Place-Based Education: How Students Learn in, with and from the Neighbourhood

In Laak and Moerwijk, The Hague Primary Teacher Education programme (Pabo) works within Place-Based Education together with the Municipality of The Hague, Onderwijsregio Haaglanden, primary schools and partners in the neighbourhood. Students learn not only within their degree programme and at their internship schools, but also in, with and from the neighbourhood.

It is a promising concept. But how do students themselves actually experience it? And what and how do they learn when the neighbourhood becomes part of their learning environment? These are precisely the questions that led to this research.

Project Background

Future professionals will work in a society in which societal challenges are becoming increasingly complex. This requires professionals who understand the context in which they work, can consider different perspectives and are able to collaborate across boundaries.

Place-based education therefore deliberately brings learning into the neighbourhood. But if we want to further develop this approach to education, we also need to understand what happens from the students’ perspective. This research follows their experiences and learning processes and examines the opportunities, boundaries and effective principles they encounter.

What I find so valuable about this research is that different worlds come together: educational development, research, internship supervision, the neighbourhood, and students as co-researchers. Place-based education brings together different perspectives and creates space to learn from one another across boundaries, with the student at the centre.

– Sara Yerli MSc

Objective

To gain insight into what and how students learn through place-based education, how they experience it, and which principles contribute to meaningful learning and collaboration in the neighbourhood.

Target Group

In Study 1 (2026–2027), the research focuses on Pabo students who learn and complete internships in the Laak and Moerwijk neighbourhoods of The Hague. In Study 2 (2027–2028), the scope will be broadened to include students from different degree programmes who learn together interdisciplinarily within the same neighbourhood context in The Hague, including Pabo, HALO, Pedagogy and Social Work.

Method

In Study 1, we combine in-depth research with a broader perspective. We follow a group of first- and second-year Pabo students over the course of an academic year through reflection assignments, interviews and focus groups. At various points, we also ask Pabo students from different years of study and different universities of applied sciences about their experiences.

By combining different data sources, we aim to understand students’ experiences and learning processes from multiple perspectives.

Results

The research maps what and how students learn in, with and from the neighbourhood, how they experience place-based education, and which opportunities and tensions they encounter.

Based on these findings, we will identify effective principles and areas for further development. The insights from Study 1 will also provide input for Study 2, in which we examine what happens when students from different degree programmes learn together in the neighbourhood.

Impact

Research and educational development come together directly in this project. What we learn from students is brought back into practice.

The insights can help degree programmes, schools and partners further develop place-based and interdisciplinary education. This is not only about learning in the neighbourhood, but also about becoming familiar with different perspectives and critically examining one’s own assumptions and professional practice.

Duration

• Research start: September 2026
• Study 1: 2026–2027
• Study 2: 2027–2028

Collaboration

The research originated from the participation of The Hague Primary Teacher Education programme (Pabo) in Place-Based Education in Laak and Moerwijk. The project involves collaboration with, among others, the Municipality of The Hague, Onderwijsregio Haaglanden, primary schools and partners in the neighbourhood. The research is conducted by The Hague Primary Teacher Education programme and Centre of Expertise Governance of Urban Transitions (GUTs), as part of an external PhD trajectory at Utrecht University.

Team

• Researcher and external PhD candidate: Sara Yerli MSc (The Hague University of Applied Sciences / Utrecht University)
• Student researchers: Mauri Lelieveld and Sara Ait Bahmad (The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Pabo)
• PhD supervision: Larike Bronkhorst and Björn Wansink (Utrecht University) and Katja Rusinovic (CoE Governance of Urban Transitions)
• In collaboration with: Sander Rijksbaron (Programme Manager, Pabo) and participating colleagues, students and professional partners

Contact

Sara Yerli MSc, [email protected]
Lecturer, Pabo | PhD Candidate
The Hague University of Applied Sciences / Utrecht University