Campaigns
Related Research and Reports
- Initial Teacher Education and the Outdoor Classroom: Standards for the Future (PDF document)
- Our Response to the Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto
- A Review of Research on Outdoor Learning
- Biology Fieldwork: Is it Heading for Extinction?
- Creating the right balance: Delivering fieldwork for effective 16-19 ecology teaching
Projects
Outdoor Classroom
The FSC offers residential and day fieldwork courses for ages 7-14, 14-16, 16+ and University, including Scottish and Irish schools
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Save Our Biology
The campaign was started by the FSC after concerns emerged (and publicized by FSC) about the long term decline in levels of science and biology fieldwork in UK secondary schools. Working with the British Ecological Society, Association for Science Education and other partners, the campaign has published three hard-hitting independent reports, all of which included recommendations to counter key barriers to fieldwork. Since we started the campaign in 2002 other bodies such as the Biosciences Federation, Wellcome Trust and SCORE (a grouping including the Royal Society, other learned scientific societies and the Science Learning Centres) have highlighted similar concerns, as have geographers through the Geographical Association and Royal Geographical Society (with IBG).
The campaign has continued to grow and is now working alongside the Association for Science Education - the UK 's leading science education subject association - which has set up its own Outdoor Science Working Group which will work closely with schools and teachers to develop resources and teacher training opportunities. The FSC is also leading two major projects with secondary schools in London . Both London Outdoor Science and Schools in the Parks are showing that fieldwork uptake by secondary science teachers - even in very local sites - is very low, and that the barriers to fieldwork are deeply entrenched. Resources and training support are being developed to remedy this.
Much work remains to be done. We have proposed a number of solutions in several key areas:
- Political lobbying to influence curriculum reform
- Developing more balanced assessment and coursework
- Building local opportunities for urban schools
- Supporting initial and continuing teacher training
- Enhancing public understanding of the need for science fieldwork
The FSC will continue to direct the political campaign, and our current focus for parliamentary activity is Initial Teacher Education, for which we have published a Parliamentary Briefing Note.
Reports
- Teaching biology outside the classroom: is it heading for extinction? (2002)
- Creating the right balance: delivering fieldwork for effective 16-19 ecology teaching (2004)
- Initial Teacher Education and the Outdoor Classroom (2008)
Further Information & Contact
Campaign co-ordinator. Dr Steve Tilling (steve@field-studies-council.org)
