Developing a Research Tool to Enable Children to Voice their Experiences and Learning through Fieldwork

Ongoing media coverage of the dangers of fieldwork and guidance from some teacher unions is placing fieldwork under threat in many English primary schools. Most teachers believe that fieldwork experiences are a valuable part of geographical learning, but how do children actually articulate the understanding arising from this? The research took place in a large primary school with five classes of 11-year-old children. During their study unit on coasts they have a day field visit to the coast. Their main focus is on coastal processes and their impact on people. A short time after the unit ended, each pupil was asked to represent what they thought they had learnt during their field visit: 150 pieces of work were analysed and also studied with the lead teacher. This paper discusses some of the initial findings, their possible implications for developing the fieldwork and further research issues.