Journal of Experiential Education Pub Date : 2021-07-02 , DOI: 10.1177/10538259211027595 Paul Shirilla 1 , Craig Solid 2 , Suzanne E. Graham 3
Background: A common critique of adventure education research methodology is the overreliance on pre-/post-study designs to measure change. Purpose: This paper compares and contrasts two methods of data analysis on the same adventure education data set to show how these distinct approaches provide starkly different results and interpretation. Methodology/Approach: Using secondary data analysis, we employ a longitudinal data set of the social skill development of urban middle school students who participated in an adventure education program over the course of three academic years. First, change was assessed using a pre-/post-design by a traditional analysis of variance (ANOVA). Next, change was assessed with a six-wave, longitudinal design using multilevel modeling. Findings/Conclusions: Results show that the multilevel modeling approach revealed nonlinear change in the social skill development of middle school students, resulting in more accurate, nuanced estimation of change in social skill development than the ANOVA approach. Implications: The use of longitudinal data and multilevel modeling can be a useful methodological approach and statistical tool for adventure education researchers to not only address the criticisms of quantitative research in adventure education, but more importantly, provide a more thorough understanding of the impact of adventure education on human development.
中文翻译:
纵向数据和多层次建模测量冒险教育研究变化的好处
背景:对冒险教育研究方法的普遍批评是过度依赖研究前/研究后设计来衡量变化。目的:本文比较和对比了在同一冒险教育数据集上的两种数据分析方法,以展示这些不同的方法如何提供截然不同的结果和解释。方法/途径:使用二手数据分析,我们采用了城市中学生在三个学年期间参加冒险教育计划的社交技能发展的纵向数据集。首先,通过传统的方差分析 (ANOVA) 使用前/后设计来评估变化。接下来,使用多级建模通过六波纵向设计评估变化。结果/结论:结果表明,多层次建模方法揭示了中学生社交技能发展的非线性变化,导致比方差分析方法更准确、更细致地估计社交技能发展的变化。启示:纵向数据和多层次建模的使用可以成为冒险教育研究人员的有用方法论和统计工具,不仅可以解决对冒险教育定量研究的批评,更重要的是,可以更透彻地了解冒险的影响人类发展教育。