Potential for excellence: Interdisciplinary learning outdoors as a moral enterprise

This article is concerned with the place and status of outdoor learning within formal schooling. In light of recent British outdoor educational trends, it considers the general educational significance of outdoor learning in the context of the recent Scottish Curriculum for Excellence. The article begins with an overview of some key educational concerns, and - drawing on the philosophies of Aristotle and Dewey - some discussion of the educational significance of interdisciplinary teaching and learning. The empirical component of the article focuses on visits to schools and outdoor education centres to explore teachers' understandings of, beliefs about and values concerning outdoor learning. The article relates these views to the philosophies of Aristotle and Dewey and to outdoor learning understood as an essentially interdisciplinary moral enterprise. It concludes by exploring some possible practical and curricular implications of teachers' views in light of the Curriculum for Excellence.