Page 330 - Cultural Studies of Science Education

304 D.B. Zandvliet

“Valuing” Place-Based Education

The notion of a place-based education has been well-described by Sobel (1993,
1996), and related ideas have been expanded on by others including critical peda-
gogy and rural education (Gruenewald 2003), community contexts (Hutchinson
2004), eco-literacy (Orr 1992, 1994), ecological identity (Thomashow 1996), and
experiential learning (Woodhouse and Knapp 2000). The idea of place-based learn-
ing connects theories of experiential learning, contextual learning, problem-based
learning, constructivism, outdoor education, indigenous education, and environ-
mental education. In defense of what he describes as a critical pedagogy of place,
Gruenewald (2003) writes that our educational concern for local space (or commu-
nity) is overshadowed by both the discourse of accountability and by the discourse
of economic competitiveness to which it is linked.
In my opinion, place becomes a critical construct to its opponents, not
because it is in opposition to economic well-being but because it challenges
assumptions about the dominant “progress” metaphor and its embedded neocon-
servative values. Past efforts at science education reform (though well-intentioned)
have only served to replicate hegemonic values and norms in the curriculum
while failing to correct the real problems facing society and local communities
by remaining “placeless” in their approach or by developing a technocentric
form of curriculum that advocates instead for a mobility-oriented and techno-
logically skilled workforce – often at the expense of locally held community
values and needs.
Semken and Brand state that emotional and intellectual estrangement or the
outright eviction of people from places personally and culturally important to
them is rampant in an era of anthropic sprawl, economic globalization, and cul-
tural homogenization. They assert that placelessness can have detrimental
effects to self-identity and well-being and that place-based education (explicitly
situated in the learner’s physical and cultural surroundings), might offer unique
benefits for troubled communities. In their consideration of the educational
issues, they begin with a summary of the nature of place and its relationship to
place-based education, and then review the evolution of place-based educational
philosophy to show a progressively greater philosophical emphasis on how to
dwell sustainably.
While the philosophical issues they describe around place are important,
Semken and Brandt do not situate these ideas in the context of the science educa-
tion curriculum as it has been influenced by reform movements over the past
decades. Valuing “place” within the context of broader curricular reforms is an
important part of the story in that it describes more fully what deficiencies a
place-based education is responding to (i.e., shortcomings of the dominant dis-
course in science education reform). The next section provides an overview of
historical reform efforts and their importance for the “valuing” of place-based
education.