1st Edition

Place-Based Education in the Global Age Local Diversity

Edited By David A. Gruenewald, Gregory A. Smith Copyright 2008
    402 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    402 Pages 11 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    "Polished, clear, insightful, and meaningful.... This volume amounts to nothing less than a complete rethinking of what progressive education can be at its best and how education can be reconceptualized as one of the central practices of a genuinely democratic and sustainable society.... It is the kind of book that has the potential to be transformative."

    Stephen Preskill, University of New Mexico

    "The editors and contributors are pioneers in the field of educational theory, policy, and philosophy.... They are opening new areas of inquiry and educational reform in ways that promise to make this book in very short time into a classic.... The practical applications and experiments included reveal the richness of grassroots initiatives already underway to bring educational theory and policy down to earth. While spanning the richest and deepest intellectual ideas and concepts, the stories told are the types that practitioners and teachers will be able to relate to in their daily undertakings."

    Madhu Suri Prakash, The Pennsylvania State University

    This volume – a landmark contribution to the burgeoning theory and practice of place-based education – enriches the field in three ways: First, it frames place-based pedagogy not just as an alternative teaching methodology or novel approach to environmental education but as part of a broader social movement known as the "Anew localism", which aims toward reclaiming the significance of the local in the global age. Second, it links the development of ecological awareness and stewardship to concerns about equity and cultural diversity. Third, it presents examples of place-based education in action. The relationship between the new localism and place-based education is clarified and the process of making connections between learners and their wider communities is demonstrated. The book is organized around three themes:

    • Reclaiming Broader Meanings of Education;
    • Models for Place-Based Learning; and
    • Global Visions of the Local in Higher Education

     

    This is a powerfully relevant volume for researchers, teacher educators, and students across the fields of curriculum theory, educational foundations, critical pedagogy, multicultural education, and environmental education.

    Contents: Preface. D.A. Gruenewald, G.A. Smith, Introduction: Making Room for the Local. Part I: Models for Place-Based Learning. C.E. Knapp, Place-Based Curricular and Pedagogical Models: My Adventures in Teaching Through Community Contexts. M. Graham, The Fringe of Nirvana: Aesthetic Places and the Art Classroom. M. Sorensen, STAR: Service to All Relations. J. Bartsch, Youth as Resources in Revitalizing Communities. E. Seneschal, Environmental Justice in Egleston Square. R. Barnhardt, Creating a Place for Indigenous Knowledge in Education: The Alaska Native Knowledge Network. Part II: Reclaiming Broader Meanings of Education. D.A. Gruenewald, Place-Based Education: Grounding Culturally Responsive Teaching in Geographical Diversity. R.M. Pyle, No Child Left Inside: Nature Study as a Radical Act. R. Tompkins, Overlooked Opportunity: Students, Educators, and Education
    Advocates Contributing to Community and Economic Development. P. Theobald, J. Siskar, Place: Where Diversity and Community Can Converge. Part III: Global Visions of the Local in Higher Education. M.M. Morris, Place in Leadership Formation: The Institute for Educational and Community Leadership. F. Elbaz-Luwisch, Multiculturalism, Conflict, and Struggle: Place as Meeting Ground in Israeli Education. J.I. Cameron, Learning Country: A Case Study of Australian Place-Responsive Education. M. Dubel, D. Sobel, Place-Based Teacher Education. D.A. Gruenewald, G.A. Smith, Afterword: Creating a Movement to Ground Learning in Place.

    Biography

    David A. Gruenewald, Washington State University, USA.

    Gregory A. Smith, Lewis and Clark College, USA.

    "Polished, clear, insightful, and meaningful.... This volume amounts to nothing less than a complete rethinking of what progressive education can be at its best and how education can be reconceptualized as one of the central practices of a genuinely democratic and sustainable society.... It is the kind of book that has the potential to be transformative."

    Stephen Preskill, University of New Mexico

    "The editors and contributors are pioneers in the field of educational theory, policy, and philosophy.... They are opening new areas of inquiry and educational reform in ways that promise to make this book in very short time into a classic.... The practical applications and experiments included reveal the richness of grassroots initiatives already underway to bring educational theory and policy down to earth. While spanning the richest and deepest intellectual ideas and concepts, the stories told are the types that practitioners and teachers will be able to relate to in their daily undertakings."

    Madhu Suri Prakash, The Pennsylvania State University

    "...a thorough and engaging volume of topics and issues related to place-based education....I highly recommend this book as a primary textbook in the increasing number of university courses that focus on place-based education [and as] as a supplementary resource in courses that focus on such topics as culturally responsive teaching and development of aware and responsive community leaders."

    Samuel S. Perkins, August 12, 2008, Education Review 

    "This volume significantly contributes to the theory and practice of the emerging field of place-based education. It informs, expands perspectives, and challenges the reader to rethink the purposes of schooling. The potentially transformative nature of this book makes it a recommended reading for all engaged in reforming education and seeking to improve our world."

    MaryAnn Davies, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2008, International Journal of Multicultural Education

    "Without a doubt, Place-Based Education in the Global Age is an important and timely collection of work. Editors David A. Gruenewald and Gregory A. Smith do much to position the individual stories of learners and teachers that are found within this book at the forefront of a movement toward education in local diversity."

    Jessica Hayes-Conroy, 2008, 23(2), Journal of Research in Rural Education