Trends and Issues in Experiential and Outdoor Education Programs

This brief article summarizes five trends and issues discussed during a moderated panel and round table discussion at the Association for Experiential Education (AEE) Symposium on Experiential Education Research (SEER) in November 2023. The aim of this session was to expand on prior documented trends and disseminate current experiential and outdoor education (EOE) trends, issues, and related research. These are only a few of the many EOE trends and issues but they represent both meta trends/issues and program-specific trends. This session was designed for scholars and practitioners who teach, provide program administration, and/or conduct research and evaluation efforts for EOE and related disciplines. Topics included cultural representation in the outdoors, trauma and mental health trends, safety II: a new view of risk management, nature and outdoor programming, and whether college outdoor orientation leaders should be paid. We hope that you, the reader, are inspired to consider what trends and issues are impacting your work and explore areas for future research.