The Effect of Schooling on Students’ Out-of-School Experience

With the premise that schooling should make a difference in students’ everyday experience, the authors synthesize research on the influence of school learning on students’ out-of-school experience by addressing the contributions and shortcomings of four research areas: (a) transfer, (b) out-of-school learning environments, (c) school-prompted interest, and (d) transformative education. They conclude the following: (a) Little research investigates the influence of school learning on out-of-school experience; (b) the existing research suggests that school learning has less of an influence on out-of-school experience than one would hope for and expect; and (c) under the right conditions, school learning can enrich students’ out-of-school experience.