The importance of fieldwork

“Learning outside the classroom is important for all young people if they are to connect with their local place, find a relevance for the classroom-based learning and develop a meaningful understanding of what environment really means.”

Turney, 2009

Topics on this page:

What is fieldwork?

Fieldwork is learning directly in the real world, outside the classroom. It is an experiential form of learning with a long tradition in school geography, often described as ‘learning geography through the soles of the feet.’

Fieldwork is one of the distinctive features of geographical education and nurtures students’ curiosity about the world. It offers opportunities to explore places that may be familiar or unfamiliar. Much of this fieldwork can be done locally, even within school grounds. Alcock (2022) highlights the importance of local parks as fieldwork locations.

While fieldwork is not exclusive to geography, for many students it is the geography day trip or residential visit to an unfamiliar location that becomes a memorable experience. Some schools even organise field trips abroad, with destinations such as Morocco and Iceland being popular.

Why is fieldwork important in geography?

Fieldwork is an essential part of geography because it provides a ‘real-world’ opportunity for students to develop and extend their geographical thinking, using the outdoors as a resource for learning. It enriches classroom experiences and should be embedded within the geography curriculum, rather than added on as a ‘special’ activity.

Geography fieldwork is very much ‘hands on’. When students engage in fieldwork enquiries, they collect primary data, formulate questions to investigate, seek answers, and communicate their findings.

The importance of fieldwork for learning and raising achievement in geography is widely endorsed by geographers everywhere. It is recognised not only by geographers, but also by the DfE and HMI, who wrote:

‘Well planned fieldwork in geography adds clear value to learning in the subject as well as providing a positive contribution to the wider curriculum. Students gain first-hand, practical experiences which support and reinforce knowledge, skills and concepts explored in the classroom. Memorable experiences support long-term learning and recall. Good fieldwork encourages geographical enquiry and frequently can lead to higher-order thinking and learning.’ (Ofsted 2005)

More recently, in the Ofsted Research review: Geography (2021), Ofsted noted that through fieldwork students are ‘immersed in relevant thinking’ and that ‘key geographical knowledge sticks in their memory’.

They also highlighted how students connect their fieldwork experiences with classroom learning as ‘to explain what is observed draws on pupils’ knowledge of human and physical processes as well as locational knowledge’.

Finally, Ofsted emphasised the wider importance of fieldwork, which gives students ‘a critical insight into the nature of geographical knowledge, by helping students appreciate that both the ‘theoretical’ world of the textbook and their own investigative research is partial and limited’.

Download this poster sharing reasons to take part in fieldwork

Reflect on your fieldwork experiences

Participating in fieldwork is often one of the most memorable elements of a geography education. For some students, it can be life changing, as this quote illustrates:

‘I remember the trip to Pembrokeshire in west Wales vividly. I was a city kid and, up to that point in my life, my only experience outside London had been holidays at the seaside. I had never travelled anywhere in Britain that could remotely be described as wilderness, but as we tramped the coastal path, climbed hills and combed rocky shores, it aroused a new curiosity within me. It made me want to explore more of the world.’ (John Widdowson, 2017)

When planning fieldwork, an important consideration is how to create “memorable moments.” Never underestimate the power of ‘awe and wonder’. Take the opportunity to design experiences that provide this for students. At the same time, reflect on your own fieldwork: what has it meant to you, and how influential has it been?

Reflect on your own fieldwork experiences

Think about your own fieldwork experiences during your geography education.

What did you find most memorable and why?
Was geographical fieldwork a motivator for you in studying the subject?
What types of fieldwork have you experienced personally?
Was university fieldwork the same as school?
How do your experiences compare with those of fellow trainee teachers, ECTs, teachers – are they similar?

How can fieldwork help geographical learning?

Fieldwork immerses students in geographical practice. It involves observing, collecting data, describing findings, and analysing them. Through this process, students actively engage in geographical thinking and connect different strands of geographical knowledge.

To explain what they observe, students must draw on their understanding of human and physical processes as well as location. This active engagement with geographical knowledge in a real-world context helps students to retain it more effectively in long-term memory.

Key reading

Kitchen and Maddison (2021). An excellent article to build your confidence to undertake teaching outside the classroom.
The chapter by Widdowson (2017) in the Secondary Geography Handbook.
Kitchen (2025). GA report (free for members), setting out expectations for high-quality geography fieldwork for all.

Kitchen and Maddison (Figure 2) identify several components of high-quality fieldwork that align with effective geographical learning, including: thinking like a geographer, engaging in enquiry, critical thinking and linking theory to practice. In short, good fieldwork equates to good geographical learning.

Fieldwork can serve multiple educational purposes:

Conceptual
Skills-related
Aesthetic
Values-related
Social and personal development.

Each of these can be translated into specific fieldwork aims, as illustrated in Widdowson (2017) Figure 2 p 229.

Although many teachers are convinced that fieldwork brings significant benefits, research evidence is more limited. However, these existing studies highlight its impact:

Mackenzie and White (1982) found that fieldwork not only stimulates new sensory experiences but also improves long-term memory retention.
Kern and Carpenter (1986) cited in Hawley (2012) showed that Year 9 and Year 10 students developed a more holistic way of thinking following Earth science fieldwork.
Ofsted (2023) reported that good and regular fieldwork adds depth and detail to students’ learning.

Paul Hamlyn Foundation (2015) found that fieldwork enhances knowledge, skills, and understanding while also improving engagement, achievement, resilience, self-confidence, and wellbeing.

Why is learning outside of the classroom important in education?

Learning outside of the classroom (LOtC) involves using environments beyond the traditional classroom for teaching and learning. It helps young people develop a deeper understanding of place and environment.

It may seem surprising in an age of tourism and frequent travel, but many older people observe that today’s 11–16-year-olds often have less freedom to independently discover and explore their local surroundings than young people did 50 years ago.

Fieldwork takes learning outdoors and can open young people’s minds to the world around them. It contributes significantly to students’ intellectual development, while also supporting affective learning including responding, valuing and organising.

Kitchen and Maddison (2021) highlight the value of ‘soft outcomes’ such as resilience, resourcefulness, perseverance, and independence that fieldwork participation can foster.

However, outdoor learning does not always equate to geography. For example, Outward Bound activities or Forest Schools are valuable forms of outdoor learning, but they only become geography if explicit geographical outcomes are planned and delivered. Students may attend ‘field trips’ or ‘visits’ where little actual fieldwork takes place in terms of observing geographical phenomena or collecting data.

Above all, fieldwork allows students to experience the ‘wow’ factor—the awe of a mountain view or coastal landscape—and to reflect on their emotional responses to places. This is geography. Such experiences can spark an enduring interest in the environment and the outdoors, which may even be life changing.

Residential fieldwork brings additional benefits, offering social and shared experiences that motivate students, build confidence, and strengthen interpersonal and teamwork skills. It provides opportunities to collaborate with peers, exchange perspectives, and engage with others’ values and attitudes.

Refer to Kitchen (2025) Figure 2: Creating a holistic fieldwork experience: the 10 outcomes of high-quality outdoor learning and discuss with your mentor the range of opportunities that fieldwork provides for wider learning and ‘soft’ outcomes.

The position of fieldwork in schools

Curriculum revisions in recent years have made fieldwork an entitlement in geography reinforcing the expectation that all students should experience it. The Geography National Curriculum states that students should ‘use fieldwork in contrasting locations to collect, analyse and draw conclusions from geographical data’.

Fieldwork is also a requirement of both GCSE and A level specifications; GCSE examinations require that ‘fieldwork is carried out, outside the classroom and school grounds, on at least two occasions’; and A level requires four days of fieldwork.

Fieldwork in the National Curriculum and GCSE and A level examination specifications.

There is widespread agreement among teachers, parents and politicians that fieldwork is beneficial. Unfortunately, this consensus has not been enough to guarantee its consistent place in the curriculum.

This has been a persistent issue. In 2011, Ofsted reported:

Fieldwork was underdeveloped in the majority of the secondary schools visited. Only around one fifth of the schools visited had an integrated programme to develop fieldwork skills progressively. In almost half the schools there was no significant fieldwork in key stage 3 and in key stage 4 only enough to meet the examination criteria. Fieldwork was developed best in the 45 sixth forms surveyed. There were more residential visits and smaller groups of mainly enthusiastic students made fieldwork more manageable.

The secondary schools that had successful fieldwork programmes recognised that its benefits outweighed any difficulties. A new emphasis on fieldwork in some of them had been a turning point, revitalising teaching and making geography more relevant and exciting. The schools visited that had a vibrant fieldwork programme frequently said that increasing numbers of students were choosing geography at examination level at a time when numbers were declining nationally. This was often because fieldwork experiences added detail and depth to students’ learning and they understood the relevance of what they were studying.

Ofsted, Learning to make a world of difference (2011)

Read Alan Kinder’s article on Geography: The future of fieldwork in schools which summarises the findings from a GA survey into secondary fieldwork that was conducted in summer 2016.

In 2023 Ofsted reported:

‘In some secondary schools, pupils did not carry out fieldwork in key stage 3…fieldwork at key stages 4 and 5 rarely went beyond the minimum requirements of the exam boards. ‘

and

‘Fieldwork was underdeveloped in almost all schools, as the curriculum did not consider how pupils would make progress in their ability to carry out fieldwork over time. Although COVID-19 had an impact on the number of field trips and visits taking place, fieldwork had rarely been a strong feature of the curriculum before the pandemic. Leaders had not considered how fieldwork should be taught or how pupils would learn more about how geographers carry out their work. ‘

This shows a clear decline in both quality and quantity of fieldwork provision, particularly at Key Stage 3. In most schools, fieldwork stopped completely during the COVID-19 pandemic largely due to movement restrictions and the temporary removal of the practical fieldwork requirement by examination boards.

In addition, some senior leaders have become increasingly reluctant to allow fieldwork for reasons such as timetable pressures, prohibitive costs, safety concerns, and teachers’ lack of confidence in organising trips. This can particularly affect disadvantaged students. Cook (2017) discusses the challenges teachers face when trying to promote inclusive fieldwork.

Fieldwork content in your school

Most geographers will be familiar with the traditional field excursion and with field research based on hypothesis testing. At examination level, fieldwork often follows an enquiry-based model, where students investigate one or more geographical questions. Some schools also adopt newer approaches such as discovery fieldwork or sensory fieldwork.

For more information:

Refer to Fieldwork experiences and field teaching.
See the RGS The case for qualitative fieldwork.
See Hammond (2018) and Rickinson et al (2004).

Investigate fieldwork provision in your school

Create a table of fieldwork opportunities by year and term.

Identify the purpose of each opportunity and the key geographical outcomes for student learning. Add these to your table.
Refer again to Kitchen (2025) to consider additional outcomes (e.g., ‘soft skills’) that each opportunity might provide. Add these to your table.

Study the department’s curriculum plan, resources and students’ folders to evaluate the impact of the fieldwork completed in the department.

What curriculum topics are linked to the fieldwork?
When and where in the curriculum does the fieldwork take place?
What different types of fieldwork do the students experience?
How much fieldwork has a year 11 student experienced since year 7?
Have there been any changes to fieldwork provision over the last five years?

Discuss your findings with your mentor/head of department.

Read Biddulph et al (2021) pp187-9

From this, study the curriculum and examination requirements at each key stage.

The authors present four key reasons for fieldwork:

It develops students’ capacity to think geographically.
It builds geographical enquiry skills.
It contributes to students’ affective learning.
It develops interpersonal skills.

Consider their arguments carefully and then meet with both teachers and students in your school to find out their views about fieldwork.

Discussions with geography teachers about fieldwork

Do they think fieldwork is important and why? Do they agree with Biddulph et al.’s arguments?
How and when do they use fieldwork? What opportunities and constraints do they face in implementing a fieldwork programme?
Do they agree with Kinder’s 2016 survey findings? Have they overcome the barriers he identified?
Have they made any changes to fieldwork provision in the last five years…. and if so, why?
What guidance and advice can they give you about running your own fieldwork?

Discussions with students about fieldwork

Meet with small groups of Year 9 and Year 11 students to discuss their experiences of fieldwork. Explore questions such as:

What fieldwork experiences have they had in the school?
Do they enjoy fieldwork? Why or why not?
Which fieldwork experiences stand out most in their memory, and why?
What fieldwork do they remember most? Why?
Does fieldwork help them to learn in geography? Why?
What types of fieldwork activities do they find most, and least engaging?
For examination groups: Have they undertaken any fieldwork projects/enquiries? How much can they recall about what they did and why?

Reading and references

Alcock, D. (2022) ‘In praise of local fieldwork’, Teaching Geography, Spring.
Biddulph, M., Lambert, D. and Balderstone, D. (2021) Learning to Teach Geography in the Secondary School: A Companion to School Experience, 4th edition. London: Routledge, Chapter 7.
Cook, V. (2006) ‘Inclusive fieldwork in a “risk society”, Teaching Geography, Autumn.
DFES (2006) Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto, Department for Education and Skills.
Hawley, D. (2012) ‘The “real deal” of Earth science: why, where and how to include fieldwork in teaching’, School Science Review, 94, 347, pp. 87–100.
Kern, E. and Carpenter, J. (1986) ‘Effect of field activities on student learning’, Journal of Geological Education, 34, pp.180–3.
Kitchen, R. (2025) High-quality geography fieldwork for all: A research report, Sheffield: Geographical Association (available free for GA members)
Kitchen, and Maddison, J. (2021) ‘A fieldwork toolkit for early career geography teachers’, Teaching Geography, Spring.
Lambert, D. and Reiss, J. (2016) ‘The place of fieldwork in geography qualifications’, Geography, Spring.
MacKenzie, A. and White, R. (1982) ‘Fieldwork in geography and long-term memory structures’, American Educational Research Journal, 19, 4, pp. 623–32.
Ofsted (2008) Learning outside the classroom, Ofsted.
Ofsted (2023) Getting our bearings: geography subject report, Ofsted, September.
Rickinson, M., Dillon, J., Teamey, K., Choi, M. Y., & Benefield, P. (2004) A review of research on outdoor learning, Field Studies Council.
Turney, A. (2009) ‘Living and Learning outside the classroom – fieldwork’ in Mitchell, D. (ed) Living Geography: Exciting futures for teachers and students, Chris Kington Publishing.
Paul Hamlyn Foundation (2015) Brilliant Residentials and their Impact on Children, Young People and Schools.
Widdowson, J. (2017) ‘Fieldwork’ in Jones, M. (ed) Secondary Geography Handbook. Sheffield: Geographical Association, Chapter 17.