Narratives of Agency: The hero’s journey as a construct for personal development through outdoor adventure

Abstract

I will start with a story. It is an account of a two-day personal development course for a group of work colleagues that took place on the Pembrokeshire coast several years ago. I was one of the facilitators and I am the storyteller. It has been written so as to highlight the interpretation of the event as a heroic journey.

Outdoor education uses the ‘outdoor’ space in various ways. This chapter explores some aspects of the outdoors as a fantasy space. I will compare this way of using spaces with concepts of play and storytelling and suggest that, whilst drawing on these traditions, what has developed has unique elements that suit it to the modern western world. I will describe the way in which the meta-narratives of the hero’s journey are used to create a structure in which people can explore their autonomy, power and creativity that is their agency. In particular I will discuss how the hero’s journey offers a rite of passage from youth to adult at a time when this transition has become increasingly problematic. As outdoor education has provided this opportunity largely unintentionally and unsystematically, this interpretation will help identify some weaknesses in normative provision. I will conclude by identifying ways in which the hero meta-narrative might improve practice.