All my friends and family have kindly put up with my ramblings and obsession, particular mention ... more All my friends and family have kindly put up with my ramblings and obsession, particular mention goes to Gill for her patience, Pringle for the accommodation, the OE and OESE lot from Moray House for fun and adventures, and the Barn session for giving me something better to do than write. Donald at Glen Strae always welcomed me and the groups I took into the glen, allowing this PhD to find its home. Most importantly the research participants deserve special thanks. They gave up their weekends and a considerable amount of time and energy to be part of this research, freely giving their opinions, ideas, passion and inspiration to shape the outcomes of the inquiry. Without them this thesis would be a pale shadow of what it is now, and I am very grateful. Last but by no means least my supervisors, Dr. Robbie Nicol and Professor Morwenna Griffiths have supported me all the way through this long process, giving way beyond the call of duty. Their patience, enthusiasm and critique have kept me on track and always learning. Thank you.
This paper describes action research undertaken with two groups of educators investigating place-... more This paper describes action research undertaken with two groups of educators investigating place-based education. The participants discussed and refined their understanding of place-based learning through active reflection as a group and in their professional work. They advocated making "place" an explicit pedagogical concern, arguing that a focus on the locality allowed connections to be revealed and new perspectives taken on the cultural and ecological life in which learners are embedded. The outcome of the research articulates place-based education as a rich and open ethos, where themes of place, belonging, and care can inform different educational contexts. This paper also explores the practical and conceptual dimensions of what it might mean to do research in place, and the difficulties of reducing the lived experience of place to theories or research outputs. The approach of "thinking with places," explored through the example of the shieling, is put forward as a way of grounding the theory and practice of place-based education in the author's context.
All my friends and family have kindly put up with my ramblings and obsession, particular mention ... more All my friends and family have kindly put up with my ramblings and obsession, particular mention goes to Gill for her patience, Pringle for the accommodation, the OE and OESE lot from Moray House for fun and adventures, and the Barn session for giving me something better to do than write. Donald at Glen Strae always welcomed me and the groups I took into the glen, allowing this PhD to find its home. Most importantly the research participants deserve special thanks. They gave up their weekends and a considerable amount of time and energy to be part of this research, freely giving their opinions, ideas, passion and inspiration to shape the outcomes of the inquiry. Without them this thesis would be a pale shadow of what it is now, and I am very grateful. Last but by no means least my supervisors, Dr. Robbie Nicol and Professor Morwenna Griffiths have supported me all the way through this long process, giving way beyond the call of duty. Their patience, enthusiasm and critique have kept me on track and always learning. Thank you.
This paper describes action research undertaken with two groups of educators investigating place-... more This paper describes action research undertaken with two groups of educators investigating place-based education. The participants discussed and refined their understanding of place-based learning through active reflection as a group and in their professional work. They advocated making "place" an explicit pedagogical concern, arguing that a focus on the locality allowed connections to be revealed and new perspectives taken on the cultural and ecological life in which learners are embedded. The outcome of the research articulates place-based education as a rich and open ethos, where themes of place, belonging, and care can inform different educational contexts. This paper also explores the practical and conceptual dimensions of what it might mean to do research in place, and the difficulties of reducing the lived experience of place to theories or research outputs. The approach of "thinking with places," explored through the example of the shieling, is put forward as a way of grounding the theory and practice of place-based education in the author's context.
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