"When people belong, they invest": An exploratory study of the benefits of place-based education in K-12 for both learners and their communities

The movements towards sustainability of our communities and lifelong learning are crucial for the continuation of the world as a whole and our ability to thrive in it. This doctoral research aims to proactively contribute to educational change and innovation by exploring and bringing forward place-based education in K-12 as an integrating approach to foster competencies such as self-regulated learning, lifelong learning, and digital competencies in remote education through a dual emphasis on learning. Emerging from more established fields of environmental, geography, community, outdoor and experiential education, place-based education is a growing field in educational research and practice. It is a progressive and interdisciplinary educational process rooted in local resources, issues,and values through direct, authentic, and active learning experiences and participation that enables a learner’s sense of agency and furthers the relationships in their lives, their (online and face-to-face) communities and their evolving natural spaces with the aim of contributing towards more sustainable socio-cultural, economic, political, and ecological environments.

The project explores place-based education through a qualitative lens in four different discussions: (1) a systematic literature review of place-based education to capture and summarize the current state of place-based education's characterizations, emerging discussions,and impact in K-12 (2) a conceptual article to advance the concept of place-based education alongside self-regulated learning and lifelong learning to integrate different streams of knowledge to make way for novel ideas and research (3) a collaborative case study from two schools in the United States and United Kingdom to understand how place-based education can foster and support self-regulated learning in K-5, and lastly (4) a single case study on the challenges and opportunities of remote place-based education from the perceptions and experiences of K-5 teachers and school leaders.

Place-based education deserves the attention of the academic and teaching communities, and educational policy. It is a relevant and innovative approach to teaching and learning that makes use of what we already have: ourselves, our communities and our environment.