More than a grand day out? Learning on school trips to science festivals from the perspectives of teachers, pupils and organisers

Abstract

Science festivals are a rapidly-growing phenomenon worldwide, and many such events host trips by school parties. However what type of learning takes place on these visits, and how effective it is, has not as yet been a focus of academic study. This paper investigates these questions from the perspective of three groups – teachers, pupils and festival organisers – and asks how well the attitudes and priorities of these categories are aligned. We find that teachers and organisers share the primary aim of affective learning (excitement, inspiration) and that this is experienced by almost all pupils. A secondary aim of cognitive (factual) learning is reported by just under half of pupils. However a third aim of careers learning which was expressed by festival organisers and some teachers was not reported by pupil participants. In addition, we found that the groups could work more effectively together to promote educational aims by measures such as reducing the novelty of the event situation and making educational agendas for the visit clearer. Finally, to address the areas of misalignment pinpointed in this study, we give a series of recommendations to optimise learning at such events.