ABSTRACT
A major empirical study of initial teacher training institutions in England defines education
outside the classroom ‘in its broadest sense, as any structured learning experience that takes
place beyond the classroom environment, during the school day, after school or during the
holidays’. It can include, ‘amongst other activities, cultural trips, science and geography fieldwork,
environmental and countryside education, outdoor and adventurous group activities, learning
through outdoor play, and visits to museums and heritage sites’ (Kendal et al. 2006: i). Focusing
on such activity relevant to your training in citizenship, this chapter provides some theoretical
reflections underpinning learning outside the classroom, in particular on the relationship
between democracy and education, and, more broadly, on the historical and contemporary
links between politics and pedagogy. These insights are used then as a theoretical framework
upon which to develop practical strategies for citizenship education beyond the classroom,
including the use of external organisations and visits. It draws upon some classic sources in the
political philosophy of education to provide insight into why citizenship education encourages
learning beyond the classroom, dissolving any perceived barriers between classroom learning
and learning beyond it, or between school and community. The chapter also argues for critical
citizenship and a critical pedagogy in which the reasons for extending learning beyond the
classroom are fully justified, bearing in mind the health and safety of pupils but also their more
general well-being, including special educational needs.
