Seeing Through Their Eyes: Place Attachment and Teachers’ Understanding of Worldviews

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 10:50 am
  In Roundtable Session: Worldviews and Narratives: The BioDoc SIG Roundtable I (Table 4)

Abstract

Using a multimodal hermeneutic phenomenological study, I examined the influence of place attachment and topophilia on the formation of the worldview of educators who returned to their childhood school districts to teach. The theoretical framework involved examining place attachment, topophilia and sociocultural theory. Through three semi-structured interviews, including the exploration of photos and community tours, the educator-participants described how bonds within their school and community shaped who they are today. Using thematic analysis, four themes arose: bonds are created through connections within the community and family; bonds are formed through attachment with the school; bonds are developed through relationships with people; and changes in the school and community present challenges to the sense of identity and home.

Author

• Kathleen E. Murray, Valley Stream UFSD #24