Gruenewald, D. (2003). The best of both worlds: A critical pedagogy of place. Educational Researcher. (32)4 pp. 3-12. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3700002

In this thorough analysis of the sociological themes and call for revolutionary change from critical pedagogy, and the socio-ecological themes of place-based learning, Gruenewald draws on the research and writings of prominent theorists in each field to demonstrate that these discourses build on the concepts and strengthen the goals of the other in such a way that they can be seen as two sides to the same coin and can be reconceptualized into a critical pedagogy of place.  A major goal of his paper is to “ground place-based education in a pedagogy that is socially and ecologically critical” and wrapped in a coherent theoretical framework.

The two fundamental objectives of a critical pedagogy of place are decolonization and reinhabitation, which are mutually supportive themes mirrored in critical pedagogy and place-based learning, respectively, for the purposes of “linking school and place-based experiences to the larger landscape of cultural and ecological politics”.  As such, a critical pedagogy of place seeks to find, return to, or reclaim spaces that teach us how to live well in these local environments (reinhabitation), and identify and challenge practice and ways of thinking that exploit people and places (decolonization).