Stewarding Places through Geography in Higher Education

Abstract

Place-based education is common in elementary school geography curriculums where children are taught about their surroundings. Emphasizing hands-on, real-world learning experiences, this approach creates heightened commitment to serving as active, contributing citizens. By post-secondary school, geography students collectively pursue knowledge within a classroom, learning about the importance of becoming global citizens. In the process, the benefits of place-based education are overlooked in favor of global aspirations. This paper considers the importance of place in student well-being, and the role of educator in place-based education, while reflecting on the role that local experiential education can play in increasingly global-oriented education.

Keywords:

• Place-based education
• university
• geography
• sense of place
• placelessness

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Study and Development Fellowship program for Sessional Instructors, University of Guelph.

Notes on contributors

Amanda Hooykaas

Amanda Hooykaas is an instructor with the Department of Geography, Environment & Geomatics, Executive Programs, and the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph, an adjunct faculty member of the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo, and a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society. Her work is heavily influenced by human ecology, place studies, ecopsychology, urban design, educational pedagogy, experiential education, and conservation management.