An Exploration and Evaluation into the Current Provision for Outdoor Education in the Curriculum of an Exemplar Secondary School

Abstract

Studies show that there has been a vast amount of research completed upon the topic of outdoor learning that highlight the benefits that outdoor programmes have upon children. The National Curriculum for Wales (NCW) (2008) stated that children should be given the opportunity to develop a range of skills through outdoor activities, problem solving or initiative challenges, however it was found that there was lack of literature upon outdoor programmes within the curriculum of secondary schools in Wales. The aim of the current study was to explore and evaluate the current provision for outdoor education (OE) within an exemplar secondary school, identifying how both pupils and module leader perceived the module was applied within the school setting. With the objectives of identifying how OE affects pupil’s personal and social development, the integration of OE, and whether strategies or initiatives assisted the integration of OE, interviews were conducted with the OE module leader and Duke of Edinburgh leader, while 3 focus groups were conducted, with 5 key stage 3 (KS3) pupils in each group. The results of this study indicated that OE had a positive effect upon the personal and social development of the pupils participating, while identifying that although challenges occurred with regards to space, time and money, strategies/initiatives were in place to overcome the barriers with the support of PTA funding and the local authority (LA). However, it must be stated that the findings suggest that in order to logically develop the research it would be beneficial to oversee a series of lessons, and/or residential experiences in order to gain in-depth understanding upon the opportunities prepared by the department for the pupils to experience.