Place-based education – a systematic review of literature

Abstract

Place based education (PBE) is a pedagogical approach that emphasises the connection between a learning process and the physical place in which teachers and students are located. It incorporates the meanings and the experiences of place in teaching and learning, which can extend beyond the walls of the school. PBE regained significant attention with the early 2020 outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused large scale school closures globally and forced the rapid adoption of alternative learning environments, including teaching and learning outdoors, and learning from home. This systematic review aims to analyse English language research on PBE published in peer reviewed journals in the last twenty years. We map the themes included in this research corpus, highlight the geographical and subject specific topics where PBE is analysed, and categorise the themes that emerged from the research, according to Ardoin and colleagues’ model of PBE dimensions. (Ardoin et al. [Citation2012]. Exploring the dimensions of place: A confirmatory factor analysis of data from three ecoregional sites. Environmental Education Research, 18(5), 583–607. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2011.640930). As educators, scholars and policymakers in many countries increasingly seek to integrate PBE into curricula, a broad understanding and status check of current research directions will help steer future studies of PBE, as well as help guide education policy and practice.