How experiences transform over time: A retrospective study on place-based education in Micronesia and the Philippines

ABSTRACT

This study asked the participants of place-based educational programs in Micronesia and the Philippines between 1992 and 2017 how past learning experiences impact them now and how the learning changed over time. The responses of 128 program participants, mostly Japanese, were examined using a mixed-methods approach with an emphasis on qualitative data analysis. Ninety-four percent of the respondents stated that what they learned in these programs is linked to their current lifestyles, ways of thinking, and jobs. The categories of perceived learning were the same regardless of the age during the program and the time that had passed after the program. Most reported that the influence continued in various forms and transformed as an extension of the initial effect. The study demonstrates that learning develops through interaction with new learning in different contexts after the program through a meaning-making process, using the initial impactful experience as a reference.

KEYWORDS:

• Retrospective studies
• place-based education
• learning transformation

Acknowledgments

I am very grateful to Morten Asfeldt, who provided me with helpful feedback in the process of writing this paper. I would also like to thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English-language editing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Geolocation information

Japan

Notes

1. The quotes presented hereinafter are followed by the program year and the participants’ age at the time of participation in parentheses.

Additional information

Funding

This paper is part of the outcome of research performed under a Waseda University Grant for Special Research Projects [Project number: 2017S-017].

Notes on contributors

Takako Takano

Takako Takano is a professor at Waseda University, Tokyo. She offers lectures and fieldtrips on sustainability, and is particularly interested in place-based education. She has conducted educational and research projects in small communities in and outside of Japan. She earned her PhD in education from University of Edinburgh, M.Phil in environment and development from Cambridge University, and Master of Political Science from Waseda University. She has received the Waseda University Teaching Award in 2016, Japan Outdoor Leaders Award in 2017, International Camping Fellowship Butterfly Award in 2018, and Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative Dragonfly Award in 2019.