The value of outdoor learning
7. The conclusions of this report stem from our belief
in the value of outdoor learning. Evidence taken by the
Committee strongly indicated that education outside the classroom
is of significant benefit to pupils. Academic fieldwork clearly
enhances the teaching of science and geography, but other subjects
such as history, art and design and citizenship can also be brought
to life by high quality educational visits. Group activities,
which may include adventurous expeditions, can develop social
skills and give self-confidence. Furthermore, outdoor education
has a key role to play in the social inclusion agenda, offering
children who may not otherwise have the opportunity the simple
chance to experience the countryside, or other parts of our heritage
that many others take for granted.
8. In some cases, the value of outdoor education
and the skills students develop outside the classroom is very
directly linked to the employment market. For example, The Institute
of Ecology and Environmental Management (IEEM) has identified
biological recording, survey and monitoring as a growing area
that depends greatly on specialist skills being taught in schools,
colleges and universities.[2]
This link is also in evidence in the bioscience and ecological
sectors and the growing environmental protection sector as well
as in the numerous other areas of the labour market which require
training involving direct contact with the natural world or vocational
preparation which cannot be delivered in classrooms.
9. The broad extent of this inquiry has convinced
the Committee that outdoor learning can benefit pupils of all
ages and can be successful in a variety of settings. We are convinced
that out-of-classroom education enriches the curriculum and can
improve educational attainment. Whilst recognising this cross-curricular
scope, we conclude that in order to realise its full potential,
outdoor education must be carried out properly, with sessions
being prepared by well trained teachers and leaders and in accordance
with good curriculum guidance as well as health and safety regulations.
10. Our view of the value of education outside the
classroom is supported by research evidence. Ofsted's recent report,
Outdoor education: aspects of good practice, finds that
"outdoor education gives depth to the curriculum and makes
an important contribution to students' physical, personal and
social education".[3]
The recent Review of Research on Outdoor Learning,[4]
published by the National Foundation for Educational Research
(NFER) and King's College London, found that:
"Those with a statutory and non-statutory responsibility
for policy relating to outdoor education should be in no doubt
that there is a considerable body of empirical research evidence
to support and inform their work […] Policy makers at all
levels need to be aware of the benefits that are associated with
different types of outdoor learning. The findings of this review
make clear that learners of all ages can benefit from effective
outdoor education. However, despite such positive research evidence
and the long tradition of outdoor learning in this country, there
is growing evidence that opportunities for outdoor learning are
in decline and under threat." [5]
Dr. Peter Higgins of the Outdoor and Environmental
Education Section, University of Edinburgh, agreed with these
conclusions:
"The weight of evidence from MSc and PhD theses,
projects supported by small research grants and Government commissioned
studies does generally show benefits in out-of-classroom experiences.
Perhaps more importantly this evidence points to a latent and
undeveloped potential in relation to both curricular studies and
lifelong learning."[6]
11. Many countries, both in Europe and elsewhere,
achieve a significantly higher level of outdoor learning in their
schools than the UK. Dr Higgins' evidence, quoted above, goes
on to cite Australia, Norway and Canada as examples of good practice
and notes that:
"in many cases the countries we are familiar
with developed their national approach to outdoor learning after
detailed consideration of the approach taken in the UK in the
1960s and 1970s. In particular the carefully constructed and
wide-scale provision in the Lothian Region of Scotland was widely
regarded as the ideal model. Several decades of erosion have
left such provision in a poor state, not dissimilar to the rest
of the UK, whilst several of those countries which adapted the
model to suit their own situation now have extensive curricular
provision."
Recent Committee visits to Denmark, Finland and
Norway have convinced us that there is much to learn from the
provision of outdoor education in these countries.
We were particularly impressed by the Danish 'Forest Schools'
initiative, which uses the environment as a tool to enrich the
curriculum, whist enabling students to experience a carefully
monitored element of risk and to become more familiar with the
natural world.
12. There are, however, a number of gaps in the research
that could usefully be filled by further studies. Most of the
data collated by NFER was published abroad and the report notes
that "there is a particular need for more UK-based research
into a number of aspects of outdoor learning".[7]
It also observes that there is relatively little research on
the comparative educational benefits of different approaches to
education outside the classroom and warns that this is particularly
important as "poor fieldwork is likely to lead to poor learning.
Students quickly forget irrelevant information that has been inadequately
presented."[8]
13. The Department for Education and Skills told
us that it is currently undertaking research into outdoor education.[9]
We look forward to seeing the results of this study and hope that
the data will go some way towards filling the gaps in current
research. Like all educational processes, the benefits of education
outside the classroom should be rigorously researched, documented
and communicated. Positive and reliable evidence of the benefits
of outdoor activities would help schools determine the priority
to afford to such work.
The decline of education outside
the classroom
14. The recent Ofsted report on Outdoor Education,
which concludes that education outside the classroom can be of
significant benefit to students, notes that many students do not
have access to this form of learning: "Outdoor education
gives depth to the curriculum and makes an important contribution
to students' physical, personal and social education. However,
not all students in schools benefit from such opportunities".
15. There has been a general decline in opportunities
for education outside the classroom. This decline seems to be
affecting all types of outdoor experience. The Committee has received
evidence from professional bodies, including the Royal Society
and the Field Studies Council, on the diminishing opportunities
for fieldwork. It has also heard from organisations such as Learning
Through Landscapes, Play Wales and the Children's Play Council
that children's day-to-day access to the outdoors is being increasingly
restricted.[10] In the
past ten years, twenty local authority outdoor education centres
have closed. Nonetheless, the DfES asserted that: "most LEAs
tell us outdoor activity in their schools is stable or increasing".[11]
16. Perhaps more worryingly still, the Committee
has received some evidence to show that education outside the
classroom is declining not only in quantity, but also in quality.
In oral evidence, Dr Steve Tilling of the Field Studies Council
described "a much closer, much more prescribed content than
certainly was the situation ten years ago […] driven by skills
and techniques and things which are easily measurable, or measurable
in a predictable and, some would say, sanitised way".[12]
Dr Anthony Thomas of the Real World Learning Campaign added that
in some schools "it is not particularly well planned […]
it is seen as maybe a prize at the end of the year".[13]
17. Despite these generally discouraging trends,
the Committee has also heard of much good practice. High quality
outdoor education centres run both by LEAs and private or charitable
operators have told us that they are regularly oversubscribed
and have to turn schools away.[14]
Museums and galleries cannot accommodate all those who wish to
visit.[15] Many schools
are committed to outdoor learning as an integral part of their
students' education and put in place what Dr Rita Gardner of the
Royal Geographical Society described as:
"a programme of development that is an educational
development over a period of years, […] embedded in the culture
of the school and the curriculum, a passionate teacher and a really
committed head who sees and understands the values, and can convince
their governors too, of the values of out-of-classroom learning".[16]
18. This evidence paints a picture of extremely patchy
provision. Individual good practice in many schools and local
authority areas is set against a more negative national situation.
It is clear to the Committee that outdoor education is a sector
suffering from considerable unexploited potential. In the
remainder of this report, we will explore the barriers that prevent
schools from developing opportunities for their pupils to benefit
from education outside the classroom and make recommendations
for action to spread existing good practice amongst all schools.
1 See particularly evidence from CABE, Ev 157. Back
2
Ev 192 Back
3
Outdoor education: aspects of good practice, Ofsted, September
2004, page 2. Back
4
A Review of Research on Outdoor Learning, Mark Rickinson,
Justin Dillon, Kelly Teamey, Marian Morris, Mee Young Choi, Dawn
Sanders and Pauline Benefield, (April 2004). The review synthesised
the findings of 150 pieces of research on fieldwork/visits, outdoor
adventure, and school grounds/community projects, published internationally
in English between 1993 and 2003. It was funded by the Field Studies
Council, DfES, English Outdoor Council, Groundwork, RSPB, and
Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. Back
5
ibid, p 5. Back
6
Ev 112, para 1.5. Back
7
A Review of Research on Outdoor Learning, p 5. Back
8
ibid, p 2. Back
9
Ev 59 Back
10
Ev 131, 162, 165. Back
11
Ev 61, Annex A. Back
12
Q 4 Back
13
Q 4 Back
14
Ev 106, 168, 187. Back
15
Ev 125, 187. Back
16
Q 6 Back
