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Travel and overseas experiences, particularly those involving some form of outdoor education, are regarded by many young people, parents, university admissions and employers as somehow beneficial to a young person's development. Often, expedition experiences are happening at crucial times in life (the teen years) when metaphysical (rather than empirical) questions dominate. This paper explores the explicit connections that can be made between the current curriculum in the United Kingdom and expeditions on the basis of contributions to personal and social development through values, choices and decisions. In order for such experiences to be of educational value we argue that creating space for students to make mistakes and to explore (in literal and metaphorical terms) is of crucial importance. The paper concludes that expeditions may provide a useful context for personal and social development and, in particular, exploration of values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New devolutionary powers for education have been enthusiastically seized on by politicians and policy-makers alike to promote a more integrated and holistic form of education in Scotland. This period of curriculum renewal offers the prospect of increased levels of outdoor education; however, to date there is a lack of a clearly agreed rationale for learning and clarity about how curriculum will be experienced by students. Consequently, we analyse pertinent conceptual questions about these matters through reviewing articles and policy announcements prior to advancing, in a preliminary fashion, a rationale for outdoor education which conceives of outdoor learning primarily as a moral endeavour. In developing the proposed rationale as the organising framework for learning, the article critically considers the multifarious challenges of connecting policy intentions with the authentic learning experiences of students. In so doing it discusses many of the most apparent curriculum and pedagogical barriers to learning, which have led in recent years to fragmented provision and the under-realisation of increased levels of deeply embedded and connected outdoor learning experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the current Scottish curriculum review (Curriculum for Excellence) some critical examination of extant curriculum provision (at least for Scottish primary and compulsory secondary education) might be suggested as a logical starting point — not least because such provision has to date exhibited striking conceptual or philosophical discontinuities. This paper suggests that differences between the educationally traditional approach of Munn and Standard Grade and the more 'progressive' inheritance of 5-14 raise interesting questions not just about curriculum structure and organization but also, more generally, about the nature of education and the balance between the intrinsic and extrinsic developmental aims and objectives of schooling. The paper generally argues that issues of curriculum structure and organization call for greater clarity concerning the diverse educational and other developmental aims of all stages of schooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]