In this paper I present a model for participatory action research (PAR) in geography education with middle school teachers and students to learn about children’s perspectives of their community, and thus their knowledge of local geography. This PAR model was developed in an extra-curricular geography program in a New York City public middle school. As co-investigators, 14 sixth-grade students (ages 10-11), a social studies teacher, and I created a neighborhood atlas that reflected young people’s experiences and concerns about growing up in an urban environment. The Neighborhood Atlas Project is an alternative approach to researching children’s lives and children’s geographic learning that can offer greater applicability to the geography classroom while at the same time advancing theory in the discipline.
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Title: The Neighborhood Atlas Project: An example of participatory action research in geography education
Author(s): Pamela Wridt
Publication Date: 2003
Publisher: Research in Geographic Education