Combining Place Based Education in International Schools and the Emotional Importance of Community Building

Conference: The European Conference on Education (ECE2021)
Title: Combining Place Based Education in International Schools and the Emotional Importance of Community Building
Stream: International Education
Presentation Type: Live-Stream Presentation
Authors:
Dana Lev, University of Bucharest, Romania

Abstract:

This study seeks to explore the sense of place that Third Culture Kids (TCKs) have and the various interpretations that TCKs have regarding their lived reality, as they form part of an international community. This study contextually explores the sense of belonging to a place. The purpose of the study is to ascertain the role and ways of implementing "Place Based Education" in the context of international and multicultural education systems that serve TCK populations. This was done while trying to understand concepts from the expatriate way of life as expressed by TCKs who attend the American International School of Bucharest. The research aimed to understand whether and how PBE can be implemented in an international school. Throughout two academic school years, field observations and interviews with students and school staff were conducted. The data analysis resulted in three main findings. The first, was ambivalent feelings towards the host country which were connected to expressions of place attachment, place dependence and place identity. The second, was self-identification as a TCK and a sense of belonging to an international community. The third and most surprising finding was a strong sense of place in relation to the school itself. This process led to the comparison, between Place Based Education criteria to the criteria of the International Baccalaureate program and the discovery, that these two pedagogical worlds are overlapping and can therefore be easily combined. The main conclusion of the research is acknowledging community qualities within school and its effects on student's wellbeing.



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