A Place to Learn ― Place-Based Pedagogy and Critical Literacy

Teachers are increasingly challenged to make school more relevant for students marginalized by poverty and limited opportunities. Place-based instruction offers hope to teachers and students, particularly those in rural areas, for bridging the divide between home and school. A Place to Learn provides an overview of place-based pedagogy and differentiation, and introduces a framework for implementing a critical pedagogy of place for literacy instruction.

Paulo Freire argued that education is political and that literacy instruction either liberates or oppresses-that to be literate requires a great deal more than simply reading and writing. Indeed, literacy instruction (as Dewey suggested) should begin with what students know best, home, and extend from there into the world. A Place to Learn takes these principles-the power of language and the importance of home - and contextualizes them for educators. This is a valuable work that tightens the connection between research and the classroom, in two parts: one that reviews current and historical theory, and one that provides practical and specific strategies for putting theory into practice.

Amy Azano is Research Scientist at the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, USA.