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| Association for Experiential Education | |
|---|---|
| Name | Association for Experiential Education |
| Formation | 1973 |
| Type | Professional association |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Region served | International |
| Leader title | Executive Director |
Association for Experiential Education is a nonprofit professional association founded in 1973 to support practitioners of outdoor, adventure, and experiential programs. The organization connects leaders from Outward Bound, National Outdoor Leadership School, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, and Wilderness Education Association with university programs such as Vassar College, Colorado State University, Duke University, University of Minnesota, and University of Colorado Boulder. It operates alongside institutions like American Camping Association, Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education, Council on Accreditation, International Adventure Therapy Conference, and Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals to promote standards and training across contexts including Rocky Mountain National Park, Appalachian Trail, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Yellowstone National Park, and Yosemite National Park.
The association emerged amid a period of innovation linked to figures like Kurt Hahn, John Dewey, Jean Piaget, Maria Montessori, and Carl Rogers, and in proximity to programs such as Outward Bound USA, Trust for Public Land, The Conservation Corps, 1970s, Sierra Club, and The Wilderness Society. Early collaborations involved organizations including National Park Service, Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, National Outdoor Leadership School, and higher education centers at University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Washington, and University of Vermont. Over decades the association has intersected with policy conversations involving National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Land and Water Conservation Fund, No Child Left Behind Act, Every Student Succeeds Act, and programs from United States Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The association's mission foregrounds practitioner competence and learner-centered practice, aligning with standards referenced by Council for Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions, International Standards Organization, American Psychological Association, American Camp Association, and National Association for the Education of Young Children. Objectives include training linked to curricula at Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and Yale University, advocacy in forums with UNESCO, United Nations Environment Programme, and World Health Organization, and partnerships with funders like National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Ford Foundation, Gates Foundation, and Carnegie Corporation.
Members comprise practitioners from organizations such as Outward Bound, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Wilderness Inquiry, NOLS, and academic members from University of Idaho, Pennsylvania State University, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Governance is via a board similar to structures at American Red Cross, American Hiking Society, The Nature Conservancy, and National Audubon Society, with committees echoing those at Association of American Universities, Council on Teacher Education, and National Association of Social Workers. Certification programs reference credentialing models from Project Management Institute, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and American Counseling Association.
Services include professional development modeled on Outward Bound instructor courses, risk management resources comparable to American Camp Association guidelines, and curriculum resources used by Wilderness Medicine Institute, Red Cross, National Safety Council, and American Heart Association. The association offers workshops influenced by practices at Outdoor Education Centers, Adventure Therapy programs linked to Portland State University, and leadership modules paralleling Harvard Business School executive education. Partnerships extend to National Park Service, US Forest Service, State Parks Departments, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and international entities like World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International.
Annual conferences bring together participants from Outward Bound International, European Wilderness Therapy Conference, International Federation of Physical Education, American Camp Association National Conference, and National Outdoor Leadership School symposiums with keynote-style contributions reminiscent of speakers at TED Conference, SXSW, World Wilderness Congress, IEP Global Summit, and Association of Experiential Education regional meetings. Events include symposia on risk management echoing discussions at National Safety Council forums, research colloquia similar to American Educational Research Association meetings, and workshops parallel to International Society for Adventure Education gatherings.
The association publishes journals and newsletters comparable to Journal of Experiential Education, Adventure Therapy Journal, Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, and often disseminates research connected to scholars from University of Michigan, University of California, Berkeley, University of Georgia, Boston University, and University of Edinburgh. Research topics intersect with projects funded by National Science Foundation, Institute of Education Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, and European Research Council, and cite comparative literature from Journal of Applied Psychology, Child Development, Developmental Psychology, Research in Higher Education, and Journal of Leisure Research.
Advocates link the association's influence to outcomes reported by programs at Outward Bound, National Outdoor Leadership School, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, and university outdoor programs at Middlebury College and Dartmouth College, while critics raise concerns similar to debates involving Adventure Therapy and Wilderness Therapy practices as seen in reviews by Government Accountability Office, American Psychological Association Task Force, and investigative reporting from outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, ProPublica, The Guardian, and Los Angeles Times. Issues include accessibility debates paralleled in discussions at NAACP, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and equity initiatives from National Urban League, as well as liability and safety controversies addressed in legal cases in United States District Courts, insurance analyses from Insurance Information Institute, and standards dialogues with Council on Accreditation and International Organization for Standardization.