L&P1 1a Ko Wai Ahau? Understanding Ourselves

Pedagogy of Place

What is a pedagogy of place and what does it have to do with you as a learner and as a teacher? Consider this explanation from the point of view of you as a teacher.

“Its practices and purposes can be connected to experiential learning, contextual learning, problem-based learning, constructivism, outdoor education, indigenous education, environmental and ecological education, bioregional education, democratic education, multicultural education, community-based education, critical pedagogy itself, as well as other approaches that are concerned with context and the value  of  learning  from and  nurturing  specific  places,  communities, or regions.” (Gruenewald, 2003)

What is a critical pedagogy of place? What does this have to do with you as a learner? Gruenwald says that while

“….critical pedagogy offers an agenda of cultural decolonization, place-based education leads the way toward ecological  reinhabitation.” Both contribute to a critical pedagogy of place.

Further reading:

Gruenewald, D. A. (2003). The Best of Both Worlds: A Critical Pedagogy of Place. Educational Researcher, 32(4), 3-12. doi:10.3102/0013189X032004003

Jones, A. (2020). This Pākehā life : an unsettled memoir: Bridget Williams Books.

Penetito, W. (2008). Place-based education : catering for curriculum, culture and community. New Zealand annual review of education. 

Culture, what is it? What is mine? How do I know mine and then how do I decide what others’ cultures are? How do I really know if what I have decided mine and others’ cultures are is an ethical decision, especially when, as a teacher I will work so closely with and have so much power over others? (Power – think language and think about why the word power is used in terms of teaching).

My note: When asked “Which culture is most salient to each of us in this particular moment in time?” I struggle, but with the note “This can always be changing” I start to breathe a little easier. It’s not a case of “can” but “is” always changing. When I have my children with me, when I am by myself, when I am talking to work colleagues, these all require different aspects to step to the forefront.

Anäis Nin, “We don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are.”