Abstract
In 1997 the Education Department of North Lanarkshire Council launched a
multi-faceted Raising Achievement initiative aimed at increasing the potential of
all primary and secondary school students. This programme, one of the first of
its kind to be introduced in secondary schools in Britain, was specifically
intended to help raise achievement levels in 14-16 year old students through
their participation in a five-day residential Outward Bound course. Every year
since 1997, over a period of 15 weeks from October to February, around 25 %
of fourth year students in North Lanarkshire have been selected to take part in
the programme.
The evaluation of the programme demanded a combination of quantitative and
qualitative methods. A 'Life Effectiveness Questionnaire' (LEQ) (Neill, 1997)
was administered to all 14-16 year old students in six mainstream secondary
schools. The LEQ was administered on three occasions (one month before, one
month after and three months after the conclusion of the Outward Bound
programme). This procedure was followed during two years of the programme
and involved over 800 pupils. Group interviews were conducted with a sample
of students who had attended Outward Bound (n=53). The 5-14 National
Curriculum Guidelines (LTS, 2000a) concept of 'dispositions' provided a broad
overall framework for analysis. This also made it possible to relate the findings
to both the experiential outdoor approach and the mainstream approach to
education.
Firstly the study concluded that the programme delivered by Outward Bound
Scotland, as part of the overall Aiming Higher initiative, provides an
opportunity for personal and social development, consistent with the concept of
the dispositions. Secondly, the overall outdoor experiential learning process
from pre- to post-course work appears to support positive development in this
case. Finally, the results of the quantitative study showed no significant
difference between the two groups in terms of their LEQ scores. However,
interviews with those who participated in the programme pointed to positive
overall effects in terms of the students' perception of their social and academic
skills. The students believed that these qualities have given them the ability to
perform better in certain academic areas.
This study demonstrates that there is a link between an outdoor experiential
approach to education and the rationale behind the structure and balance of the
dispositions concept. This suggests that there may be a place for an outdoor
experiential approach to learning within the current context of the 5-14 National
Guidelines.
In conclusion the study suggests that the Aiming Higher with Outward Bound
programme is one way in which outdoor experiential learning can, in practice,
successfully compliment the current education system in Scotland. Therefore
this approach could provide a further learning opportunity for all students by
building upon the existing good practice within the Scottish education system.
