Scholarly Journal Articles on Place Based Education

Graham, M. (2007). Art, ecology and art education: locating art education in a critical place-Based pedagogy. Studies in Art Education: A Journal of Issues and Research, 48(4): 375-391.

This study situates place-based education in the context of critical pedagogy in order to provide a framework for art education with a focus on ecology. The study asserts that the local places are marginalized and undermined by the emphasis on consumption in the global sense. Ecological issues, such as destroyed habitats, deteriorating wilderness, alienation, homelessness, and detachment are all the felt effects of global economies. The study uses a critical place-based pedagogical framework to show how ecology can be supported in art education and why it is important to do so for both society and the environment, and why art education is a suitable vehicle for this approach.

The study is loosely constructed and lacks a definite approach to its subject. The study itself approaches the issue of ecology by way of art education and how this issue can be better served via a critical place-based pedagogy, but it lacks a justification for the approach. Its weakness lies in this assumption, that the pedagogy's application is self-evident. A definition of the pedagogy and why it relates to art education -- and, moreover, what art education has to do with ecology, would have helped to strengthen the study. Nonetheless, it is helpful for showing that these diverse areas can foster links and that a relationship can be made between them to support an overall goal. Explaining more clearly that relationship would have made the study even more helpful and given the article a better grounding.

Gruenewald, D. (2003). The best of both worlds: a critical pedagogy of place.

Educational Researcher, 32(4): 3-12.

The study approaches the topic of place-based education from the standpoint that place-based education is compatible with and supportive of critical pedagogy. The article's thesis is that the two approaches can in fact be joined into one so that a critical pedagogy of place is the result. The study analyzes critical pedagogy by itself and underlines the importance, value and role that space and society play in its development. It then assesses the role of ecology in place-based education before defining what critical pedagogy of place can mean. The study defines it as an teaching approach that "seeks the twin objectives of decolonization and reinhabitation through synthesizing critical and place-based approaches" (p. 3). Such a method is identified as a challenge for teachers in that it requires them to look at how they approach education, from what standpoint, and how they look at the world around them and what they want to leave for the next generation.

The study's approach is rooted in critical pedagogy, which limits the scope of the study and roots the topic of place-based education within the context of an already established praxis. Essentially, the study's weakness is also its strength; as it positively redefines both critical pedagogy and place-based education in the light of one another, it also fails to substantiate or validate why either approach is efficient in its own right. The article could benefit from a deeper assessment of education, educational goals, the role of the educator in the classroom, and the need for place-based education or even critical pedagogy for that matter.

Gruenewald, D. (2003). Foundations of place: a multidisciplinary framework for place-

conscious education. American Educational Research Journal, 40(3): 619-654.

This is a descriptive study of the theory for place-based education. It describes possible pedagogies, obstacles to implementation, and discusses evidence gathered from phenomenological assessments. Place-conscious traditions are identified as helpful for broadening one's view of place and bringing diversity into the classroom -- particularly via geographical indicators, ecofeminism, and bioregionalism. The study concludes with five dimensions of place that can reinforce place-based education; they are: 1) the perceptual, 2) the sociological, 3) the ideological, 4) the political, 5) the ecological. The study also discusses how place-based education can fit into a curriculum focused on standardized testing.

The study is cohesive and insightful and offers an excellent description of the dimensions of place, which is unique to this study and provides the reader with a solid understanding of how "place" can be defined. Each of the five dimensions offers the educator a chance to break down walls and engage students by utilizing familiar surroundings and concepts. The article is most helpful in that it addresses the issue of how to work place-based educational strategies into an educational system that is geared toward standardization and emphasis on testing. The study is very effective in showing how place-based education can provide classrooms with a solid footing/extension into the real world, which is one of the goals of standardization; so it does fit in with the practicum in this sense. The study is adequately descriptive and does not have any logical gaps or built-in biases.

Israel, B., Schulz, A., Parker, E., Becker, A. (1998). Review of community-based research: assessing partnership approaches to improve public health. Annual Review of Public Health, 19: 173-202.

The study identifies community-based research and education as focusing on social, structural, and physical environments and the differences among the various foci. Studies are often performed, for instance, in contexts that are typically thought to improve the overall health of the community. The study offers an overview of the principles that support community-based research and education, shows how the community-based approach fits in with the various other approaches to research and education within the scientific and health communities, identifies justificatory theories for its usage, and discusses obstacles and supporting variables that can impact community-based research and education in the field.

The study is a comprehensive systematic review that gives a description of various issues related to community-based research and education in the health field. It is summary and conclusive and helpful in showing how community-based approaches apply to the health care environment. The overall strength of the study is its focus on the principle problem of assessing the relevance of community-based approaches and showing their value among so many other possible approaches within the field. The weakness of the study is that it does not offer sufficient recommendations for researchers, educators, or health care agents in the field, who may benefit from a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the community-based approach in their own field; it merely discusses the implications of obstacles and supports -- which is helpful, but the study could improve on it.

McInerney, P., Smyth, J., Down, B. (2011). Coming to a place near you? The politics and possibilities of a critical pedagogy of place-based education. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39(1): 3-16.

This study builds on the concept of Gruenewald (2003) regarding the merger of place-based education and critical pedagogy. It discusses the concept in terms of the modern era of globalization and shows how localized, community-based education also has a role in the global economy of politics, as it underscores the human value of every integrated society, each with its own histories, past, languages, cultures, etc. The study asserts that while the world in the modern era is united globally, its relationships are anchored in respect for locality and place. The study thus focuses on legitimizing the theoretical foundations of place-based education in the modern era of globalization, and discusses the approach can best be applied in Australian studies. The study suggests that place-based education has a definitive role in the modern era but that it depends upon a critical approach to what ideas of community, identity and place actually mean for people. The study concludes with a practical assessment of how critical pedagogy of place can be implemented in the classroom, in terms of developing a curriculum, praxis, and information for teachers.

The study's merits are located in its ability to identify the character of the modern era (global) and how place-based education applies to education within that context. Its strength is in its ability to highlight the need for identifying what specific terms of identity/place mean for people within the global context. It has no fundamental weaknesses and it does not succumb to the same faults as the Gruenewald (2003) study, namely because it readily defines its concepts and explains why such approaches are helpful. In other words, its assumptions are supported by argumentation and evidence and it has a logical framework that is followed explained and justified.

Meichtry, Y., Smith, J. (2007). The impact of place-based professional development program on teachers' confidence, attitudes, and classroom practices. Journal of Environmental Education, 38(2): 15-32.

This study measures the effect of professional development programs on the teachers' confidence/practices in the classroom as well as their environmental attitudes. The study placed teachers within a specific, localized environmental context (the Ohio River) during a summer week and then gauged the impact of the place-based education on the teachers' own performance over the following year to assess whether the teachers' approaches in the classroom developed positively as a result. The researchers utilized MANOVA/univariate tests to collect data. The measurements indicated that the teachers' attitudes towards the environment were positively impacted by their place-based education/career development week-long course. Impacts were identified in teaching approaches (the broaching of topics/issues related to the environment, life, local community, etc.) and in career education.

This study was a quantitative, experimental study that utilized data gathering techniques to test the hypothesis regarding whether or not place-based education could impact a teacher's sense of community, attitude towards the environment, and teaching approach in the classroom as well as career development. The methodology was thoroughly explained, the sample was identified, the results were explained in a logical and flowing narrative form and could thus be easily followed, and the conclusions were based on the data and showed no indication of bias. There was an identifiable hypothesis and the theoretical framework for the study was also described and explained in detail to give support to the study's focus.

Shumer, R. (1994). Community-based learning: humanizing education. Journal of Adolescence, 17: 357-367.

This study analyzes the Community-Based Learning program, a dropout prevention initiative by the Job Training Partnership Act to promote career exploration, civic education, academic development and youth service. The study finds that community-based education can be very helpful in boosting school attendance, grades and overall learning. The way in which this positive boost is encountered is through greater engagement in the educational process within the community by adults and college students, who participate in the community-based education program. By having more adults and college students interact with one another and promote an overall, general spirit of community and education within a specific locale, students are given a more positive image and example of education, take the concept of education more seriously as a result, assume more pride in their role as students, and commit themselves more readily to their school efforts.

The study is very helpful in showing how community-based education is essential in building a basic sense of community, pride, and place and how all of this contributes to educational improvement. The study's rationale is thoroughly explained, its qualitative assessment underscored with clear definitions, and its conclusions supported by evidence described within the results. The weakness of the study is its lack of explanation of method, which means that one would have a difficult time attempting to duplicate the study; this does not, however, take away from its general value, which can be regarded as lying in its assessment of the role of community-based education in the community-building process.

Smith, G. (2007). Place-based education: breaking through the constraining regularities of public school. Environmental Education Research, 13(2): 189-207.

Smith describes how place-based education can help overcome obstacles related to the efficient implementation of environmental education. Place-based education is described as "an approach to curriculum development and school-community relations that draws upon local cultural, environmental, economic and political concerns" (p. 189). The main thrust of the article is to show that place-based education represents an integrative approach to social/environmental needs within communities that can promote and foster a better quality of environmental awareness and education in students, as it appeals to their own unique, individual experiences by using examples from their own communities, backgrounds, etc. This method is more engaging in the classroom and compels students to involve themselves more in what is being presented to them, as they can identify more readily with the ideas being communicated.

The study is qualitative descriptive, with sections dedicated to defining place-based education, the role it can play particularly within the context of the Belgrade Charter and Tbilsi Declaration, and the manner in which it works to work outside the box of curriculums and standardized assessments. The study is helpful in that it identifies the problem (inadequately implemented environmental education) and provides a solution to it (place-based education). The study provides adequate supporting evidence for its claims, citing literature/studies that confirm the correlation between education, engagement, local/community-based practice and environmental advancements.

Ulbricht, J. (2005). What is community-based art education? Art Education, 58(2): 6-

12.

The study defines community-based education within an art context by utilizing concepts of community art programs for skill improvement and outreach programs for the empowerment of special groups. Each concept can be supported and reinforced by utilizing the community-based education approach to include local art, culture, histories, talent and educational systems for developing the scope of art and art education in the community. The goal of such a program, according to the study, is to both empower and develop persons within the community who stand to benefit from a community-based educational method. The study shows how community-based art education can be helpful in improving local communities, groups, and places by offering a renewed sense of place, dignity and honor and celebrating artistic integrity on a localized level while improving skills for local artists, both professional and amateur and facilitating a greater sense of community among the populace.