Beyond four walls : lessons from the experiential education movement

ABSTRACT \nThe purpose of this case study is to investigate the lessons that mainstream public education \ncan learn from the field of experiential education. This study examines two cases of \nintegrated experiential education with particular reference to the ways that these practices \nmeet the educational needs in mainstream education. A range of literature will be considered \nfrom the Education for Sustainability Movement, Future Studies, and Environmental \nEducation. Their suggestions for changes in the mainstream public school system are \nexplored along with their potential to better meet the needs of the high modernity. The \nadoption of a new pedagogy and value system to be employed by teachers in schools will be \nsuggested in light of these needs. Experiential education is considered as this pedagogy and \nits practices are investigated at two learning institutions using the case study method. The \ncentral research question explores how experiential education is interpreted in these \nparticular cases, and what can mainstream practice learn from them. \nThe case studies were conducted at The Eagle Rock School in Colorado, USA and the Tihoi \nVenture School in Taupo, New Zealand. Each school has an integrated experiential \ncomponent to their curriculum and programming and was chosen for its unique display of \nexperiential learning activities in both outdoor and formal classroom settings. This \nexploration of practice through observations and interviews offers insight to the methods and \ntechniques used in the field of experiential education, as well as the values that guide this \npractice. Best practices in integrated experiential education programs are illustrated and \nstrategies that can be transferred to the mainstream classroom are extrapolated. \nA new set of skills for teachers and students are discussed and applications to the future are \nanticipated. Finally, the study makes recommendations for practices that can transfer to a \nmainstream public school setting, and suggests methods that will enable mainstream public \nschool teachers to help students meet the challenges of the future in the individual, social and \nenvironmental arenas.