Balancing more than backpacks: Communitarian ideas applied to educational expeditions

Alumni perspectives on a boarding school outdoor education programme

“…The sixth element is the importance of providing students with opportunities to take responsibility for themselves and others through official roles, such as captaincies of lost property and parking, and organising and using audiovisual equipment for school events, as well as through leadership opportunities on expeditions and sail training voyages. These occasions where participants take on positions of responsibility and leadership for a limited time are noted in the outdoor education literature (e.g., Gookin & Leach, 2008;Isaak, 2011;Sibthorp, Paisley, Gookin & Furman, 2008;Richmond et al, 2018) and are an example of a Hahnian pillar that can be incorporated to educational settings of all kinds. Both autonomy and authenticity are central to effective learning in this sort of situation (Beames & Brown, 2016;Bonnett & Cuypers, 2003); indeed, opportunities to take roles of responsibility and leadership, and to immerse oneself in Deweyan-like occupations (Dewey, 1915(Dewey, /1990DeFalco, 2010), were all cited as key features of out-of-classroom experiences which elicited positive outcomes.…”