engleski

Integration of principles of experiential learning in Outward Bound programs for children and youth

Experiential Pedagogy is a discipline focused on exposing individuals and groups to new experiences and reflect upon them, which can encourage development of new knowledge and skills that can be transferred into everyday life. Outward Bound is an organisation dedicated to personal development by using experiential learning and outdoor education. Its mission is to encourage participants in discovering and developing their potential through challenging experiences in unfamiliar settings. As with any other intervention, it is highly important for the practitioners to follow the theory on which the method is based and to adapt the mechanisms and tools to the needs of participants. With experiential learning still being a rather new discipline, this importance gains even more weight – we are still unaware of the full scope of unintended consequences if we stray and base our program on inappropriate tools, methods and techniques. The aim of this paper is to gain insights into perception of professionals who work in Outward Bound Croatia concerning following issues – how well the practitioners understand the theory that lies beneath the discipline itself and in which way the principles of experiential learning are integrated into their work. Research is based on qualitative methodology, using focus group. Three groups of professionals were included in the study: professionals that are responsible for program development, professionals that implement the program and work directly with participants and professionals that have experience with both of these roles. Results show how different groups of professionals perceive the theory of experimental learning and how they integrate principles of experiential learning in programs with children and youth. Besides that, results show possibilities of involving the perspective of children and young people in planning, implementing, adapting and evaluating the experiential learning programs.

experiential learning, theory-based, program

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