This paper examines the viability of using a communitarian framework within outdoor education practice, specifically in order to address the tension between individual rights and social responsibility that is frequently found on overnight (or multi-day) educational expeditions. The setting of educational expeditions offers rich potential for exploring concepts of how the expression of rights generates claims upon others and how an assumption of rights presumes certain responsibilities. The implications of utilising a communitarian framework in outdoor education is examined through the analysis of two educational expedition scenarios. The paper concludes that a communitarian framework, particularly the concepts of rights and responsibilities and the establishment of shared values, can be useful for facilitating discussion around the often messy and complex area of interpersonal dynamics on educational expeditions. In addition, the direct parallels between an expedition experience and society at large, viewed through a communitarian lens, offers educational relevance beyond the outdoor education experience.