Who Ya Longs To? Indigenous Land-Based Learning

  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
  • “The purpose of education is to help students recognize who they are, to see their gifts, talents, and strengths and recognize the responsibility that accompanies these gifts, so they can survive, thrive, and contribute as they navigate through both the broader world and Indigenous cultures”
    (Goulet & Goulet, 2014, p. 5). As educators, we continue to try and incorporate ways to encourage all students to thrive. This research project focused on educators who have successfully implemented land-based learning programs to engage students and as a way to incorporate and validate an Indigenous World View. By interviewing three teachers who have implemented or have been involved in successful land-based learning experiences and using a thematic qualitative analysis approach, themes of success were identified. The key findings that emerged were that land-based learning is an excellent pedagogical practice that benefits many students, generally has a higher success rate in engaging students in the learning process, and is
    an ideal vehicle for developing relationships with students. Finally, the paper concludes by exploring some of the barriers to implementing land-based education and potential future steps regarding assessing and reporting land-based learning experiences. The recommendation from this study is that when incorporating land-based learning into one practice, one should pay attention to the pitfalls and barriers, plan accordingly, budget for such learning activities, and, if possible, incorporate local Elders or Knowledge Keepers into the learning plan and process.

  • Date created
    2022-01-01
  • Subjects / Keywords
  • Type of Item
    Research Material
  • DOI
    https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-hhbn-ks37
  • License
    Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International