Adventure cultures: An international comparison

Abstract

In previous work, Lynch and Moore theorised that the current popularity of adventure in recreation and education contexts is deeply paradoxical at social, economic and technological levels. Extending this thesis, we investigated the extent to which ‘adventure culture’ can be considered quantitatively and qualitatively specific to particular national cultures. Content analysis of popular print media in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom found significant differences between countries in the amount of adventure-related material, distinctive outdoor recreation ‘signatures’ for each country as well as broad similarities in three themes. Further research is needed to explore relationships between adventure in outdoor recreation and in the societies generally. We discuss the potential implications of different ‘adventure cultures’ for understandings of outdoor recreation and outdoor education.