The hills are alive with … Many different folk! Rationalising and operationalising a professional judgment and decision making approach within mountain leadership

Carson, HJ; Davies, NJ; Collins, L

Abstract

Growth in the adventure sector has increased the demands on adventure sport professionals. Satisfying a diverse range of participatory motivations, however, requires an adaptable and flexible workforce. In this discursive paper, we suggested that a narrowing of service skills caused by commodification and sportification are compounded by general (mis)perceptions of who best suits the adventure sector. Accordingly, this paper discussed two important implications for outdoor professionals to improve inclusivity standards. Specifically, using mountain leadership as an exemplar, we firstly, presented themes in connection with motivations and social dynamics. Secondly, we contextualised these themes against pertinent environmental challenges. Finally, we presented a decision making approach and its requisite planning and reflective skill-sets, designed to assist mountaineering professionals to negotiate the complexity presented by individualised service provision. We concluded that there are no simple solutions to these complex and multiple issues. Services require better alignment between epistemology and delivery via an epistemological chain.

Citation

Carson, H., Davies, N., & Collins, L. (2021). The hills are alive with … Many different folk! Rationalising and operationalising a professional judgment and decision making approach within mountain leadership. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 21(4), 311-322. https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2020.1784768

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 23, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jun 23, 2020
• Publication Date: Oct 2, 2021
• Deposit Date: Jul 27, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 23, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning
• Print ISSN: 1472-9679
• Electronic ISSN: 1754-0402
• Publisher: Routledge
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 311-322
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2020.1784768
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2020.1784768
• Related Public URLs: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/raol20/current
• Additional Information: Additional Information : ** From Crossref via Jisc Publications Router **Journal IDs: pissn 1472-9679; eissn 1754-0402 **History: issued 23-06-2020; published_online 23-06-2020; Access Information : This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning on 23rd June 2020, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/14729679.2020.1784768.