School field trips have been part of the educational experience for children across the US for decades. While many schools believe there's value in letting students develop socially with out-of-classroom experiences, measuring the influence and the value of field trips is difficult. And showing the value of out-of- class time can be challenging for teachers tasked with providing a good education.
As such, many art venues, science museums and zoos have reported drops in field trip attendance. Teachers and students have also reported falling numbers of school supported trips. particularly for minority students in academically low-performing schools.
But thanks to new research from Brigham Young University and the Heritage Foundation, the value of field trips is finally being understood. The study used an experimental design and randomly assigned fourth-and fifth-grade students from fifteen elementary schools in Atlanta to join in three field trips during a school year. The field trips included a trip to a gallery, a live theater performance and a symphony concert.
Students who attended three different field trips in the fourth or fifth grade scored higher on end-of-grade exams, received higher course grades, were absent less often and had fewer behavioral problems. Besides academic (学业的) improvements, students who took part in field trips were more likely to express a desire to have careerism related fields in the future. In parents' opinion, they are very interested in the academic quality of their children's schools, but they're also interested in the social skills and social engagement habits they develop. Field trips are easy ways to help facilitate both.
"We expected that field trips wouldn't harm test scores. However, we never predicted the all-around improvements for students who joined in these field trips, " said Eriekson, a researcher in the study. "One potential reason for this is that field trips widen students' world concepts and introduce them to new ideas. Similarly, students might be more engaged in school thanks to field trips. Students find school more exciting and want to try harder in class. "
