The major focus of this study is on the outdoor education subject as a learning context in which caring and community are educational achievements. The scope of the research touches upon the discipline areas of community, caring, moral development and education, friendship, outdoor education, experiential education and camping. The research was carried out with Year Nine students at a coeducational school and identified twenty two different experiential components of caring. These experiential components were used to compare the outdoor education context to that of other classes at school in a questionnaire. The evidence amassed supports the notion that the outdoor education context is more supportive of learning in the areas of community and caring than other classes at school.

John Quay is a Lecturer in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. His teaching and research interests are in outdoor education, physical education, health education, environmental education and the philosophy of education.