Alumni perspectives on a boarding school outdoor education programme

ABSTRACT

Experiences of outdoor education are believed to have significant impacts on participants, but research on the lasting influences of extended programmes is limited. Gordonstoun School, an independent residential school founded by Kurt Hahn in 1934, provides a rich legacy of outdoor education against which to explore any enduring outcomes. Drawing on data from an online survey (n = 1174) and focus group interviews (n = 50) with alumni from Gordonstoun, this research characterises the defining features of their out-of-classroom learning and investigates the long-term influences of this ‘broader curriculum’. Out-of-classroom learning is seen to have had an overwhelmingly positive impact on former pupils, with expeditions cited as the most influential experience. The expectation that all students engage in a range of challenging situations and the importance of authentic opportunities for responsibility are identified as two particularly critical elements which have lasting influences on students. These findings have strong articulation with existing research and can be used to inform effective programme design.

KEYWORDS:

• Boarding school
• expedition
• service
• outdoor education
• co-curricular

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers whose comments helped to strengthen this paper.

Disclosure statement

This study is part of a wider research initiative that was commissioned by Gordonstoun in June, 2015 and completed by the University of Edinburgh’s Outdoor & Environmental Education section in August, 2016. The authors of this journal paper are no longer under contract to Gordonstoun and are writing this paper of their own accord.

Notes

1. For a biography of Kurt Hahn, see Veevers and Allison (2011).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Simon Beames

Simon Beames is senior lecturer at the Moray House School of Education. For 30 years, he has taught outdoors in North America, Asia, and Europe. Simon developed the Outdoor Journeys programme – a cross-curricular, local outdoor learning initiative – and has published a number of books, including Learning outside the Classroom, Outdoor Adventure and Social Theory, and Adventurous Learning.

Chris Mackie

Chris Mackie is an associate lecturer at the University of the Highlands and Islands’ School of Adventure Studies in Fort William and a PhD researcher at the University of Edinburgh. His doctoral research explores children and teacher’s situated experiences of nature during school-based outdoor learning.

Roger Scrutton

Roger Scrutton is Honorary Research Fellow in Outdoor Education at the University of Edinburgh. Previously on the academic staff in the School of Geosciences, where the benefits of fieldwork were clear, and with a lifetime engagement in outdoor pursuits, he moved to the School of Education to conduct quantitative research that would convince stakeholders of the benefits of outdoor education for personal development and academic achievement.