What Contribution Can Residential Field Courses Make to the Education of 11-14 Year-olds?

Findings

General feedback from the teachers

The overwhelming feedback from all 13 teachers involved in the courses was
very positive. One described the opportunity to take difficult students from
challenging backgrounds away on a residential course [as] invaluable [with]
the potential to change things. [Throughout, italics indicates the original words
of teachers / students; square brackets indicate material added by us.] All 13
teachers were explicit in their praise for and appreciation of the experiences
gained by the students at each centre. One stated that the centre experience
enabled students to understand the relationships between human impacts on
the environment, the history of the area and conservation issues in a far more
accessible way than at school. Several felt that the course was a great
opportunity for students and teachers to work together in a more relaxed,
open way. One celebrated the fact that the course had enabled us to see a
great potential in inner city kids which is often not so apparent in school. One
teacher described an immediate effect back at school, saying things are very
different with difficult kids now they are back. They are sitting (in class) right in
front of me, getting on, encouraging others. Other staff have noticed a
difference. Another hoped that London Challenge might make it possible for
every student in a year group to have this experience - imagine the
possibilities.

More detailed feedback from the teachers can be seen using the four potential
types of impact identified by Rickinson et al. (2004).

Cognitive impacts

All 13 teachers identified learning opportunities on the course within the
national curricula for science, geography or PE. The most frequently cited
were within activities that enabled students to learn about ecology, geology,

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