Sense of place in elementary school students in Mexico: connections with the environment, school, and home

Abstract

The aim of this work was to investigate the sense of place of 35 mexican second grade elementary school students as a fundamental element to improve teaching and learning processes, especially in socio-environmental topics. Methodologically, an interpretative perspective is used. The students were asked to draw three pictures: the environment, their favorite places at school and their favorite places at home. Based on their individual drawings, three separate individual interviews were conducted with 35 students. All data was analyzed using Atlas.ti software and an inductive approach to data analysis was used. A compositional interpretation was used to analyze the drawings. The principles of conversational analysis were used to analyze the text of the interviews. The results show that a sense of place is a complex concept in which not only the biophysical and spatio-temporal, but also the psychological, sociocultural, economic, and emotional aspects are present. The students explain environmental degradation by the lack of rules or sanctions related to environmental care. The students' gender as an indicator of the sense of place was also different for boys and girls. Finally, emotions, freedom and autonomy are three important aspects that explain students’ attachment to place. Consequently, these aspects could be considered when designing and developing teaching strategies to strengthen the sense of place.