Towards a critical pedagogy of place for environmental conservation

Abstract

This paper considered the changes in education that are needed in response to the rapidly deteriorating state of the Earth’s environment. We argued that such changes should be focussed on developing an effective education that equips inhabitants of the Earth to understand their environment towards contributing to its conservation, especially with respect to climate change mitigation and adaptation. This is crucial because previously colonised people and their environments are marginalised in their Eurocentric education systems. To escape ethnocentricity, education should be transformed using a polycentric approach that legitimises all knowledge systems and places. Therefore, this study employed a qualitative approach to explore teachers’ perceptions of the extent to which their education system is based on local knowledge and places, and how the concept of place might be engaged as the foundation for learning. A selection of teachers participated in the study, which employed in-depth interviews. Factors that contributed to the place-detachment of participants’ practice were analysed, along with a discussion of educational reform ideas that included place-based approaches and indigenous methods. The correlation between these ideas and a critical pedagogy of place has implications for environmental conservation in local and global contexts.

Keywords:

• Environmental conservation
• critical pedagogy of place
• place-based education
• indigenous knowledge
• teachers’ perceptions

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to their institutions and to the study participants and their schools. We also thank Raul Lejano, Susan Kirch, and Mary Leou for providing feedback on early drafts of this paper.

Disclosure statement

There are no conflicts of interest to declare.