The value of outdoor learning: evidence from research in the UK and elsewhere

This article summarises the key findings of a review that critically examined 150 pieces of research on outdoor learning published between 1993 and 2003(Rickinson et al., 2004). The Field Studies Council and partner organisations commissioned the review in response to the growing concern that opportunities for outdoor learning by school students in England have decreased substantially in recent years (Harris, 1999; Barker, Slingsby and Tilling, 2002).We found substantial evidence to indicate that fieldwork, properly conceived,adequately planned, well taught and effectively followed up, offers learners opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills in ways that add value to their everyday experiences in the classroom. In this article we distil some of the review’s findings of particular relevance to secondary schoolteachers. We look first at the impacts of fieldwork and outdoor educational visits, and then discuss what is known about effective practice before concluding with a look at barriers to fieldwork.