Experiential education is any educational programme that encompasses some aspect of contextual experience to help learning through practical and real world situations, environment and activity. It is the practice of learning by doing, feeling and experiencing as opposed to the classical educational approaches of repetitive and reinforced learning (i.e. blackboards and textbooks) alone.

This approach to education was borne of the early progressive educational movement that came to be at start of the 20th Century and that was advocated by leading educators including John Dewey, Helen Pankhurst and Rudolf Steiner. Many of what are today’s world-leading schools were established at the behest of these educational luminaries or by those inspired by them. Many parents preferred these more modern approaches to learning and liked the holistic approach to education that would foster great character in pupils. Indeed, the popularity and success of such educational pedagogies is evident today with many of the world’s most overly-subscribed and academically-selective schools adhering to experiential education programmes. Of particular note are those schools that follow the philosophy of Kurt Hahn, who established the United World Colleges movement, Outward Bound and Round Square International.

There are many network organisations in existence today which facilitate policy and programme development amongst subscriber schools and which seek to research and advance understanding of experiential learning and programme development for educators.

The Independent Schools Experiential Education Network is one such association – founded in 2005 as the Independent Schools Adventure Network (ISAN). In those early years, ISAN was a network and annual conference for outdoor-based education programme developers.

In time, the nature of the network changed and its’ members became aware of the greater role and need for a wider educational strategy that incorporated ISAN’s work in overall school development and educational ethos. So it was that ISAN became ISEEN and, today, is one of the world’s leading associations of independent schools who share a common ideology and approach.

The Independent Schools Experiential Education Network still operates as a knowledge-sharing network and educators community and still hosts an annual conference. On top of this, the organisation coordinates research of value to its members and facilitates training for teaching staff and school administrators.

As a membership organisation, membership varies. However, the schools below are known to be recent members of ISEEN.