The Changing World of Outdoor Learning in Europe

In this chapter, expressions of Outdoor Education (OE, or its Scandinavian equivalent as friluftsliviii) in Sweden will be presented and discussed. Primarily, attention will be given to how OE is expressed in formal educational settings meaning not only school activity but also courses held within outdoor organisations. The aim is to analyse and discuss formal OE in Sweden through the lens of some societal changes influencing not only OE and education but society in general. In the following, I will outline and discuss four trends in Swedish society and its educational system that I believe will affect OE for young people in the future. Firstly, I look at Swedish outdoor organisations’ efforts to meet a successively diversified and multicultural society. Secondly, I describe and discuss an increasingly privatised educational system in Sweden in which OE has become a popular alternative for schools and universities in order to attract students. Thirdly, I critique OE’s educational position within Physical Education and Health (PEH) and the pedagogic outdoor discourse I believe follows from it. Finally, I describe and discuss the focus on assessment in schools in Sweden and the consequences for OE. Some of the issues discussed will be specific for Sweden while some will be general for other European countries.