This case study examines the effect of a yearlong place-based educational project on a single class of middle school students aged 11-14 at a public charter school in Santa Rosa, California. Of particular interest in this case study was the development of the concepts of belonging and place through the perceptual lens of the middle school student and through the vehicle of place-based education. This study utilizes qualitative methods including participant...

This thesis focuses on the intersections between the fields of environmental education, critical pedagogy, and democratic education. Theorists and writers from each of these fields have criticized the United States public education system and offered recommendations for major reforms. The author explains that the major arguments made by environmental educators, critical pedagogues, and democratic educators overlap and compliment one another. Writers...