Development training in the UK

The use of outdoor adventure for education began in Britain because two men, from very different backgrounds and at different times, felt it was the right thing to do. They were concerned about the moral fibre of young men and saw the outdoor challenge as part of an approach to education that would address the need to develop them physically, socially, morally, and spiritually. The modern equivalent is called Development Training, and it is perhaps appropriate that the current popularity of this approach is so well founded in the roots of the concept. The two men were Baden Powell and Kurt Hahn. Baden Powell (usually known as B.P.) recognised positive benefits of the outdoor life on young scouts while fighting in the Boer War. The ingredients of adventure, challenge, a common purpose, comradeship, and living together were all included in his vision developed from these experiences. On his return to England B.P set out to find a moral alternative. His first experiments in simple camps operating a troop structure with an adventurous program set precedents in methods such as using a residential setting, working in groups, introducing new and adventurous experiences, and self-reliance. Once published in a form eagerly read by boys, market forces soon established the validity of his insights, with the movement blossoming spontaneously. This was quickly followed by the Guide Movement for girls. Often the initiative for the formation of a troop came from the boys who then sought a leader.