About

Company Vision

To promote unity and connectedness by adopting a strength-based approach to wellbeing

Odyssey, the name for this company, was chosen for a number of reasons. The name conjures up ideas of adventure and exploration, a journey, courage in the face of adversity, a spiritual quest. And this is what I am hoping to offer...a framework to assist adolescents and emerging adults on their own journeys, both literally and figuratively. The Odyssey framework is flexible enough to incorporate different sociocultural contexts and yet provides sufficient structure to ensure that this strength-based approach to wellbeing meets the objectives of the individual, parents, schools and outdoor educators. It is hoped that working within this strength-based framework, together we will support and encourage our youth on their own personal journeys, while also promoting unity and connectedness to other humans and the non-human world around them.

Dr Judy Blaine

My journey

My own journey has been a long wandering one, not necessarily in a quest for a particular goal, but rather a wonderful voyage that has led me to this point. Born and bred on a farm in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, I have since lived in Hong Kong for 30 years, working and raising my four children. My background is medical, I am a nursing sister and midwife by qualification and worked as a midwife both in London and South Africa before moving to Hong Kong, where I worked in marketing and sales for a medical publishing company.  While the children were young, I completed my BSc (Honours) in Psychology though UK Open University. Following that, I worked in the Individual Needs department of an international school completing my PGDE in Special Education at the University of Hong Kong, and simultaneously achieving my Masters in Applied Psychology through Liverpool University (online). My masters dissertation evaluated the impact of a South African developed social emotional learning (SEL) programme, “Cool To Be Me” on social and emotional competence within a primary school setting.

It was during this period of time, working with adolescents and dealing with my own adolescent children, that led me to appreciate the fundamental importance of social and emotional development in our youth. Circumstances saw me back in South Africa for periods of time which led me to consider doing a PhD in Psychology at Rhodes University. My thesis explored the psychosocial outcomes of Outdoor Adventure Education (OAE) in adolescents in a South African setting.

I am passionate about positive youth development and social emotional learning and have come to appreciate the place that outdoor adventure education has in fostering positive psychosocial skill development. I consult with schools and outdoor adventure providers in SA and HK, exploring areas in which we can develop a strength-based approach help learners acquire social and emotional competencies and life skills. Much of my work and research focuses on psychosocial wellbeing, integrating empathy, equity, diversity, inclusion, nature connection, indigenous ways of knowing and social justice.

My worldview

Ukama is an African philosophy or ethic of holism and relationality, which stems from the Shona word, ukama, implying relatedness – relatedness to the whole universe. The concept of ukama advocates that our relatedness cannot be simply reduced to our human belongingness, but rather that human wellbeing is inextricably bound with all that exists. Ukama expresses the idea of what is means to be a person in relation to other human beings and the universe; that humans, the spiritual world and the biophysical world are all part of the same fabric, each needing the other to activate it. We are both dependent on, and interdependent with, one another and with the environment on which all humanity depends. Ubuntu can be seen as the tangible form of ukama. Derived from Zulu proverb ‘umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu’, which translates as ‘one is a person through others’.

This worldview emphasises the interconnections and interdependence of self with others, that our full human potential can only be realised in our association and relationships with others. The emphasis is on the collective spirit, the value of community, caring and sharing with others. Ubuntu refers to the holistic interconnections of people; socially, spiritually and physically.

What it means to be a person in relation to other human beings and the universe, that there is an ‘other in the self and the self in the other’ is not dissimilar to the dynamic balance of the Taoist concepts of Yin and Yang: all living beings are dependent on the health and survival of the earth that we inhabit. Wellbeing is indicative of having a healthy relationship to yourself and your environment, particularly the cycles of nature within and without.

My education philosophy

My philosophy toward education is based upon the premise that each student discovers meaning, purpose and identity in life through connections to the community, the natural world and with social interaction with others in order to promote an intrinsic love of learning and metacognitive skills. In this holistic approach, the development of the students’ physical, psychological, social, spiritual, creative and academic potentials will be met.

My inspiration comes from many avenues, but it is these two quotes, written by two outstanding educators of their age, separated by a period of 2000 years, that essentially underpins my philosophy to education.

 “Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.” – Plato (c. 428 BCE–c. 348 BCE)

“The key to this transformation is not to standardize education, but to personalize it, to build achievement on discovering the individual talents of each child, to put students in an environment where they want to learn and where they can naturally discover their true passions.”  - Sir Ken Robinson (1950 - )

Learners flourish when they are engaged and intrinsically motivated. Intrinsic motivation is enhanced when a learner feels that his/her basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness are being met, thus optimising his/her learning and engagement.

 

 

Dr. J. Blaine:

Research Fellow, University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention

Research Associate, Department of Psychology, Rhodes University

Qualifications:

  • PhD in Psychology, Rhodes University 2020
  • MSc Applied Psychology – Liverpool University
  • 2015 PGDE in Special Education – University of Hong Kong (Distinction, included on Dean’s Honours List)
  • 2011  BSc (hons) in Psychology – The Open University, UK (First Class Honours)
  • 1989 Diploma in Midwifery – Mowbray Maternity Hospital, South Africa
  • 1988 Diploma in General Nursing – Grey’s Hospital, South Africa

Other Certification:

  • 2015 Emotional Literacy Support Assistant – English Schools Foundation
  • 2013 Certificate for Advanced Orton-Gillingham/Morphology coursework
  • 2012 Certificate of Psychometric Testing, Assessment and Access Arrangements, Dyslexia Association U.K.
  • 2012 Certificate for Orton-Gillingham Training for Dyslexia, Hong Kong
  • 1994 Certificate for AIDS Counselling and Training Course, South Africa

Professional Membership:

  • Hong Kong Psychological Society: Graduate Member
  • British Psychological Society: Register for Qualifications in Test Use
  • Hong Kong Registered Teacher

Published Research:

Blaine, J.A. (2025). Shifting Perspectives: What We Risk by Limiting Access to Outdoor Education in South Africa. In: Gray, T., Sturges, M., Barnes, J. (eds) Risk and Outdoor Play. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-5455-0_10

Blaine, J. (2025). Exploring the psychosocial effects of theatre on individuals and the community. South African Theatre Journal, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/10137548.2025.2513866

Blaine, J. (2025). Where the Tides of Life Make Sense: Insights from Surfers in Hong Kong. American Journal of Sports Science, 13(1), 10-23. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20251301.12

Blaine, J. (2024). Schools Are in the Future Business: Exploring Outcomes of a Positive Education Programme for Adolescents in Hong Kong. Education Journal, 13(4), 199-210. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.edu.20241304.17

Blaine, J. Teachers’ Mental Wellbeing During Ongoing School Closures in Hong Kong, Education Journal. Volume 11, Issue 4, July 2022 , pp. 143-156. doi: 10.11648/j.edu.20221104.11

Blaine J., Black Clouds and Silver Linings: Exploring the Psychosocial Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Expatriates Living in Hong Kong, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences. Vol. 11, No. 1, 2022, pp. 19-28. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20221101.13

Blaine, J (2021) Exploring the Psychosocial Consequences of Mandatory Quarantine During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hong Kong, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences. Vol. 10, No. 2, 2021, pp. 96-103. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20211002.13

Blaine, J., & Akhurst, J. (2021). Quantifying the psychosocial outcomes of outdoor adventure education for adolescent learners in a South African setting. South African Journal of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/00812463211029024

Judith Blaine & Jacqui Akhurst (2021) A journey into understanding gendered experiences of outdoor adventure education, Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, DOI: 10.1080/14729679.2021.2001759

Blaine J, & Akhurst, J.  (2021) A journey into understanding gendered experiences of outdoor adventure education, Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, DOI: 10.1080/14729679.2021.2001759

Blaine, J & Akhurst, J (2020) A South African exploration into outdoor adventure education and adolescent psychosocial development, Journal of Psychology in Africa, 30:5, 440-450, DOI: 10.1080/14330237.2020.1821311

Unpublished Research:

2019

Rhodes University PhD Thesis – mixed methods research

A mixed method study exploring the psychosocial outcomes of outdoor adventure education for adolescents in a South African setting.

2017

University of Liverpool Masters dissertation – quantitative research

Evaluating the Impact of “COOL TO BE ME” on Social and Emotional Competence within a South African Primary School Setting

2011

BSc Psychology (Honours) dissertation – qualitative research

Sense of self: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Expatriate Women in Hong Kong

 

Knowledge Exchange

Current Reviewer (since year):

Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning (2021)

South African Journal of Psychology (2021)

South African Journal of Education (2022)

SSM - Population Health (2022)

Educational Research Review (2023)

Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education (2023)

Journal of Adolescence (2023)

 

Editorial Board Member (December 2021 – present):

Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning

Conference Presentations:

2024

10th International Outdoor Education Research Conferences (IOERC)

4th - 8th March, 2024, Toyko, Japan

2023

1st International Conference on Happiness and Wellbeing, Bangkok, Thailand

World Education Summit (Virtual)

Asia-Pacific Schools Conference (AISC), Hong Kong

2022

9th International Outdoor Education Research Conferences (IOERC)

18th – 22nd July 2022, Ambleside Cumbria, UK

European Institute for Outdoor Adventure Education and Experiential Learning (EOE Network) Conference

19th – 23rd October, Marburg, German

2021

British Educational Research Association (BERA) Annual Conference (Virtual) An exploration into the psychosocial outcomes of outdoor adventure education for adolescents

2020

Asia-Pacific Schools Conference, Hong Kong. Advocating a strengths-based approach to outdoor adventure education (OAE) and adolescent psychosocial development (EVENT CANCELLED)

2019

Positive Education Conference – St.Andrew’s College, Grahamstown, South Africa

Exploring psychosocial outcomes of outdoor adventure education (OAE) for adolescents in a South African setting.