Exploring a pedagogy of place in Iceland: Students understanding of a sense of place and emerging meanings

• Published in: Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education
• Main Authors: Thorsteinsson, Jakob F., Leather, Mark, Nicholls, Fiona, Johannesson, Gunnar
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2024
• Subjects: L Education (General); Iceland
• Online Access: https://marjon.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/17780/; https://doi.org/10.1007/s42322-023-00150-4; https://marjon.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/17780/1/Exploring%20a%20pedagogy%20of%20place%20in%20Iceland%20Students%20understanding%20of%20a%20sense%20of%20place%20and%20emerging%20meanings.pdf

This paper explores the educational opportunities of a pedagogy of place based on an action research project of a course at the University of Iceland in the field of leisure studies. The aim was to identify what gave students an understanding of a sense of place and to find out what meanings emerged for them. Following the taught fieldwork course, qualitative data was collected from participants using photo-elicitation, a focus group, and a documentary analysis of student’s writing. The findings demonstrated that the cultural, social, and political history of the location needs to be acknowledged as well as literally, translate the terminology and this educational approach for sport, recreation, leisure, and outdoor education. An experiential pedagogy proved to be valued by students to explore and develop their sense of place. However, educators need to be aware that it takes time and immersive experiences in nature to create opportunities for authentic, aesthetic, embodied experiences that are fundamental to this fieldwork as well to generate deep conversations and dialogue between tutors and students. The study suggests that greater emphasis is needed on the place-responsive process, involving more opportunities for reflection, empowering students to actively apply place-responsive activities themselves, and raising, and addressing, global issues such as the climate crisis, and environmental and social justice. This action research study provided the authors continued opportunities to develop their pedagogy of place.