Citizenship outcomes and place-based learning environments in an integrated environmental studies program

This paper discusses the effects of the learning environment on an important and unique 21st century learning outcome—that of active citizenship, in contrast to more conventionally measured cognitive and attitudinal outcomes. In our study, we utilized a learning environment instrument, the Place-Based Learning and Constructivist Environment Survey (PLACES) with an integrated environmental studies program prepared for high school students in the Canadian context. Our research used a retrospective case study design to investigate how aspects of this unique learning environment are related to long-term, active citizenship outcomes as perceived by students from two previous student cohorts (N = 24 and N = 36) who were contacted several years after the culmination of the program. To access information about student perceptions, PLACES was implemented as part of a range of mixed methods which also included focus groups and interviews. This study is important because it links key aspects of the learning environment to long-term citizenship outcomes and is unique in that the data were collected five and eight years later as part of a longitudinal study. Our findings demonstrate that the learning environment and citizenship outcomes were closely linked, and that students’ perceptions as measured by the PLACES instrument (past and present) were remarkably stable across all dimensions. These findings further indicate significant and positive implications for future learning environments research.