Thesis (M.A.)--Humboldt State University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-97). Also available via Humboldt Digital Scholar.

This thesis considers outdoor education as a pedagogical approach which enables students to explore the natural world and learn its value when guided by an adult, be they teacher or community member. In order to provide a full account of this distinctive pedagogy, the thesis critically examines three approaches to outdoor education: a discipline-based approach used in a course on phenology at Capital Normal University in Beijing; a multidisciplinary approach currently utilized at the Outdoor School in Saskatoon; and a place-based approach as exemplified in the CO-SEED project (Community-Based School Environmental Education project) in the United States. The theoretical framework used throughout the thesis is the philosophy of education of Alfred North Whitehead coupled with concepts from his philosophy of organism. It is within this framework that each approach is interpreted and its strengths and weaknesses explained.<p> Based on consideration of the three examples and on an analysis of the literature concerning outdoor education, I argue that outdoor education is not fully recognized by educators as a way for students to learn to appreciate their connection with nature. The educational value of outdoor education has yet to be acknowledged, and as a result students with little or no regular outdoor experience tend to feel alienated from nature, and are losing any sense of connectedness and rootedness to the places where they live. By way of contrast, outdoor education has the potential to restore students appreciation of nature.<p> I propose that a place-based approach to outdoor education is the most inclusive and adequate of the three approaches. At the same time, this approach would benefit from a full understanding and integration of Whiteheads key concepts of the rhythmic cycles of growth, internal relations, wisdom, value, and the art of life. Together they would strengthen place-based education, making it an effective approach to outdoor education.

This thesis considers outdoor education as a pedagogical approach which enables students to explore the natural world and learn its value when guided by an adult, be they teacher or community member. In order to provide a full account of this distinctive pedagogy, the thesis critically examines three approaches to outdoor education: a discipline-based approach used in a course on phenology at Capital Normal University in Beijing; a multidisciplinary approach currently utilized at the Outdoor School in Saskatoon; and a place-based approach as exemplified in the CO-SEED project (Community-Based School Environmental Education project) in the United States. The theoretical framework used throughout the thesis is the philosophy of education of Alfred North Whitehead coupled with concepts from his philosophy of organism. It is within this framework that each approach is interpreted and its strengths and weaknesses explained.<p> Based on consideration of the three examples and on an analysis of the literature concerning outdoor education, I argue that outdoor education is not fully recognized by educators as a way for students to learn to appreciate their connection with nature. The educational value of outdoor education has yet to be acknowledged, and as a result students with little or no regular outdoor experience tend to feel alienated from nature, and are losing any sense of connectedness and rootedness to the places where they live. By way of contrast, outdoor education has the potential to restore students appreciation of nature.<p> I propose that a place-based approach to outdoor education is the most inclusive and adequate of the three approaches. At the same time, this approach would benefit from a full understanding and integration of Whiteheads key concepts of the rhythmic cycles of growth, internal relations, wisdom, value, and the art of life. Together they would strengthen place-based education, making it an effective approach to outdoor education.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy, Dept. of Teacher Education, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on July 24, 2009) Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Montana, 2007. / Title from title screen. Description based on contents viewed July 23, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 177-187).

In Jack London: Landscape, Love, and Place, American Studies theories and methods formed the prime basis for analysis of London's biography, historical context, and literary significance. Particularly, the ideas of agrarianism, the Turner Thesis moment, Western literature, American masculinity, Victorian ideals, and sustainable farm practices in America were used to understand London's motivations for writing and creating his farm, his influence on American literature, and his texts' abilities to open avenues between literature and place-based education. Key concepts that influenced how London's works could be incorporated into and applied to didactic theory included David Sobel's seminal works in place-based education. The principle idea behind this thesis was to analyze one author and two of his works in a wider theoretical context, and then, to use that analysis to apply the theories to practical methods of educating future students in sustainable practices, place-based learning, and future work in understanding their impact on the ecosystems of their local communities and landscapes.

This study explores the experiences of teachers undertaking place-based education in or near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, including their perceptions of the best ways of implementing place-based education. In all, seven teachers undertaking place-based education in their teaching practices were interviewed to share their experiences. Qualitative interviews with the aid of an interview guide were used to collect data. In collecting the data, five individual interviews and one group interview involving two teachers were conducted. Content analysis was used in analyzing the data. Three overarching research questions guided this research. These had to do with the experiences of teachers undertaking place-based education, challenges of teachers undertaking place-based education in their teaching practice, and knowledge and skills needed to implement place-based education. The interviews with the participants were transcribed and coded resulting in ten themes emerging. The themes that emerged helped to answer the three overarching research questions. The findings suggests that although challenges exist in implementing place-based education, educators can overcome these challenges if they are motivated, adaptable and willing to work with all stakeholders in a place-based program. Finally, new teachers who want to implement place-based education in their teaching practices must understand the local community, understand different teaching and learning methods, and gain knowledge and understanding in safety issues.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wyoming, 2007. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Oct. 21, 2008). An Interdisciplinary Master of Arts thesis in English, Education, and Environment and Natural Resources. Includes bibliographical references (p. 150-154).

This study uses Foucauldian governmentality as a framework to examine the interplay of neoliberal and place-based discourses, as well as the political rationalities aimed at governing citizens. It identifies neoliberalism as an ideological project and different parties play a role in the facilitation and circulation of neoliberalism as a form of governmentality. The possibility for accommodation of the two mismatched theoretical position, poststructuralism and Marxism, is also discussed. This study not only focuses on the apparatus of technologies of domination, but also responds to a recent call to recognize the creative possibilities and freedom of an individual. A geneology of poverty and welfare discourse is examined in this study through a complementary combination of qualitative coding analysis and quantitative content analysis of 20 years of Hong Kong newspaper articles. Seventy in-deep interviews with poor people, social workers, and volunteers, and participant observation were conducted in three NGOs for one year. Five central governing practices among poverty news articles supporting neoliberal rationality and mentalities and four oppositional claims are also found. Three major shifts in discursive strategies were identified as coinciding with the major socio-political changes in Hong Kong. The result shows that the mobilization of moral panic prompted a shift in the discourse regarding poverty from a story-like form of social citizenship to rational language of economic citizenship. In this, news media use their institutional power to determine the legitimate way to discuss poverty. Faced with journalism preference of scientism, rationality, and extraordinary stories, social actors and government officials use survey, official statistics, rational language and demonstrations to attract media attention. Journalists condition the audience to act as good citizens by repeating the self-reliance project. The individuals are either conditioned to behave themselves or to monitor the behavior of others in economic terms. This study further examines how the society in terms of power and knowledge constitutes subjectivity. It first illustrates how gazes might transform social relations in our everyday lives. Individuals might submit to power as technology of domination under constant surveillance. At the same time, poor people accomplish goals and actualize themselves as technology of self

Globally oriented content and perspectives are urgently needed in United States secondary classrooms as the world continues to become more interconnected. U.S. secondary students are typically exposed to global topics in world history courses. There is limited research on the intersection of global education and world history, particularly within empirical studies concerning teachers’ positionalities and practice. This qualitative study explores this gap by asking: How do self-identified globally oriented world history teachers’ positionalities influence their curricular and pedagogical decisions? The sub-questions are: What identities, experiences, and surrounding social structures shape teachers’ understanding of themselves as global educators? Where/when/how do world history teachers position themselves within the knowledge, material, and teaching about the world? This study, utilizing interviews, elicitation tasks (concept mapping, identity card sort, global image ranking), and observations of teaching, investigated eight globally oriented New York City public school world history teachers. Findings suggest reconceptualizing teacher positionalities to include worldviews and place-based experiences abroad in addition to identities, subjectivities, and contexts. These intertwining aspects of world history teachers’ positionalities influenced their practice to teach with a global orientation in a world history classroom. Four worldviews were significant in how these teachers framed the world for themselves and their students: interconnectedness, justice-orientations, cosmopolitanism, and critical perspectives. Place-based experiences abroad were significant aspects to their positionalities in that they gained content knowledge of the place while confronting their social positions and privileges. These engagements contributed to the ways in which they approached their knowledge construction of the world in their approaches to curriculum and teaching. I suggest these aspects of teacher positionalities be integrated into future research in global education and social studies teacher education programs.