They provide a significant source of learning for children from low-income families who are otherwise stuck in \u201croutine and mundane\u201d environments<\/strong>, say academics at Nottingham University Business School.<\/p>\n According to a study for the Family Holiday Association, the experience can improve their confidence, decision-making, relaxation, attitude and ability to bond<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Dr. Scott McCabe who led the research, said: \u201cLeaning never takes a break \u2014 it doesn\u2019t stop when the school bell rings.<\/p>\n \u201cBut children from low-income families are often in the same environment their whole life and never get a chance to learn from adapting to new settings and surroundings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cIn light of this problem, our study shows how holidays can be considered an added value for education and can effectively function as an extension of the national curriculum.<\/p>\n \u201cIdeally, the enthusiasm for learning that disadvantaged children develop in an unfamiliar setting can be taken home and can continue to flourish in an everyday environment.\u201d<\/p>\n Social tourism<\/strong><\/p>\n The study comes after a major cross-party inquiry, published last year and entitled Giving Britain a Break, called for further research into the benefits of \u201csocial tourism\u201d.<\/p>\n The concept is roughly defined as the provision of holidays and other leisure activities for the benefit of individuals and families on low incomes.<\/p>\n Britain has been accused of lagging behind many European nations, with the likes of Spain and France ploughing sizeable resources into social tourism schemes.<\/p>\n The Family Holiday Association, a London-based charity, provides breaks both in the UK and overseas for around 2,000 disadvantaged families every year.<\/p>\n Schools<\/strong><\/p>\n Schools are always involved in the process of approving and arranging the trips, irrespective of whether they take place in term time or during school holidays.<\/p>\n The study interviewed a number of parents, children and \u201clearning mentors\u201d who took part in recent breaks organised by the charity in the UK, Belgium and Turkey.<\/p>\n It drew on the idea of experiential learning<\/strong> \u2014 making meaning from direct experience \u2014 developed in the \u201970s and \u201980s by American educational theorist David Kolb.<\/p>\n Dr. McCabe, an Associate Professor of Tourism Management\/Marketing, said: \u201cThere\u2019s been a surprising lack of work on social tourism\u2019s educational benefits.<\/p>\n \u201cMore comprehensive research is obviously still needed, but our study certainly suggests holidays can influence children\u2019s educational achievement and attainment.<\/p>\n \u201cFor a start, some of these children have all kinds of worries that damage their confidence. They learn better when they\u2019re relaxed \u2014 and that\u2019s how holidays make them feel.<\/p>\n \u201cGenerally, the youngsters and families we spoke to linked their experiences with acquiring new knowledge and skills, as well as improving decision-making and attitude<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Unplanned learning<\/strong><\/p>\n Study author Lilian Bos added: \u201cMost tourists don\u2019t choose \u2018learning\u2019 as a motivation for their holiday, but learning can occur in all sorts of unplanned ways.<\/p>\n \u201cIn that regard social tourism really is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some children, because it gives them a precious chance to learn from a new environment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact is that holidays can create that one memorable moment that has the power to change a young person\u2019s outlook and influence the rest of his or her life.\u201d<\/p>\n Researchers say the findings raise the question of whether holidays might eventually serve as a genuine addition to the national curriculum for some youngsters.<\/p>\n Bos said: \u201cThe responses we encountered indicate it could be well worth considering the benefits of holidays as recognition for hard work at school<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of our subjects spoke positively of a sense of acknowledgment and reward and how their attitudes towards learning and school in general had changed.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From the University of Nottingham press release via Physorg: Holidays could serve as a valuable extension of the national curriculum for the UK\u2019s disadvantaged youngsters, new research has suggested. They… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[19,12,124],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3201"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3201"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3202,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3201\/revisions\/3202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/images\/blogpics\/Beach.jpg\" "\\"beach\\"")
Holidays could serve as a valuable extension of the national curriculum for the UK\u2019s disadvantaged youngsters<\/strong>, new research has suggested.<\/p>\n