Upon looking through the possible scholars and concepts I decided I would try and look for information on place-based education. I ended up finding a chapter from “The Handbook of environmental Education” by Gregory Smith that seemed interesting.
Smith describes place-based education as “an approach to curriculum development and instruction that acknowledges and makes use of the places where students live to induct them into them into the discourses of any and all school subjects … that alerts them to the educational potential of phenomena outside the classroom” (213). Although it is not mentioned until later in the article, Smith eventually mentions that in many cases, the basis of place-base education actually stems from Indigenous values and knowledge systems (217).
The main theme Smith is conveying throughout the article is the positive impacts place-based education has on students. According to Smith, place-based education allows for “the development of more engaging forms of instruction, the cultivation of involved citizens, the development of people committed to the wise stewardship and protection of natural resources and areas” (213). He backs this theory up with various case studies that show statistics of academic success, improved engagement, enhanced school experience, and active citizenship. Perhaps the biggest outcome of place-based education is “overcoming the division between the classroom and the community” (220) which John Dewey, an educational reformer, observed was the biggest problem in public schools more than a century ago.
I am haven’t fully decided if I want to use this as my main article in my paper because since it is only a chapter of a larger text there seems to be many questions or topics addressed but then not answered. It would depend if I could find other articles that would maybe fill in those blanks. If it is getting too hard to find valid connections, my next step may be finding a new first text that I will be able to better summarize and make better connections.
Work Cited:
Smith, G. (2012). Place-Based Education: Practice and Impacts. In R. Stevenson (Ed.), International Handbook of Research on Environmental Education. (pp. 213–220). Taylor & Francis Group. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.libproxy.uregina.ca/lib/uregina/detail.action?docID=1105876.
Hey Kassia, placed-based education is a very interesting topic. If you want you could go watch some youtube videos of schools who have implemented forms of placed-based education and maybe that will direct you to a supplementary article or resource! With that you might find some critiques on the theory as well to aid in your research. The quotes you have in this post are great and lay down a good foundation for your paper!
Take Care,
Delaney
This seems like a super interesting topic, and you summarized the article really well. The acknowledgement of place based education’s basis in Indigenous values and knowledge systems is quiet interesting – maybe that’s someplace you could find a new main article (as you said you weren’t sure if you would use this one) or just more to compare. I think that would be like moving to the root of the theory, if that’s what the basis is! It’s always important to acknowledge where we are using Indigenous knowledge.
Hi Kassia, place-based education is slowly getting the attention it deserves as part of curriculums across Canada. Although Indigenous peoples have been learning this way for many years, school systems are just recently understanding the benefits it has on students education and overall well-being. This is an interesting topic and I encourage you to continue looking for articles to use. From your summary, it is clear that you have understood the positive impacts place-based education has on students and why it should be included in more curriculums. If you do plan on sticking with this subject, suggest some ways how place-based education can be incorporated into the classrooms and potential inclusive assignments for students that promote this model. Since you’re maybe having trouble finding some resources, I would suggest looking into Prairie Sky School’s website (a school in Regina that uses place-based education as the foundation of their curriculum), and since you mentioned that this education model has roots in Indigenous ways of learning perhaps take a look through this these articles as well: Cree Elders’ Perspectives on Land-Based Education: A Case Study (by John Hansen), and Pathways to Reconciliation: the Kitcisakik Land-Based Education Initiative. It sounds like you have a good base understanding of place-based education ad how it can be incorporated into the curriculum!
– Kelsey
Thank you for looking at place-based education! I never made the connection that place-base education stems from Indigenous values and knowledge systems . I would love it if you looked more into that. Great summary and insight!