ABSTRACT
Specific historical conditions and various political arrangements in the former Czechoslovakia – now the Czech Republic – led to a distinctive version of experiential pedagogy (zážitková pedagogika), which here refers to the theoretical reflection of a specific educational practice originally pursued by the Vacation School of Lipnice. This developed from movement recreation (turistika – active movement involving outdoor and cultural activities; the scouting movement and Jaroslav Foglar; woodcraft and tramping) through the educational dimension of outdoor recreation (camping schools, experimental projects) to experiential pedagogy (intensive recreational regimes, Vacation School of Lipnice) and holistic education, with the method of dramaturgy as the unique contribution to the international community. The chapter starts by defining the field of experiential education and experiential pedagogy, briefly discusses its roots and development in the Czech Republic and finishes with the contemporary state of the field. The Czech approach is considered unique in the use of physical movement activities, educational, creative and gaming programmes and its holistic comprehensiveness. Dramaturgy as the main contribution of the Vacation School of Lipnice plays a key role in the Czech creative and holistic outdoor experiential programme design.
