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Place-based education (PBE) offers teachers a unique opportunity to increase engagement and academic outcomes while strengthening students' connections to their environment and inspiring future conservation. In most instances, classroom teachers must independently choose to implement PBE, such as when discussing topics surrounding wildlife and the environment. Environmental values orientations of teachers may explain teachers' implementation of PBE. Through thematic analysis of phenomenological interviews with 11 middle and high school science teachers in Colorado we identified their environmental value orientations. We found that teachers with predominantly mutualist environmental value orientations were associated with high levels of implementation. Our findings can inform professional development of teachers learning about the relationship between PBE and pro-environmental value -orientations and behaviors among future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The editorial "Divergent futures – a geography of unequal concerns" discusses the disparities in perspectives on the future between the Global North and the Global South. While the Global North focuses on sustainability and innovation, the Global South grapples with climate vulnerability and survival. The article emphasizes the need for education, research, and policy to address these inequalities and work towards a more equitable world. It also highlights the importance of fostering global consciousness, empathy, and critical thinking in students to prepare them for future decision-making roles. [Extracted from the article]

Science museums and similar institutions provide informal science and environmental education, both on museum grounds and out in the community. Since 2007, the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Miami, Florida, USA, has run Museum Volunteers for the Environment (MUVE) program, a conservation volunteer program that is also an effective method of place-based education for the local community. Here, we document the evolution of MUVE over the past 15 years, from a small eco-art installation to a multi-faceted conservation program that brings the museum into nature, and share the program's recent achievements. We outline program activities, participation, funding sources, key challenges, and lessons learned. Our goal in doing so is to provide a case study to other museums interested in developing similar programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking The Great Gatsby as its central case study, this article discusses my method of teaching regional American literature in Nordic classrooms through a liberal use of maps. It argues that closely attending to the cities, states, and regions to which literary texts refer helps students better understand and scrutinize their larger claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By describing the practices of Garden EngAGEment, a community garden project at Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU), we articulate the concept of artful place-making as an alternative, experiential approach to organizing and teaching care for people with Alzheimer’s dementia and other associated dementias (AD/OADs). Drawing from arts-based research, place-based education, and sensory studies, we describe how artful place-making involves the dynamic interplay of knowing, making, and being in the garden where Garden EngAGEment’s activities take place. Our analysis describes how Garden EngAGEment, through the process of artful place-making, seeds a new culture of care for health professions training, grows connections through multi-sensorial experiences, and cultivates personal, relational, and community transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The consequences of early marriage have become a global concern for young women. The detrimental effects of early marriage disproportionately affect girls. Regarding its effects in poor nations like Ethiopia, there is a dearth of data. As a result, this study offers baseline, first-hand, and updated information for both the nation and the study area. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of early marriage on Guji women who were married before the age of 18. Methods: This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach and was carried out from January to April 2024. An in-depth interview technique was employed to collect the data. The interviews were conducted in the Oromo language. A purposive sampling technique was applied to choose the study participants. A total of 25 women who met the eligibility criteria were selected. A thematic data analysis approach was employed to analyze the data in this study. Results: Three themes, 10 subthemes, and more than hundreds of codes were extracted after the interview data were analyzed. The main themes and subthemes of this study were as follows: 1-Precipitators of early marriage (abduction and arranged marriage); 2-Consequences of early marriage (emotional damage, moral damage, early marriage is a risk factor for maternal and child health, early marriage is a major cause for girls to drop out of school, poverty, gender-based violence and divorce, lack of essential life skills); and 3-Attitudes toward early marriage (early marriage is a harmful cultural practice; girls should be protected). Conclusion: The study's findings illustrated the multidimensional effect of early marriage, necessitating the involvement of numerous sectors and stakeholders. The community, religious leaders, the health, education, and legal sectors, as well as the parents of young girls, should all take an active role in delaying early marriage. This indicates the development of policies that permit cooperation amongst all relevant parties. Creating awareness among girls, families, and the community through community-based education is crucial. Early married women should participate in intervention programs to provide their experience to young girls. Women who are victims of early marriage must receive full support to mitigate its negative consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal Impact Statement Summary Plants are essential for all life on earth, supporting ecosystems and providing vital resources such as food, medicine, and materials. However, botanical education has been neglected in K‐12 curricula, leading to limited plant awareness. Our project introduced 10 educational modules that connected high school students to their botanical heritage through herbarium curation. Students were engaged because of the emphasis on a personal connection to plants, fostering a deeper interest in botany and citizen science. This approach suggests that curricula emphasizing personal connections can enhance student engagement and should be prioritized to strengthen environmental and botanical education. A lack of plant awareness in human society has led to a view of plants as less important than animals. Since plants make up the bulk of biomass on earth and provide food, medicine, and shelter, increasing plant awareness is essential to our society's survival. In this study, we examine the effectiveness of 10 educational modules designed for use with high school students to engage them in botany and the importance of herbaria. Students explore botanical concepts by starting with their own family history. What plants were important to their ancestors? They choose a plant species and go through the process of identifying, collecting, pressing, mounting, and digitizing their herbarium specimen. The study comprised pre‐ and post‐assessments, student descriptions regarding plant significance, and teacher interviews with module reflections. Significant improvements were noted in students' ability to perceive plants and identify plant groups post‐intervention. Students exhibited nuanced shifts in attitudes toward science topics, with varying degrees of change observed. Common themes emerged in student descriptions, reflecting diverse perceptions of plants within familial contexts. Teacher interviews highlighted interest in plants, curriculum gaps, and increased student engagement through module activities. Overall, the collaborative approach presented a promising way to increase plant awareness, emphasizing the importance of integrating botanical education into standardized curricula to inspire future generations of plant scientists and promote the value of herbaria in addressing global challenges. Continued efforts in this direction are crucial for fostering plant appreciation and preparing students for environmental stewardship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In secondary science education, students often do not feel engaged with the scientific concepts that are taught, which hinders conceptual learning. This lack of engagement can be overcome by fictional placemaking. Therefore, the purpose of our design-based research is to explore how the creation and use of fictional places lead to meaningful contexts providing opportunities for the learning of biology. Four design principles were formulated from theories on: (1) pedagogy of place; (2) communities of practice; (3) imaginative teaching; and (4) story-based learning. Based on these principles a lesson series was designed in which students were challenged to create societies living in domes on Mars as a fictional place. This lesson series was conducted in a ninth-grade class (28 students) at pre-university level. It was evaluated on the contribution of the design principles to create a meaningful context for the learning of biology. This research focuses on causal reasoning, which is a key competency in biology. The analysis of artefacts of group work showed evidence that students expressed different types of causal reasoning. Reflection on each of the design principles made clear how fictional placemaking provides opportunities for the development of students' causal reasoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Democratic adult education (AE) promotes social change through active and pragmatic learning. This learning considers the impact of individual, community, organization, and broader cultural influences. Democratic civic engagement (DCE) in higher education institutions (HEIs) emphasizes inclusive participation and reciprocity. These values are deeply grounded in democratic adult education (AE) practice and community problem-solving processes in practice-based professions like Occupational Therapy (OT). In this article, we examine a new graduate OT program in the northeast region of the US and the roles of OT stakeholders as co-creators and co-educators in both institutional and community education settings. We highlight how this program is grounded in DCE which helps bridge the gap between an academic program (OT within HEI) and the broader social environment (interlocking systems not built to support diverse lived experiences) using a DCE model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This conceptual paper explores the characteristics of education for sustainable development (ESD) within urban secondary schools. Despite the discourse about the importance of sustainability, there has been a lack of research on this topic. The authors employed theory synthesis, which resulted in a concept for Education for Sustainable Development in Urban Contexts (ESDUC). This presents a comprehensive view on the interconnected characteristics that facilitate the successful implementation of ESD in urban secondary schools, (1) developing sustainability competences among both students and teachers, encompassing intercultural competences for teachers and self-regulating skills for students, (2) utilizing teaching methods that are both transformative and culturally responsive, (3) engaging the wider community in the educational process, and (4) shifting the school culture toward embracing diversity and adopting a whole-school approach. This study is valuable for researchers and urban secondary schools seeking to effectively integrate ESD into their educational framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nunatsiavut is a self-governing Inuit territory in northern coastal Labrador, where cultural knowledge and social values are incorporated into co-managed subsistence and commercial fisheries. Snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio), known as Putjotik in Inuttitut (the Nunatsiavut dialect of Inuktitut), is a comanaged fishery through the Torngat Joint Fisheries Board (TJFB) and plays a crucial role in sustaining the community of Makkovik. Arctic Char (IKaluk) is also harvested in co-managed subsistence and commercial fisheries, and is a staple in local economies and culture. In 2022, the TJFB partnered with Inuit educators to foster youth stewardship in a project called Paigitsiaguk. The Paigitsiaguk project bridges Inuit and scientific knowledge to nurture cultural values and environmental stewardship through providing place and land-based resources to educators. The project team created a comprehensive database of curriculum outcomes required by the Newfoundland and Labrador school system, and then designed culturally relevant learning activities that presented Inuit knowledge with science and social studies for students in Nunatsiavut. These resources include learning activities that are organized into education kits: one of which is centered on Putjotik and another on IKaluk. The Putjotik kit has 23 activities tailored to meet grade-specific learning outcomes, while the IKaluk kit provides 12 place-based learning activities appropriate for multiple grade levels. By providing localized and culturally relevant education resources to teachers that revolve around stewarding local fish species and their ecosystems, youth are connecting to their communities and to the coastal environment. Educational resources and learning activities reflect Inuit and scientific knowledge systems, and position teachers as facilitators to encourage students to learn from the land and Elders, knowledge holders, fishers, scientists, and managers. This paper reflects the promising futures that this work can contribute to; from facilitating intergenerational knowledge transmission from knowledge holders to youth, to encouraging self-determined stewardship activities that encourage care for the ocean and its fisheries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The current education paradigm is often criticized for fostering human dependence and failing to reduce environmental impacts. This has led researchers to propose alternative approaches. One alternative approach, place-based education, integrates a specific location's natural and social context into learning experiences. By deepening students' connection to their surroundings, place-based environmental education aims to enhance students' sense of interdependence with a place and their place attachment in cognitive and affective dimensions. While widely practiced, its effectiveness remains largely unevaluated, particularly in the East Asian context. The gap hinders the development of impactful pedagogical approaches for educators. Design/methodology/approach: - The authors examine a river environmental education program located upstream of Taiwan's capital, offering a valuable case study within the East Asian context. The program's design is analyzed, and its impact on enhancing students' place attachment is assessed through a pre- and post-survey approach. Findings: The results indicate a substantial increase in students' place attachment following program participation, particularly pronounced among children with limited prior experience with the river. Importantly, this increase is comparable to or exceeds those observed in similar studies from other regions. Originality/value: The considerable increase in place attachment observed in this program demonstrates its effectiveness in fostering environmental connections, particularly among children with limited prior experience. The magnitude of the increase might be partially attributable to the interdependent orientation of Taiwanese culture. This suggests that place-based education might yield significant positive outcomes in other non-Western countries with strong interdependent cultural orientations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: A faculty development program (FDP) introduced postsecondary instructors to a module focused on the food–energy–water (FEW) nexus, a socio-hydrologic issue (SHI) and a sustainability challenge. This study aims to examine factors influencing faculty interest in adopting the instructional resources and faculty experience with the FDP, including the gains made during the FDP on their knowledge about SHIs and their self-efficacy to teach about SHIs, and highlighted characteristics of the FDP. Design/methodology/approach: Data from n = 54 participants via pre- and post-surveys and n = 15 interviews were analyzed using mixed methods. Findings: Findings indicate that over three quarters of participants would use the curricular resources to make connections between complex SHIs, enhance place-based learning, data analysis and interpretation and engage in evidence-based decision-making. In addition, participants' experience with the workshop was positive; their knowledge about SHIs remained relatively constant and their self-efficacy to teach about SHIs improved by the end of the workshop. The results provide evidence of the importance of institutional support to improve instruction about the FEW nexus. Originality/value: The module, purposefully designed, aids undergraduates in engaging with Hydroviz, a data visualization tool, to understand both human and natural dimensions of the FEW nexus. It facilitates incorporating this understanding into systematic decision-making around an authentic SHI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore how young students experience the contribution of a pedagogical assemblage based on design thinking (DT) while contributing to the transition to a more just and sustainable university. Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative research considers the case of two pedagogical experiences developed at Universitat Politècnica de Valencià, Spain. In both experiences, a methodological proposal that includes practices of care, just transitions and DT was implemented. The data obtained through in-depth interviews, surveys and digital whiteboard labels was analyzed under the lens of three relational categories in the context of sustainability. Findings: Learnings are acquired through five categories: place-based learning, prior learning, embodied learning, collaborative teamwork and intersectionality. The research shows how the subjective knowledge of young students positions them as co-designers and leaders of a University that drives a more just and sustainable transition. Originality/value: The originality of the paper lies in the shift of DT from a human-based approach to a justice-oriented relational approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building from a panel at the 2022 National Communication Association (NCA) annual convention, the present article seeks to ground communication studies/sciences as central to interdisciplinary conversations surrounding sexuality education and communication. Communication is integral to sexuality education, and topics of communication, sex, and sexuality education are researched across disciplines. Still, research on sexuality education within communication studies remains under-attended, and interdisciplinary sexuality education research remains siloed by academic discipline. Presenting a forum featuring both emerging and leading scholars in the field of communication researching sex(uality) education, the present article seeks to establish the academic discipline of communication as integral to research on sexuality education. To do so, we first discuss communication as an academic discipline and its advancements in sexuality education research. Next, communication scholars offer their expertise in sex(uality education) communication topics including family conversations, cultural influence, health inequities in education, and medicine. Collectively, these perspectives offer an understanding of current sexual health research in the field of communication, as well as next steps through direct application to conversations about sex, improvement to our medical and education systems, and community-based education and intervention. It is our hope that this article fosters a larger conversation about the importance of communication (studies/sciences) in sexuality education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manuscript describes a community-based mathematical modeling task that was implemented in a Calculus I classroom to engage students in mathematical modeling. Twenty-five undergraduate students engaged in this activity. These students selected a context that they found interesting, posed questions, developed constraints, came up with solution strategies, checked their strategies for effectiveness, and revised their work. In going through the various parts of the modeling activity, the students experienced the various characteristics of community-based mathematical modeling. The task, its implementation, and opportunities for students' learning are shared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this research was to characterize pretreatment relationship functioning among low‐income couples seeking community‐based relationship education (RE) and determine whether treatment outcomes differ based on this dimension. Background: RE programs were developed with the goal of preventing future deterioration among currently satisfied couples, but there is evidence to suggest that distressed couples are seeking community‐based RE to improve their relationship. Method: Data were drawn from the Parents and Children Together study, a randomized controlled trial of RE with a sample of 1,595 low‐income couples. Relationship functioning was assessed pre‐randomization and at 12‐months post‐randomization. Latent class analysis was used to identify groups of couples with similar pretreatment functioning, and treatment effects were assessed within each group. Results: Four classes of pretreatment relationship functioning emerged: Happy, Stable (44%), Moderately Distressed (39%), Highly Distressed Women (10%), and Highly Distressed Men (7%). Significant 12‐month treatment effects were found only for women in the Happy, Stable group. Conclusion: A large number of distressed couples enroll in RE programs but do not benefit from the intervention. Implications: To ensure that all couples receive an intervention that is effective for them, changes to the current delivery of community‐based RE programs is needed. Couples should be screened for their level of relationship functioning and assigned to an intervention that is appropriate for their needs. To accomplish this, RE curricula may need to be adapted to address the needs of distressed couples, or RE providers may need to partner with agencies delivering more intensive treatment (such as couple therapy). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Epilepsy remains a significant public health concern in Tanzania, with affected individuals enduring stigma, whether through actions or perceptions. Myths, misunderstandings, and misconceptions about epilepsy have persisted due to a multitude of factors. Here, we assessed attitudes and perceptions toward epilepsy in Mahenge. Methods: A cross-sectional study utilising a mixed-methods approach was undertaken in eight villages in the Ulanga district of Mahenge, integrating a semi-structured questionnaire and focus group discussions (FGDs). The questionnaire involved 778 community members, and 15 FGDs were conducted (seven groups with people with epilepsy and eight without). Descriptive statistics, chi-square, and logistic regression were used for quantitative analysis, while we used NVivo version 14 for thematic analysis of qualitative data. Results: Of 778 participants, over half were women (425, 54.6%) with a median age of 41 years (IQR: 30–55) and most had completed primary education (79.9%). The majority of participants were aware of epilepsy (96.8%), yet they displayed low knowledge (51%), negative attitudes (45.5%), and perceptions (42.1%) towards the disorder. A low level of understanding was significantly associated with negative attitudes (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 1.89, 95%CI: 1.41–2.53) and perceptions (AOR = 3.22, 95%CI: 2.05–5.04) towards epilepsy. In the qualitative analysis, often hereditary factors and infections were named as causes of epilepsy, along with misconceptions involving witchcraft and divine punishment. There was also a misconception about the contagiousness of epilepsy. Traditional healers were often the initial point of treatment. Epilepsy-related stigma was evident, with individuals with epilepsy facing derogatory labels, social isolation, and barriers to education. Lastly, there was a lack of understanding regarding a possible association between epilepsy and onchocerciasis. Conclusions: Despite high awareness of epilepsy, there is insufficient understanding, negative attitudes, and perceptions, including misconceptions and stigma about this neurologic condition. Community-based education programmes are essential for promoting proper healthcare-seeking behaviour and dispelling myths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe study addresses climate change education (CCE) in Mexico’s semiarid and coastal regions, a strategy crucial for community adaptability and resilience. Emphasis is placed on the lack of educational materials adapted to the region and the need for active learning strategies in the school context to promote climate literacy and awareness of the phenomenon. We work with research groups and universities to create a climate change program for young students in underprivileged areas. We used a mixed method to assess the impact on climate change awareness and knowledge in urban and rural schools. The findings showed that concern, pro-environmental behavior, and knowledge about climate change significantly increased after the intervention. However, compared to the group that did not receive the intervention, we observed a decrease in hope related to climate change. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of contextualized and active educational programs in raising awareness of climate change in disadvantaged contexts and highlighting the importance of adding meaningful content to these communities and balancing it with local challenges and solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black education has interrogated race, context, and power questions, yet these practices spanning geographies and learning contexts have not always been valued as spatial knowledge. Further, Black scholars have carved out spaces that honor the communal and spatial sensibilities of Black students, educators, and communities. Black geographies thought can help us reshape how we understand and interrogate issues within education and learning with attention to anti-blackness, futurities, imagining, placemaking, and efforts to create a sense of belonging despite perpetual unbelongingness in dominant educational and learning spaces. Thus, our piece engages with Black Geographies to emphasize the Black radical traditions of space and freedom-making to reorganize our approaches to pedagogy and storytelling. We engage what we call Black Spatial Storylines through our shared and individual stories. We present multiple vignettes and examples to model the ways Black Sound, particularly hip-hop, invites us to engage Black Spatial Storylines as both methodological and pedagogical techniques that start at Blackness. Not only do we highlight and use our own stories as examples, we detail how this process shifts our understanding of Black urban life, and allows us to reorient our educational praxis through Blackness. We conclude with suggested pathways for future applications of a Black geographies framework to education and learning, including the abundance that is the interweaving of Blackness. Thus, we hope to honor and uplift Black communities' spatial knowledge by formulating our foundational understandings of Black spatial knowledge and the role it plays in education and learning studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have long called for integrating socio-scientific issues (SSIs) in science instruction, recognizing the importance of connecting science learning with societal challenges. Our proposed three-day unit design addresses SSIs in secondary school science classrooms. We present the implementation of SSIs by showcasing an issue related to solar energy and land use. By incorporating real case issues from a Midwestern state in the United States, students immersed themselves in a relevant local problem. We design role-play activities and a town hall meeting to engage students in multiple perspectives of the issues. This design centers the students' ideas and invites them to (1) act as residents of the proposed solar farms, (2) think as experts in solar energy, such as electrical engineers and environmental scientists, and (3) share their viewpoints in town hall meetings. We follow the 5E instruction model (engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate) and dramatic inquiry approach to support the students in making evidence-based decisions and becoming responsible citizens. This SSI unit design serves as inspiration for secondary science teachers to incorporate interdisciplinary pedagogy in their curriculum to enhance students' scientific literacy and promote meaningful science learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This community-based action research (CBAR) project acknowledges and disrupts existing systemic barriers to bring teacher candidates and grassroots youth organizers together through dialogue and reflection for transformative action. The practice of community-based pedagogy is described and utilized to demonstrate how critical understandings of community may imagine new ways of learning in conventional teacher education programs. This process enhances teacher candidates' understanding and use of community-based pedagogy while supporting youth organizers in social justice initiatives within schools and communities. The findings, which draw from the CBAR project of a white, cis-gender woman who is a teacher educator-scholar-community organizer, provide implications for teacher educators aiming to foster collaborative partnerships with youth-centered grassroots community organizations and intergenerational community members. Teacher educators are invited to engage in paradigm shifts to curate community-based teacher education programs that are stimulated by and benefit local schools and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of the Youth Tackling Climate Emergency Educational Proposal (YTCEEP) is to involve secondary students in addressing climate action‐related subjects from a local context and in a proactive way. We present an evaluation of its third edition, based on the answers from final surveys assessing knowledge, perceptions and attitudes. Main results show that YTCEEP promotes reflection on environmental and social problems; although knowledge slightly improved on the subthemes researched, moderate–low knowledge on climate change in general was detected. Students do positively consider YTCEEP and the programme provides an educational opportunity to address several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to SDG13. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents findings on how preservice teachers navigate teaching and learning in a multilingual rural environment as English learners (ELs) during their teacher preparation program. The study used a qualitative research design to collect and analyze data. The conceptual framework of the study was based on culturally responsive pedagogy and place-based education theory. In this study, preservice teachers from multilingual rural backgrounds who wished to teach in multilingual rural settings illustrated their coping strategies for rural realities and how the rural context affected their commitment to their studies. The findings revealed preservice teachers' narratives under the categories of culturally responsive strategies for English language learning, strengths and weaknesses of English language use, rural experiences and commitment to studies, and teacher educators' perspectives. The rural location of studies presented some challenges, such as living far away from home; lack of amenities, including an inadequate library facility; no internet; and having to adjust without families. The rural context also offered some benefits for studies, including low-cost accommodation, feeling safe, and peer learning opportunities. Further research is recommended on a larger scale across university campuses to find out how teacher educators may address the needs of preservice teachers through a revised curriculum for English language learning within multilingual contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Centered on reconceptualizations of "rural" and "rurality" that reimagine and transcend the "traditional imaginaries" of rural educational settings as places of disadvantage and isolation, this article presents the partial results of a mixed methods study funded by the Spencer Foundation about expanded and pivotal roles played by rural multilingual (ML) teachers, paraprofessionals, and administrators in two rural school districts located in U.S. Midwest COVID-19 hotspots. The pandemic made the historical struggles and inequities that ML students face in U.S. schools glaringly evident, as ML families experienced a disproportionately negative impact of the virus on their health and financial stability and showed a disparity of resources from their urban/suburban counterparts. In these contexts, this study focused on how two superdiverse rural school districts with unique histories of place-based language education policies, encompassing a range of multilingual programs and a high number of multilingual educators, mobilized unique linguistic and cultural capital to ensure that rural low-income ML students and families received equitable access to education during unprecedented times. Drawing from ML educators' interviews and surveys, the findings unveil how rural ML educational settings can be reimagined as places of opportunity for multilingual/multiethnic students and families, when equitable ML education policies and ML educators are made a centerpiece of localized language education policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Place-based learning encourages students to explore their local communities, learn about history, and develop critical thinking skills. This article focuses on six middle school students who participated in a History Club and entered the National History Day competition and discovered how history and place liberates learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 1893 to 1899, The Progressive Educator was published and distributed to every teacher in the Republic of Hawai'i. This article explores what the newspaper can teach us about Hawai'i's unique and ongoing contributions to the American progressive education movement. The author focuses on an article from the newspaper originally printed in 1895 titled, "Nature Study in Hawaiian Schools." She wonders: Were progressive educators in the Kingdom and Republic eras of Hawai'i already thinking about, writing about, and putting into practice what modern-day progressive educators might consider defining features of a twenty-first-century progressive education philosophy and pedagogy? Connections between constructivist scholarship and research, interdisciplinary studies, culturally responsive and sustaining teaching, and place-based learning support this inquiry. The article concludes by reflecting on how increased understanding of Hawaiian epistemology, especially ʻāina -based teaching and learning, can support all contemporary progressive educators as we make our way into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevention and early intervention have become part of the Australian policy discourse; however, the prevention and early intervention of youth homelessness remain significantly underdeveloped and underfunded in practice. Consequently, too many young people experience homelessness. This article presents the 'Community of Schools and Services' (COSS) Model as an innovative approach to the prevention of youth homelessness. The COSS Model is an Australian place-based collective impact approach that uses data gathered via population screening in secondary schools to identify and then support adolescents at risk of homelessness and also reorganizes the local support system available to vulnerable young people and their families. This paper is not the result of a research project. Rather, this paper presents the findings of the Embedded Development and Outcomes Measurement (EDOM) report, which is a feature of the COSS Model. This paper is limited to findings from the COSS Model implementation in Albury, NSW, known as the Albury Project, from 2019 to 2023. The Albury Project has demonstrated significant reductions in the risk of homelessness and entry into the local homelessness service system. Findings reveal that: (1) when COSS Model support is delivered to identified at-risk students, 40–50% of individuals are no longer at such high risk of homelessness 12-months later; (2) only 3–5% of students identified as at risk of homelessness and supported through the COSS Model sought assistance from local homelessness services in the following two years; and (3) the flow of adolescents (12–18 years) into the local homelessness services was reduced by 40% from 2019 to 2023. As an evidence-based, complex innovation, there are major policy, funding, and implementation challenges in scaling the model to multiple community sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article from New Directions for Evaluation discusses the importance of Evaluation Capacity Building (ECB) in enhancing the field of evaluation. It highlights the need to evaluate ECB initiatives to understand their effectiveness and impact. The document provides insights into various methods and approaches for evaluating ECB efforts, emphasizing the importance of measuring outcomes and building evaluation capacity. The issue features contributions from authors representing diverse contexts and countries, offering theoretical frameworks, practical applications, and a call to action for further research in ECB evaluation. [Extracted from the article]

Children who live in under-resourced communities and attend under-resourced schools deserve access to high-quality teachers and educational opportunities to support their success and well-being. This study emerged from a professional development (PD) for urban teachers working in such schools, to expand educational opportunities for elementary students through outdoor science teaching. Engaging frameworks of communities of practice (CoP) and critical pedagogy of place (CPP), this critical ethnographic study investigates how urban elementary teachers engage in discourse about critical issues of place. Additionally, the investigation seeks to understand how a CoP supports such discourse. The primary data for this study were multiple sets of researcher field notes collected from participant teachers during virtual spring and in-person summer PD. Over the course of the PD, participants shifted from viewing their outdoor teaching spaces with a deficit perspective to an asset-focused one. As they visited one another's teaching sites, the CoP the teachers were a part of created opportunity for discourse about social justice linked to issues of place within their particular school neighborhoods. The ability of urban elementary teachers to connect social justice to issues of place and to the teaching of science has implications for countering the injustice that characterizes many urban communities in the USA and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study narrates teachers' stories and lived experiences in hinterland schools. There is a massive gap in delivering high-quality education in the hinterland for a variety of reasons, including the teachers' lack of contextualization, connections, integration of cultural values in the classroom, ignorance of IP needs, and the lack of a clear vision for their empowerment that takes into account the entire community and support network, among others. By understanding teachers' experiences in hinterland schools, policymakers and educators can create strategies to support and enhance the quality of education in these remote areas. Based on the four themes of place-based education theory, the study aims to better understand teachers' experiences in hinterland schools and identify effective strategies for supporting professional development and well-being. This study uses a qualitative research design. This study used purposive sampling as a technique in qualifying participants from Moalboal's hinterland schools. The findings revealed that teachers' perspectives on rural education are influenced by their social, personal, and professional experiences. The interaction between teachers and the community is crucial in supporting student learning. The study revealed that personal well-being, time management, and differentiated instruction could improve access to quality education for students. The study on teachers' narratives in the hinterland schools revealed a need for increased communication and collaboration between team members and a focus on developing a more positive and supportive team culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, contemporary artists have turned to data as a source of inspiration, artistic medium and site for enquiry, experimentation and discourse in ways that have blurred, complicated and transcended disciplinary boundaries. Research suggests that when arts-based data visualization is integrated into K-12 curricula, these approaches can support students' art learning and creative data literacies. Despite the burgeoning interest in literature surrounding the benefits of data visualization for K-12 students, less attention has been directed towards the ways in which teachers can be supported in designing and implementing data-visualization integrated curricula. This visual essay explores a science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM), arts-based data visualization professional development programme that was centred on socially and ecologically engaged storytelling in the Appalachian region of the United States. Throughout this programme, teachers told stories of relevance to themselves and their communities – a fundamental undertaking for teachers interested in empowering their students as data storytellers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building routines around place-based learning allows students to apply their scientific understanding to nature and form a connection with their local environment and the species in it over the course of a school year. Each Friday, in what are referred to as "Fieldwork Fridays," Coppens brings her students outside to apply what they learned that week in class to the environment around them. This can range from using measuring skills to estimate the heights of trees, to looking for animal prints in the snow to better understand the concept of trace fossils, to thinking of an experimental design in nature. Tips for implementation are included, and some of the benefits and challenges of this approach to hands-on, nature-based learning are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To foster diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in environmental fields, scholars of environmental education call for educators to critically examine the cultural influences on our pedagogies (e.g., Chinn, 2006; Miller, 2017), particularly as they relate to land and Indigenous perspectives (Bang et al., 2014; Calderon, Lees, Swan Waite, & Wilson, 2021; Engel-Di Mauro & Carroll, 2014; Paperson, 2014). Professional development is one tactic institutions use to address DEI and is the focus of this case study, which seeks to determine how a professional development training supported environmental educators in recognizing exclusionary cultural narratives in their work. Ten staff and board members from a small, urban nature center participated in a training that included a five-module online course titled Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Environmental Education (KAEE, 2021) and four discussions using photovoice methodology (Wang & Burris, 1994). Each participant identified an example of how race and ethnicity influence their work and discussed changes they could make to organizational policies, practices, and culture. These findings point to the utility and limitations of professional development as a tool toward critical pedagogies that address DEI. Implications of this study are applicable in a wide variety of environmental education settings. These examples can help educators in environmental studies and sciences to reflect on our own narratives and how we might shift them in our classrooms, departments, and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This article examines the curriculum and pedagogy of place for migrant children in China and advocates the recognition of migrant families' and communities' knowledge as necessary, relevant, and impactful curriculum. Design/Approach/Methods: This article is based on a longitudinal qualitative study conducted in various migrant settlements in Beijing. Data were collected from in-depth interviews with migrant parents, teachers, and community activists and participant observations in schools, community meetings, and other gatherings in the communities. Data were coded on themes related to place-based connection, attachment, and belonging and then analyzed. Findings: Findings demonstrate that pedagogical practices can be developed to re-center the knowledge and experiences of Chinese migrant communities. This pedagogical work recognizes and reflects the undervalued and unrecognized knowledge of migrant communities while investigating the meaning of "place" for migrant children. Originality/Value: This is the first study putting special emphasis on the discussion of what "place" means for migrants and what knowledge is worthwhile for their children in China. A key contribution of this article is that it documents the challenges and benefits of creating a place-based curriculum and pedagogy for migrant children as they construct a sense of belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research described in this case study features a cohort of five exchange students from post-secondary institutions in Norway and the United States who collaboratively engaged in a project-based learning experience infused with aspects of place-based education, lesson study, and the pedagogical technique "students as partners". The students were tasked with crafting an interdisciplinary lesson combining mathematics and environmental science to address a localized problem in the Southeastern United States. This study reflects on how the students participated in project-based learning as well as the instructional practices that supported student engagement. Students identified an increase in understanding of interdisciplinary and multicultural Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, a broader understanding of instructional practices, and exposure to educational research. Data were collected throughout the study using a variety of techniques, including discussion posts, collaborative documents, and reflections to gauge student experience and project progress. The results provide evidence to support the use of project-based learning in postsecondary STEM classrooms and emphasize the benefits of engaging students in curriculum development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article represents a case study of the realization of changing engineering education in two new contemporary educational buildings of the University of Pécs, the impact of these buildings on educational methods, and the impact of community-based education on these buildings. As part of the university development program launched in 2016, the University of Pécs, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology's campus has been expanded with new architectural education buildings. The task of the new buildings was to adapt to the directions of the new engineering education and the representation of education of its faculty. The engineering education influences the object of architecture and determines its operation and its layout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors examine youth activism in Poland, focusing on the University of Gdańsk occupation, the Youth Climate Strike, and Stop Bzdurom’s direct actions. Using critical pedagogy of place, they analyse how youth activists drive social change and reclaim public spaces. The study highlights reinhabitation and decolonisation of public spaces as arenas for the common good and marginalised communities’ rights. It also explores the influence of radicalism and activism on society, particularly amid an ageing population and political polarisation. Detailed case analyses contribute to understanding youth roles in social movements and change, emphasising youth activism’s significance in shaping society’s future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asthma poses a significant health burden in Africa despite being often underdiagnosed and undertreated. With rising incidence rates and large variations in healthcare infrastructure, its management remains threatened by limited access to medical resources and qualified specialists. The prevalence of asthma in Africa is highlighted, with broad estimates and insufficient information on the disease's burden and determinants. In addition to diagnostic challenges, under treatment, medication unavailability, sociocultural misunderstandings, and poor healthcare infrastructure remain the hallmarks of asthma management in Africa. This review synthesized evidence on the prevalence of asthma in Africa, explored the challenges in managing asthma across the continent, and proposed potential strategies to improve treatment outcomes. Literature was obtained via electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, with additional searches conducted via Google Scholar to identify all available studies. Studies have reported a staggeringly high prevalence of asthma, exceeding 12% on average. Notably, a significant number of these cases are suboptimally controlled, with limited access to healthcare and deficiencies in healthcare delivery systems identified as major contributing factors. Numerous strategies have been proposed to circumvent the limitations faced in effective asthma management. Measures such as the development of national and regional evidence-based asthma guidelines, the provision of affordable medicines and diagnostic equipment, and the improvement of community-based asthma education programs can expedite the goals of asthma control programs. Furthermore, reorienting health systems to incorporate asthma care into primary care and investing in human resource capacity are critical steps. Adopting evidence-based treatment guidelines, such as those established by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), can drastically reduce asthma morbidity and mortality. Through concerted collaboration and synergistic integration of these strategies, the potential for effective asthma management across the continent holds, transcending existing disparities and ushering in an era of improved healthcare services for individuals grappling with this chronic respiratory ailment in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]