This qualitative inquiry explored how art educators might broaden their views of place through critical encounters with art, local visual culture, and working with older artists. I combined place-based (PB) education and intergenerational (IG) learning as the focus of an art education curriculum writing initiative with in-service art educators within a museum setting to produce PBIG art education. This study engaged art educators in cooperative action research using a multi-modal approach, including identifying and interviewing local artists to construct new understandings about local place and art to share with students and community. I used critical reflection in our cooperative action research by troubling paradoxes in local visual culture, which formed views of place including Indigenous cultures. Using Deleuze's Logic of Sense (LOS) theories of sense and event, enabled concept development through embracing the paradoxes of this research as sense producing. LOS theory of duration complements IG learning by clarifying the contributions of place and time to memory and experience. Duration suggests that place locates the virtual past, which is actualized through memories--one of the shared experiences of IG learning. Rethinking IG relationships as a sharing of experience and memory while positioning place as a commonality, dismantles ageist notions by offering alternatives to binary thinking about old and young. By triangulating participant data based on the extended epistemology of cooperative action research and Deleuze's pure event, I assess the credibility of participant learning. Critical reflection in cooperative action research combined with LOS theory is significant because the reflective aspect of action research aligns with Deleuze's pure event. Vital curricula and teacher praxes resulted when participants integrated localized experiences of place through older artists' memories and art.

The world is becoming progressively interconnected through technology, politics, culture, economics, and education. As educators we strive to provide instruction that prepares students to become active members of both their local and global communities. This dissertation presents one possible avenue for engaging students with art and multifaceted ideas about culture, community, and politics as it explores the possibilities for creating a community-based, art education curriculum that seeks a merger of global and local, or "glocal" thinking. Through curriculum action research, I explored the process of writing site-specific curriculum that focuses on publicly available, local works of art and encourages a connection between global experiences and local application. I have completed this research for two communities, one in Ohio and one in Texas, and investigated the similarities and differences that exist in the process and resulting curriculum for each location. Through textual analysis, interviews, curriculum writing, and personal reflections, I identified five essential components of a community-based, glocal art education curriculum: flexibility, authenticity, connectedness, glocal understandings, and publicly available art. Additionally, I developed a template for writing glocally focused, community-based art education curriculum and produced completed curricular units for each of the communities. Finally, I have made suggestions for the future study and development of glocally focused, art education curriculum.

I skolorna talas det alltmer om utomhuspedagogik som arbetssätt och dess inflytande på elevers inlärning. Det finns forskning som behandlar huruvida arbetssättet påverkar elevers förståelse och kunskapslagring, men desto mindre kring hur arbetssättet bedrivs i praktiken. Frågor som kan ställas är om det även kan finnas faktorer som har inflytande på användandet av arbetssättet, och varför. Syftet med föreliggande studie är att bidra med kunskap om hur lärare i Stockholms innerstad kontra förorter, använder historiska platser i form av besök i samband med sin historieundervisning. Sju legitimerade grundskolelärare i årskurs 4–6 som arbetar på olika skolor runt om i Stockholm har deltagit i studien. Metoden som använts är kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med en abduktiv ansats. Intervjufrågorna som har ställts är öppna för att respondenterna ska få utrymme till mer utförliga svar med eventuella följdfrågor. Den övergripande teorin för studien är Learning by doing av John Dewey med särskilt fokus på begreppen utomhuspedagogik, platsbaserad undervisning och upplevelsebaserat lärande. Dessa är förankrade med undersökningens innehåll, och därav baseras arbetet utifrån dessa teorier gällande lärande. Resultatet av studien visade att geografiska förutsättningar ökar användningen av arbetssättet i samband med historieundervisningen, då det oftast används i innerstaden med närhet till många av Stockholms kulturhistoriska platser. / In schools you often hear about outdoor education as a way of teaching and its influence of the students learning. There is research that shows whether outdoor education has an impact on the student’s understanding and memorization, however it is hard to find research that describes how it is actually used and practiced. Questions that should be considered is whether factors that affect the use of outdoor education, and why that is. The aim of the study is to contribute with knowledge about how teachers in Stockholm’s inner city versus the suburbs, tend to use historical places in terms of visits in connection with their history teaching. The respondents who participated in the research are seven licensed primary school teachers who teach the history subject in grades 4–6 and work at different schools in Stockholm. The method that is used is qualitative and semi structured interviews with an aduktiv approach. The interview questions that have been asked are opened with the possibility to give the respondent space for a more free answer and also the possibility to ask supplementary questions. The overall theory for the study is learning by doing by John Dewey, with a particular focus on concept outdoor education, place-based education, and experience-based learning. These are strongly anchored with the consent of the research, and therefore the research is based upon these theories about learning. The result shows that the geographic closeness increase the use of the working method in connection with history education, as it is most often used in the inner city with closeness to many of Stockholm's cultural-historical places.

As we come to the end of the decade declared as United Nations Decade for Biodiversity 2011-2020, the impact humans are having our planet is clear. The current primary school children are the future decision makers, consumers and electors; therefore, they must be exposed to approaches that can assist development that is sustainable and that will prevent further degradation of our planet. A key way to achieve this is to transform the education current and future generations of children will receive. Education must address sustainable development to support the formation of responsible citizens, eager to actively engage in decision-making processes, environmental issues and societal matters. This can be assisted through a focus on a specific approach to Education for Sustainable Development, Biodiversity Education. To add to current research about this approach to ESD, I investigated the effect biodiversity education had on the sustainability consciousness of primary school children. I chose a qualitative method of data collection and analysis through focus group, semi-structured interviews with 5th class students. The results showed that the participants' sustainability awareness, regarding two of the three dimensions of sustainable development, was highly developed; the environmental dimension and the social dimension. There was less evidence of a consciousness for the economic dimension of SD. Therefore, biodiversity education had a positive influence on the participants' sustainability consciousness, making them more aware of sustainability issues and action-oriented to address these issues. However, they lacked one dimension of sustainability; therefore, their sustainability consciousness was not fully developed. Further research is needed to analysis and interpret the rationale as to why the economic dimension was less developed in these participants who attended a school that promotes biodiversity education.

Outdoor education is believed to be a new teaching approach and method in the education framework which relates to learning through natural places using direct experience. However, the teaching approach that is mostly used in the Gambian schools is based on the traditional approach of teachings as well as many African countries. As a relatively new teaching technique, outdoor education is gaining recognition from many researchers who are developing a keen interest in it. Thus, the aim of the current thesis is to investigate the perceptions of Gambian Basic and Secondary school teachers about outdoor education. in that regard, six (6) Gambian teachers from different teaching subjects, grades, and regions reported their views about outdoor education. A qualitative approach methodology with the use of semi-structured interview was employed to get teachers perceptions. After the data collection, thematic analysis was used for analyzing the collected data from which three (3) themes emerged to report the participants’ opinions. The participants revealed their basic knowledge and perceptions about outdoor education and presented some characteristics and examples of how the practice outdoor education. They emphasized that they view outdoor education as a teaching approach with the use of outdoors. However, according to them, any teaching activity that involves using the outside the four corners of the classroom or the school premises, is considered outdoor education. They noted that outdoor education can take place in the form of excursions, fieldtrips, classes outside the class under a tree or within the school premises. Besides, although the teachers indicated that the main teaching approach, they use is still the traditional teaching and learning approach, they showed willingness to enrich their classes with use of outdoor education. They further revealed that the main places they conduct outdoor education is the school yard, under a tree, a visit to places of interest, excursions to various historical places or museums and the like. The Gambian teachers acknowledged many potentials of outdoor education to the students including stimulation of multi-senses, increased understanding, improved social relation and cooperation, boosting of their health and wellbeing, developing curiosity, and giving students a sense of freedom and happiness. However, participants also revealed several barriers that suppress them from doing outdoor education effectively. Among the barriers mentioned includes, inadequate funding, lack of support from parents and school administrators, lack of pedagogical training, tight schedule, and limited time. Thus, further research is needed to help testifying the results of the current study and give more insight into the field of outdoor education in the Gambia and Africa at large

No description available.

The social and environmental challenges of the coming decades will require that individuals possess environmental literacy: the understanding of natural systems combined with a sense of care for the earth, and the confidence and competency to act on its behalf. At the same time, disengaged youth need education environments that foster belonging and promote affective outcomes. The youth conservation corps model provides a natural context for engaging academically at-risk youth in environmental science education, while fostering connection to nature and student self-efficacy in ways that are experiential, relevant, and relationship-based. The focus of this study was a conservation corps program that integrates habitat restoration fieldwork and environmental science curriculum. The participants of this study were eight high school seniors who participated in the program for credit toward their high school diplomas. Data were collected through both quantitative and qualitative measures. Students completed a pre-test to assess their understanding and application of conceptual knowledge in ecosystem relationships and biodiversity. Upon completion of a six-week curriculum, they completed a post-test assessing knowledge in the same areas, two retrospective pre-post surveys measuring connection to nature and self-efficacy, and a post-evaluation measuring affective outcomes. Individual interviews were conducted in order to provide further insights and to identify elements of the program that contributed to positive outcomes. Results showed statistically significant increases in all outcome areas as well as positive student evaluation of affective outcomes. The outdoor and experiential components of the program were found to contribute most significantly to the positive outcomes.

The Countried experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples of (Australia), ground a resilience and strength in sovereign thinking through the Stories we share laterally with family and inter-ancestrally through our connections to the Dreaming. The stories we share develop a sense of inalienability we have that is connected to the Countries of origin we share and identify with across the continental scape of Land, Water and Sky Country. As a formative philosophical assumption, the Countried existence that this dissertation develops, illuminates the significance of this research thinking to contribute to the continued development of Indigenous education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students attending secondary high schools across (Australia). By attending to the ways Elders as significant Indigenous leaders describe and develop their storied lives through lived experience, this Countried philosophy emerges through the Storied knowing of Country. By examining the approaches to learning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students adopt, further evidence can be contributed to the research surrounding Indigenous thinking and cognitive approaches to thinking through education learning tasks. By examining the perceptions and beliefs of non-indigenous teachers, this dissertation aims to contribute evidence to Indigenous pedagogies that teachers can deploy in the delivery of meaningful Indigenous Knowledge curricula content. Summatively, this thesis found that when deep engagements are made into the notion of inalienability of Countried experience, salient avenues of thinking and learning and teaching emerge surrounding the ways education can continue to elaborate and relate meaningfully to the First Peoples of Australia.

UNESCO established Sustainability Education as a top priority when it declared 2005 - 2014 to be the global decade for sustainability. Sustainability education can be implemented in outdoor programs such as nature summer camps in order to build environmental stewardship and ecological literacy in counselors and campers. This study sought to determine the extent to which an ecology and leadership training given to assistant counselors at Tryon Creek State Natural Area day camp achieved the goals of sustainability education--for the assistant counselors to learn about ecology, develop stewardship attitudes and behaviors toward the environment, and become positive role models for the campers in their care. Knowledge and environmental stewardship attitudes and behaviors of the counselors were assessed using surveys, interviews, and training journals. A statistically significant difference was found between pre and posttest scores on a survey measuring knowledge of Pacific Northwest ecology, but no significant difference was found between the pre and posttest scores on an environmental attitudes survey, possibly due to a ceiling effect. Interviews revealed that participants learned about invasive species, Oregon flora and fauna, and stream ecology over the summer. Despite the results on the attitudes survey, interviewees reported greater environmental awareness at the end of the summer as well as a greater sense of place in nature and a desire to continue working with children in an outdoor setting.

No description available.