The same approach might be used for art classes centred around major exhibitions of painting or sculpture, or the planning and architecture of a new town or redevelopment areas. Even when the visit is less central to the course as a whole, it is valuable to give it as much treatment of this kind as is possible.
..In recent years visits abroad have grown increasingly popular; language courses obviously benefit, as do courses in history or art—the Renaissance can still come alive in Florence or Venice. But a wide range of social studies should not be neglected; adult students are able to gain a great deal from observation and comparison. Some WEA districts, extra-mural departments and local education authority adult centres have arranged composite foreign summer schools, involving a number of subjects including history, sociology, art, architecture and literature, and incorporating substantial preparation in the form of a class or a series of day conferences in the weeks preceding the summer school. Under such circumstances students are willing to do a great deal of work and not just take a holiday aboard. Many different kinds of visits are possible. The Confederation de la Famille Rurale organises study visits in Western Europe for many young French adults, mainly from peasant homes, and it is claimed that these undetakings have had observable effects in stimulating needed changes in the French rural economy. In Britain, WEA districts have arranged exchange visits with parties of trade unionists in Western European countries, although it would take courage to claim any effects on British industry.
...Any kind of visit adds considerably to an adult teacher's work. There is a greater degree of preparation in order to ensure the relevance of a visit to a particular course; written material may well be required for adequate guidance of the visitors; there is the conduct of the visit and subsequent evaluation of the information and experiences students have gained. Even more than class projects, this underlines the need for more full-time workers in adult education, both as teachers and administrators.