Place-based learning in social studies education: a systematic review of implementation, outcomes, and enabling conditions

Salvetri Salvetri; Jeki Haryanto

doi:10.32698/03012

Place-based learning in social studies education: a systematic review of implementation, outcomes, and enabling conditions

Salvetri Salvetri⁽¹⁾, Jeki Haryanto⁽²⁾,
(1) SMP Negeri 1 Kerinci

Indonesia
(2) Universitas Negeri Padang

Indonesia

Corresponding Author

DOI : https://doi.org/10.32698/03012

Full Text:

Language : en

Abstract

Requests that schools become more relevant, more civically involved, and more rooted in local areas have generated a fresh intellectual interest in place-based learning. Although social studies education seems to be one of the area’s most suitable to this kind of approach, it is rather unclear to what extent it actually happens. The paper presents a systematic literature review of studies reporting on the use of place-based learning in social studies education together with the outcomes and the enabling circumstances that were identified. After following the recommendations of the PRISMA 2020 statement and scanning the Scopus database in a structured way, 255 studies, including duplicates, were found. The records were then deduplicated, and titles, abstracts, and full papers were scrutinized to identify those matching the eligibility criteria. Eighteen research and conceptual papers published between 2021 and 2026 were finally selected, and a thematic synthesis was used to obtain themes that can be generalized. Results show that place-based learning is mainly conducted using community-based collaborations, local-heritage and archival investigations, and field-based geographic investigations. It is also consistently linked to gains in civic responsibility, conceptual grasp, and emotional involvement, and at the same time it helps teacher training. A different understanding of place from that of most mainstream theories came out as a unique theoretical thread: Indigenous and decolonial ideas of place. The study also highlights areas where research could be made more methodologically sound and equitable. A number of educational topics, such as curriculum development, teacher education, and policy, are also discussed, and a list of possible research topics related to longitudinal, comparative, and outcome-based research is suggested.

Keywords

Citizenship education, Experiential learning, Local heritage, Place-based education, Social studies education

References

Beban, A., & Korson, C. (2025). Holding together hope and despair: Transformative learning through virtual place-based education in Aotearoa, New Zealand. New Zealand Geographer, 81(1), 3-14. https://doi.org/10.1111/nzg.12411

Begmatov, A., Arapov, G., Panjieva, N., Djalilova, S., Khasanov, B., Ruzmetova, S., Botirov, B., & Ramazanov, A. (2025). Context-aware intelligent middleware for seamless integration of mobile ad hoc networks in smart education environments for history lessons. Journal of Wireless Mobile Networks, Ubiquitous Computing, and Dependable Applications, 16(4), 438-453. https://doi.org/10.58346/JOWUA.2025.I4.025

Blackledge, J. (2021). Thoughts on the future of higher education in the UK: A personal view with a historical context. Education Sciences, 11(9), Article 474. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11090474

Boháč, A., & Drápela, E. (2023). Present climate change as a threat to geoheritage: The wildfire in Bohemian Switzerland National Park and its use in place-based learning. Geosciences, 13(12), Article 383. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13120383

Brown, R., & Warwick, P. (2019). Civic learning in conversation: The common ground of difference. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 31, 346-353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2019.01.003

Burton, C. (2019). Faculty and student immersion in community: A review of Building Bridges: Community and University Partnerships in East St. Louis. International Journal for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, 7(1), Article 13. https://doi.org/10.37333/001c.11488

Cahuas, M., & Matute, A. A. (2021). Enacting a Latinx decolonial politic of belonging: Latinx community workers' experiences negotiating identity and citizenship in Toronto, Canada. Studies in Social Justice, 14(2), 268-286. https://doi.org/10.26522/SSJ.V14I2.2225

da Silva, S. M. (2023). Local knowledge integrated in learning experiences: The case of schools and communities from rural border regions of the mainland Portugal. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 33(2), 50-66. https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v33i2.579

Davies, A. R., Hügel, S., Norman, A., & Ryan, G. (2024). Climate Smart: Geography, place and climate change adaptation education. Geography, 109(1), 27-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/00167487.2024.2297611

Dulnuan, J. H., & Ledesma, C. (2020). Archaeology in the classroom: A perspective from Kiangan, Ifugao, Philippines. SPAFA Journal, 4. https://doi.org/10.26721/spafajournal.v4i0.613

Edwards, S. V., Robin, V. V., Ferrand, N., & Moritz, C. (2022). The evolution of comparative phylogeography: Putting the geography (and more) into comparative population genomics. Genome Biology and Evolution, 14(1), Article evab176. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evab176

Ericson, K., & Häikiö, T. K. (2025). Visuality and multimodality as tools for learning in geography and art education. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 59(2), 50-73. https://doi.org/10.5406/15437809.59.2.05

Favier, T., Van Gorp, B., Cyvin, J. B., & Cyvin, J. (2021). Learning to teach climate change: Students in teacher training and their progression in pedagogical content knowledge. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 45(4), 594-620. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2021.1900080

Fifolt, M., & McCormick, L. C. (2020). Advancing public health education through place-based learning: “On the road in the Deep South.” Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 6(2), 102-112. https://doi.org/10.1177/2373379919839076

Fleming, C. J. E., Henville, L., Wilson, C., Geraty, K., & Horning, D. L. (2026). Faculty willingness and ability to engage with work-integrated learning (WIL): Piloting the Faculty Engagement Model in the WIL sphere. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 14, Article 14. https://doi.org/10.20343/teachlearninqu.14.14

Fuller, L., Beattie, J., Versace, V. L., Rogers, G. D., & McGrail, M. R. (2024). Describing a medical school's rural activity footprint: Setting selection and workforce distribution priorities. Rural and Remote Health, 24(3), Article 8316. https://doi.org/10.22605/RRH8316

Grimshaw, L., & Mates, L. (2022). 'Making heritage matter'? Teaching local mining history in primary schools. Education 3-13, 50(1), 25-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2020.1825509

Jagger, S., & Trifonas, P. P. (2025). Experiencing STEM at the Lab School: Situated histories and enacted pedagogies. Encounters in Theory and History of Education, 26, 3-29. https://doi.org/10.24908/encounters.v26i0.19801

Jarupongputtana, C., Mangkhang, C., Dibyamandala, J., & Manokarn, M. (2022). Interdisciplinary community-based learning to enhance competence of digital citizenship of social studies pre-service teachers in the Thai context: Pedagogical approaches perspective. Journal of Curriculum and Teaching, 11(4), 171-183. https://doi.org/10.5430/jct.v11n4p171

Jatuporn, O., & Youngwan, S. (2026). From local to plural locality: Reconceptualizing global citizenship education in Thailand and ASEAN. rEFLections, 33(2). https://doi.org/10.61508/refl.v33i2.289455

Kmeť, A., Mázorová, H., Frolo, J., & Šmida, D. (2024). Do Slovak teachers teach outside? An insight into geography and biology teachers' opinions on outdoor education and place-based learning. Geographia Cassoviensis, 18(1), 66-77. https://doi.org/10.33542/GC2024-1-04

Kriewaldt, J., Robertson, L., & Ziebell, N. (2023). Creating the conditions for geographic conceptual development in post-primary students through collaborative guided inquiry. Education Sciences, 13(11), Article 1098. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13111098

Krosnick, S., & Moore, K. (2025). Rooting students in their botanical history: A method to engage students in botany and herbaria. Plants, People, Planet, 7(3), 838-849. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10595

Laver, Q., Andersen, O., Moore, S., Pottle, C., & Snook, J. (2024). Fostering fisheries futures: The promise of localized stewardship education in Nunatsiavut. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 12, Article 1409358. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2024.1409358

Liberati, A., Altman, D. G., Tetzlaff, J., Mulrow, C., Gøtzsche, P. C., Ioannidis, J. P. A., Clarke, M., Devereaux, P. J., Kleijnen, J., & Moher, D. (2009). The PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies that evaluate healthcare interventions: Explanation and elaboration. PLoS Medicine, 6(7), Article e1000100. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000100

Ligtermoet, E., Gumurdul, J. N., Nayinggul, C., & Baker, R. (2023). The return of the kinga (saltwater crocodile): Population 'bust then boom' shapes shifting baselines in Indigenous biocultural knowledge in northern Australia. Biological Conservation, 277, Article 109746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109746

Maxwell, J., Burke, K., & Salton, Y. (2024). Working toward a place-based online pedagogy. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 48(2), 177-192. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2023.2198199

Meade, M., Jennings, D. H., Holifield, R. R., Gawronski, V. T., Hazelhoff, R., Jacobs, L. C., Melonas, D. R., Russell, K., & Hayden, K. L. (2026). STEMMing the tide: Addressing educational inequities and environmental justice through STEM education in Africatown, Alabama. Discover Education, 5(1), Article 301. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-026-01187-5

Muhammad, U. A., Fuad, M., Ariyani, F., & Suyanto, E. (2022). Bibliometric analysis of local wisdom-based learning: Direction for future history education research. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 11(4), 2209-2222. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v11i4.23547

Nicol, R., & Sangster, P. (2019). You are never alone: Understanding the educational potential of an 'urban solo' in promoting place-responsiveness. Environmental Education Research, 25(9), 1368-1385. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2019.1576161

Oe, H., Yamaoka, Y., & Ochiai, H. (2022). A qualitative assessment of community learning initiatives for environmental awareness and behaviour change: Applying the UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) framework. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(6), Article 3528. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063528

Özkaral, T. C., & Taş, A. M. (2018). Evaluation of teachers' attitudes related to the place-based education approach applied in social studies lessons. International Journal of Higher Education, 7(4), 166-175. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v7n4p166

Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., … Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, Article n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71

Page, M. J., Moher, D., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., … McKenzie, J. E. (2021). PRISMA 2020 explanation and elaboration: Updated guidance and exemplars for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, Article n160. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n160

Rock, A. E. (2022). Bringing geography to the community: Community-based learning and the geography classroom. GeoJournal, 87, 235-247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-021-10408-3

Rubáš, D., Matějček, T., & Řezníčková, D. (2024). Sense of place in geography and environmental education: A literature review of empirical research. GeoScape, 18(1), 37-52. https://doi.org/10.2478/geosc-2024-0003

Ruiz-Pedrosa, R. M., Coratza, P., Vandelli, V., & Serrano, E. (2025). Assessment of the didactic potential of geomorphosites: A study case in Spain and Italy. Sustainability, 17(22), Article 9984. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17229984

Sessions, K., & Williams, S. A. (2024). Religion, ethics, and academic community engagement: Looking back, looking ahead. Religion and Education, 51(1-2), 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1080/15507394.2024.2325854

Silva, N. M. da, & Silva, S. M. da. (2026). Place as a microcosm: Community-based citizenship education approaches among schools and rural low-density communities. Educar, 62(1), 131-147. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/educar.2589

Stancil, M., Nicol, R., Little, N. R., Wu, Q., & Luo, H. (2026). Experiences of the shieling: A phenomenological study of a Gaelic culture-specific outdoor learning program. Wellbeing, Space and Society, 10, Article 100354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wss.2026.100354

Strand, H. (2025). Putting the past in place: Meetings with local archives in history education. History Education Research Journal, 22(1), Article 26. https://doi.org/10.14324/HERJ.22.1.26

Sturrock, G. R., & Zandvliet, D. B. (2023). Citizenship outcomes and place-based learning environments in an integrated environmental studies program. Education Sciences, 13(3), Article 292. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13030292

Thomas, J., & Harden, A. (2008). Methods for the thematic synthesis of qualitative research in systematic reviews. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 8, Article 45. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-8-45

Thornton, S., Graham, M., & Burgh, G. (2021). Place-based philosophical education: Reconstructing 'place', reconstructing ethics. Childhood & Philosophy, 17, 1-29. https://doi.org/10.12957/childphilo.2021.54696

Thornton, S., Burgh, G., & Graham, M. (2024). Place, empire, environmental education, and the Community of Inquiry. Journal of Philosophy in Schools, 11(1), 83-103. https://doi.org/10.46707/jps.v11i1.218

Thorpe, K., Burgess, C., & Egan, S. (2021). Aboriginal community-led preservice teacher education: Learning from Country in the city. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 46(1), 55-73. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2021v46n1.4

Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a methodology for developing evidence-informed management knowledge by means of systematic review. British Journal of Management, 14(3), 207-222. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00375

van Gelderen, B., & Guthadjaka, K. (2019). School is home, home as school: Yolŋu 'on Country' and 'through Country' place-based education from Gäwa homeland. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 29(3), 56-75. https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v29i3.235

Wilson, A., Dick, L., Ncube, S., Dickie, J., Abrams, A., Black, G., Blair, N., Carden, K., Hamilton-Smith, N., Lamb, G., Mpofu-Mketwa, T., Petersen, L., & Robertson, G. (2023). Living the life of floods: Place-based learning in an Anthropocene harmscape. Geoforum, 147, Article 103914. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2023.103914

Wooltorton, S., Collard, L., Horwitz, P., Poelina, A., & Palmer, D. (2020). Sharing a place-based Indigenous methodology and learnings. Environmental Education Research, 26(7), 917-934. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2020.1773407

Yeboah, T., Getz, T., Kertsman, T., & George, G. (2023). Historians and high school students as partners: Community-based learning experiences as a tool for democratizing research. History in Africa, 50, 372-395. https://doi.org/10.1017/hia.2023.5

Žoncová, M., Madleňák, T., & Gajdoš, A. (2026). Place-based learning during the 'field course abroad' in higher education of geography. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 50(3), 323-338. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2026.2637882