Philosophy

What is ‘Place Based Learning’?

Place Based Learning attempts to use the most effective developments in teaching and learning to tackle critical issues of sustainability and community development in the actual context that young people are growing-up.

Place-based learning encourages teachers and students to use the school site, the local community, and special places nearby as resources, turning communities into classrooms.

It immerses students in local heritage, culture, landscapes, opportunities, and experiences as a foundation for the study of language, arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and other subjects.

“Place-based pedagogies are needed so that the education of citizens might have some direct bearing on the well-being of the social and ecological places people actually inhabit.”

Grunewald, D.A.
“The Best of Both Worlds: A Critical Pedagogy of Place”,
Educational Researcher, Vol 32, No.4, pp.3-12

Does it work?

A great deal of inspirational work has already been carried out, particularly in the United States. There, the Place-Based Education Evaluation Collaborative claim;

“The findings are clear: place-based education fosters students’ connection to place and creates vibrant partnerships between schools and communities. It boosts student achievement and improves environmental, social, and economic vitality. In short, place-based education helps students learn to take care of the world by understanding where they live and taking action in their own backyards and communities.”

“Place-based learning, wherever that place is, teaches a sense of community and gives students a model for living well anywhere.”

Bishop, S. (2004). The power of place. The English Journal, 93(6), 65 - 69.

So what do we want from Education?

Perhaps, education could become the process through which we might empower future generations to;

 • understand and question the forces that shape lives and places

 • appreciate and enjoy natural beauty and diverse cultural aesthetics

 • understand and strengthen interdependance; natural, cultural, economic, civic

 • recognise and utilise assets in human and natural environments closest to hand

 • contribute to social action and community regeneration