Abstract:

This paper explores possible spaces in schools for practicing a pedagogy of place. It’s been argued that a pedagogy of place is a potential supportive tradition for emotionally (re)connecting learners to the land which can lead to an increased conservation of the environment. However, a pedagogy of place is not being practiced sufficiently in schools. This can be due to multiple reasons such as a lack of emphasis on place-based education during teacher training, the insufficient treatment of this notion in the National Curriculum Statements for South African schools, the unawareness of teachers regarding the ‘sense of place’ of their learners and increased pressures for accountability on standards and testing in schools. The paper further argues that if a pedagogy of place can be seen as a potential supportive tradition for developing an emotional (re)connection to the land which might lead to an increased environmental conservation, teachers need to rethink their pedagogy by adopting an integrated holistic view on the concept ‘place’ particularly as it applies to environmental education. This implies that training programmes for teachers in training and in-service should be revised. By providing a theoretical rationale for a pedagogy of place, teachers are encouraged to reflect on and investigate their own and their learners’ sense of place. The paper concludes with a discussion on the possibilities for a pedagogy of place in an era which is defined by institutional accountability challenges.

Keywords:

pedagogy, place, accountability, emotional (re) connection, school reform