The evaluation of impact of the Schools in the Parks project on professional development and practice

Executive summary
The education potential of learning outside of the classroom has been highlighted in terms of the benefits, necessity (House of Commons, Education and Skills Select Committee, 2005) and that education is not only about 'what we learn, but importantly how and where we learn' (DfES, 2006, p.3). The Manifesto for Education Outside the Classroom promotes highquality outdoor learning experiences to support cognitive skills and aid personal development. The training and development of educators (formal and informal) in teaching outside the classroom is critical to meeting the needs of contemporary education. This report provides an evaluation of the Field Studies Council's project Schools in the Parks presenting evidence of successful implementation, illustrating how the project met its aims and objectives in relation to the development of practice, the significant difference it has made to the participants and the spectrum of success in the intended beneficiaries. The project achieved all its objectives in relation to the development of practice and the findings from the evaluation can be grouped into two key impact themes. In distilling the findings into two impact themes it is important to state that the evidence and analysis show a spectrum of success in terms of significant changes in educator pedagogy and practice. The two key impacts with core findings shown below are: Impact 1: Training and development awakened enthusiasm for outdoor learning and facilitated a change in practice by providing resources, support and by developing facilitation skills and experience of learning outside of the classroom. 1a. achieved its goal of positively impacting on its target audience; 1b. provided worthwhile training for educators (teachers, park and green space staff) to make outdoor learning more accessible for secondary school students;

1c. accounted for individual differences in educators (teachers, park and green space staff) and offered sustained engagement which consequently empowered individuals and teams to improve their professional practice; 1d. increased educators (teachers, park and green space staff) knowledge and understanding of the historic, cultural and scientific significance of the local natural heritage sites; 1e. increased educators (teachers, park and green space staff) confidence and competence to utilise, interpret and deliver educational session to secondary school students in outdoor sites; 1f. provided support which facilitated educators (teachers, park and green space staff) to overcome some of the common barriers to learning outside of the classroom; 1g. changed the target audience's knowledge, attitudes and behaviour with regard to learning outside of the classroom.

Impact 2: Best practice demonstrations and training showcased outdoor learning that was in local environments, active and real, which inspired and broadened horizons of the educators (and students) and paid attention to possibilities for integration and interdisciplinary work. 2a. operated a successful advisory service to educators (teachers, park and green space staff) on learning outside of the classroom illustrating how delivery can account for the individual nature of educators' histories and preferences; 2b. demonstrated, shared and promoted the dissemination of good practice in outdoor settings; 2c. highlighted the variety of learning opportunities (cognitive, affective, and the physical and behavioural domains) for both students and educators within a range of different outdoor environments; 2d. provided an insight into experiments and data collection in real-life settings across the curriculum ( for example science, geography, citizenship); 2e. established a centre (equipment stores) and expanding network, supported by committed staff that benefitted from training and support offered, to further outdoor learning beyond the duration of the project.

This report makes the following recommendations aimed at sustaining the capacity to teach outdoor sessions through support and development of educators (teachers, park and green space staff): R1. Sustain support and fieldwork training for teachers and park staff. R2. Promote the Schools in the Park website including coverage of continuing training provision to encourage usage. R3. Publicise existing high quality resources to continue to support training and development in learning outside the classroom. R4. Encourage beneficiaries to further develop a strong communications network to establish reflective practices and enable the sharing of good practice and resources. R5. Seek additional funding to continue work with existing educators and model professional development on a longer-term process of training, coaching, feedback and collaboration. R6. Issue further guidance and provide examples of integrated approaches to teaching outside the classroom, demonstrating methods of overcoming the barriers of time and timetabling; R7. Develop new programmes that encourage teachers of different subjects to work together. R8. Promote the partnership model between established sites of outdoor education and educators with an interest in learning outside of the classroom.