantages, disadvantages and the complexity of transfer of learning in similar
contexts are usefully summarised by Brown (2010). However, for the purposes of
this paper, elements of ERCS can be seen in the comments –some of which hint
at supporting the U curve model.
Using the Group as a Compass for the Future
Expedition participants frequently talked about using their experience on the expedi-
tion to direct their lives as they adapted to post-expedition life. This often translated
into important decisions about future careers and education. As a result, a big part
of ERCS involved making plans and decisions. One person explained that the expe-
dition focused them on their future. Another talked more in-depth about the impact
of the expedition:
I also decided that I didn’t want to do ‘the norm’as far as possible. I’ve slowly man-
aged to readjust to school and work, but decided to take a year out before hopefully
studying medicine. I don’t think I would have been prepared to take 12 months out
before. (Miss S)
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Learning things about oneself on the expedition helped shape subsequent deci-
sions about education. After the expedition, this YE decided to apply to university
to study social anthropology:
I have learnt that not only do I have a thirst for knowledge about other people’s life-
styles, I need to be surrounded by people, and also have access to open areas, and so
I applied accordingly. (Miss H)
This theme is illustrated further by comments on the effect of the expedition on
post-expedition life plans:
The main point I think is that the expedition has put an aim into my life and has given
me plans for the future. It was whilst in Greenland that I finally made up my mind,
much to the disappointment of my parents who wanted me to follow in my brother’s
footsteps (a degree in physics and engineering) that I chose sports science with out-
door activities at Leeds University. (Mr. B)
One of the findings was that the expedition seemed to be a clarifying and struc-
turing experience for the participants. This theme does not appear to ‘fit’with the
literature on RCS other than (tenuously) with the end of the U curve model (Adler,
1975). This study suggests, however, that certain outdoor programmes may be used
as clarifying experiences, where young people have a chance to make decisions
about their future and set their course. This relates to the work of Hockey (2009)
on life course. Her research examined young people’s perceptions of their future
and drew distinctions between ‘destructured’and ‘standardised’life courses. The
present research provides evidence that young people gained a rich understanding
of opportunities and plans for the future which goes beyond a binary conception of
‘destructured’or ‘standardised’life courses.
A further point of interest here relates to recent polemics regarding early adult-
hood. Côté and Bynner (2008) use the term to refer to people in their 20s experi-
encing a prolonged transition to adulthood. It may be that expedition experiences,
such as those researched in this paper, could assist people to move through this
transition more quickly, comfortably, smoothly and easily. Perhaps most importantly
of all, such experiences may assist young adults to become more responsible mem-
bers of society regardless of whether they have a ‘destructured’or ‘standardised’
life course, or some combination.
Literature on adjustment post-experience
The three themes that emerged from this research indicate a gap in the current expe-
dition literature which is worthy of further attention and contributes to the extant lit-
erature on RCS. One might argue that further attention to this area is ethically
required and/or that such attention is crucial in first understanding the phenomenon
and second that increased knowledge will enable educators and leaders to enhance
the value of such experiences.
Schroeder, Wood, Galiardi, and Koehn (2009) researched the impact of study-
abroad experiences on local communities and found that there were few if any
mechanisms in place to minimise harm. They recommended that substantial
planning, group facilitation and debriefing of student and community members
were three ways in which harm could be minimised. While they were not focused
12 P. Allison et al.
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on post-experience adjustment their work indicates an area closely related to
expeditions where ethical concerns are being raised. Furthermore, there is no
mention in their paper of the adjustment of students returning from study abroad
programmes.
The present study relates to the literature on CS and RCS reviewed in the early
part of this paper. However, this research differs in that participants in the expedi-
tion were involved in very little local culture as part of the expedition experience.
Rather they were involved in what can be characterised as an ‘intensive group
residential experience’. The expedition and the various subgroups inevitably
develop their own culture and when students return to the UK they have reported a
sense of isolation which is contrasting to their experience on expedition. We refer
to this as ‘expedition reverse culture shock’.
Furthermore, the current research appears to support, to some extent, the U
curve theory (Adler, 1975) whereby participants are reporting after six months a
range of experiences which further research might usefully be designed to examine
in light of the U curve theory. Further, the six stages of CS (Oberg, 1960) appear to
be tentatively supported by this research. While this research did not consider stages
of CS the three themes identified six months after returning all indicate aspects of
the six stages. Further research could take a stage-based deductive approach to
explore this further (Hennink, Hutter, & Bailey, 2011, p. 218).
Conclusions
This research focused on gaining an initial understanding of young people’s experi-
ences of returning home after an expedition on the basis of empirical evidence. We
believed that there may be some connections to the literature on CS and more spe-
cifically RCS. Data collected six months after an expedition to Greenland provide
some initial insights into ERCS and confirm that there is value in considering the
small youth expedition through the lens of the RCS literature to make some concep-
tual sense. Theoretically we are proposing what Richards (2009, p. 137) refers to as
substantive theory which she describes as ‘local to your [the] data’. We have
referred to the phenomenon explored as ERCS which builds on RCS literature. In
doing so we considered other terms such as ‘expedition reverse social shock’(to
emphasise the social nature of the shock given the intimacy of the expedition expe-
rience), ‘residential reverse culture/social shock’(to emphasise the importance of
the residential component) and ‘intensive residential reverse culture shock’(as a
combination of the above). These options also illustrate areas that may prove fruit-
ful for further research (further discussed below).
The expedition presented in this paper is not really an educational programme,
nor therapeutic or therapy, but can be considered to be focused on ‘personal devel-
opment’. It sits at the juncture of non-formal education, recreation/adventure travel
and youth work.
In the current study, participants reflected on their lives and the meaning of the
expedition in making decisions about their futures. Though further work needs to be
done to explore the ERCS of young people as they return from expeditions, we have
made some initial suggestions for providing additional value for expedition partici-
pants, based on the findings of this study. Based on initial data analysis, we have
suggested that expedition planning includes discussion about isolation upon return,
ways of taking learning from their expedition experience back to their home
Leisure Studies 13
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environment and ways they can keep drawing on their experience as a compass for
their life. We have also suggested that support continues after the expedition to
address these concerns. Often, expedition participants live a great distance from each
other and cannot meet easily for reunions. Support via e-mail, social networking sites
or internet discussion groups could be built into programmes in order to facilitate sup-
port. These suggestions may be generalisable to a variety of contexts where young
people are experiencing changes, particularly changes related to life and context tran-
sitions. Of course, research on the above suggestions might prove to be fruitful.
Future directions
It might be interesting to see how this exploration of the self and associated ‘shock’
is a developmental function that is not uniform across all age groups. Perhaps, older
participants explore these themes differently than do younger participants. As men-
tioned above, further work based on the U curve and six stages of CS might prove
useful theory testing.
Furthermore, it might be fruitful to undertake similar work regarding adjust-
ments in other phases of life and contexts such as young people making adjust-
ments from living in a care home or people of different ages adjusting from
experiences such as working and living abroad. Notwithstanding the cliché that ‘fur-
ther research is required’it seems reasonable to speculate that the themes from this
study might inform practice in other youth development contexts, particularly those
involving residential experiences of some kind and benefit from connections to
RCS literature. One obvious area for further work involves studying the use of
social media to support ERCS which could be contrasted with people who have
undertaken expeditions in the past when such media were not available.
Finally, the role of clarity and decision-making in ERCS is an area of study that
could further elucidate the changes that take place as a result of expeditionary learn-
ing. Facilitating ERCS is an ongoing responsibility for leaders and programmes
when considering the support of participants after their return from the field. In a
time when some outdoor programmes are in danger of closing, assisting young
people in making these critical life decisions may be an important niche for
expedition-based outdoor programmes.
Notes on contributors
Peter Allison, PhD, FRGS, is a senior lecturer at the Institute for Sport, Physical Education
and Health Sciences at The Moray House School of Education, The University of
Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Jennifer Davis-Berman, MSW, PhD, a social worker, is professor in the Department of
Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work at the University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, USA.
Dene Berman, PhD, ABPP, is a psychologist with Lifespan Counselling Associates and
Clinical Professor at the School of Professional Psychology, Wright State University,
Dayton, OH, USA.
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