Promise and Pitfalls: Place-Based Education and Marginalized Students

• In Event: Coyotes Will Howl: Narratives of Colonized Places, People, and Eco-Ethical Inquiries for Justice

Abstract

This literature review problematizes place-based education and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of such models in the context of marginalized students. Examining literature describing specific place-based curricula, we ask the following questions: Who may be excluded from the very place that forms the nexus of each place-based approach? Who may be marginalized by these models? Are there elements of colonialism in any approach? It is our contention that while place-based education has the potential to be a powerful form of pedagogy that is constructivist and democratic in nature, it is vital to deliberate upon the ideology we assume surrounding these notions. Finally, we make recommendations towards place-based education facilitating more equitable connections among students and their places.

Authors

• Gwendolyn Perea Warniment, New Mexico State University

• Jesse Moon Longhurst, New Mexico State University