Christie, Elizabeth Mary

2019-02-15T14:35:49Z

2019-02-15T14:35:49Z

2004

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.

http://hdl.handle.net/1842/35207

The University of Edinburgh

Annexe Thesis Digitisation Project 2019 Block 22

Already catalogued

'Raising achievement' in secondary schools: a study of outdoor experiential learning

Thesis or Dissertation

Doctoral

PhD Doctor of Philosophy