Doctoral thesis: Estonian education too focused on classroom walls

A new doctoral thesis highlights that Estonia's education system tends to treat learning as something that happens primarily within classrooms. Researchers found that well-planned field trips can help reduce educational inequality and offer children experiences that not all families can provide outside school.

Estonia's education system leans too heavily on classroom-based instruction, according to findings from a newly defended doctoral thesis. The research highlights a structural tendency in Estonian schooling to confine learning within school building walls, potentially limiting the breadth of experiences available to students.

The study found that well-designed field trips and out-of-school learning opportunities could play a meaningful role in reducing educational inequality. Not all families in Estonia have equal access to cultural institutions, nature experiences, or enriching activities outside school hours — making school-organized excursions particularly important for levelling the playing field.

According to the doctoral research, children from less privileged backgrounds stand to benefit the most from thoughtfully planned out-of-school learning. When schools take an active role in organizing such experiences, they can provide all pupils with exposure to environments and learning settings that some children would otherwise never encounter.

The thesis adds to a growing body of educational research suggesting that formal schooling should move beyond the four walls of the classroom. Experts in the field have long argued that experiential learning — whether in museums, forests, or community settings — deepens understanding and fosters skills that traditional instruction alone cannot develop.

The findings call attention to the need for Estonian schools and policymakers to reconsider how curriculum and school culture treat out-of-classroom learning — not as an optional extra, but as a core component of a fair and comprehensive education.