Washington State University

On 14th June my family and I leave Oregon and head north to Washington where I am to visit with Professor David Greenwood from the Department of Teaching and Learning at Washington State University. We meet at his home in Palouse and talk about his work over a cup of tea in the garden.

David sees Place-Based Education, like the Sustainability movement, as much as a social movement linking social and environmental justice as an educational one. He has described the 'critical pedagogy' or framework underlying it as ' learning to perceive social, political and economic contradictions and to take action against the oppressive elements of reality' (DG, 2003, The best of both worlds: a critical pedagogy of Place. Educational Researcher, 32, 4 p.5). He is currently developing Place-Based teaching practices within WSU, building a network of interested faculty members.

David believes that it is important to view PBE within schools as a process quite distinct from a standardised testing approach, rather than trying to integrate PBE into the achievement of mainstream test results. He sees one of PBE's main goals as expanding the landscape of learning opportunities among and between students, educators and community members, providing real experience of diversity and social and environmental issues not available within most school walls. While he believes strongly that PBE should grow from the grassroots through developing networks and relationships, he sees an important complementary role for top-down policy. In Washington State, as a result of advocacy by David and others, the language of Place has recently become part of the educational policy mainstream. All teacher educator programs have to demonstrate that they have taken account of citizenship and ecological sustainability, and teachers can take an special qualification in environmental sustainability education, including place-based and local enquiry.

Although he has concerns about the strong links between corporate America and mainstream education system, he is optimistic about the continuing growth of Place-based Education. After a delicious supper, plenty of playing between his children and ours, and some great music, I leave feeling equally optimistic.

PS. David is now at Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario