Children's Place Exploration

This study focuses on the geographic exploration of
ten-year-old children in New York City. It
investigates their ways of discovering and learning
about different local places in New York City and the
factors that influence their geographic exploration.

These questions are answered by using multiple
methodologies. Research methods included open-ended
interviews with children and parents, child-produced
atlases, child-notebooks, and informal observations
of each child s home and immediate outdoor environments.

This study is concerned with improving children s
lives in New York City and thereby more generally
urban settings, which possess a contradictory nature
as rich places for learning and exploration and as
challenging places within which to raise children.
It addresses how parents deal with these urban
ecologies, and documents the consequences of these
urban contradictions for children. As such it has
implications for urban design and policies; can
contribute to the field of education -- geographic
education and curriculum that recognizes children s
everyday modes of learning; and raises issues of
importance to the healthy development of urban children.

Autorentext
Harouna Ba, Ph.D., is a Research Scientist at the EducationDevelopment Center's Center for Children and Technology, anindependent nonprofit research organization based in New YorkCity. Dr. Ba's research has focused on the link betweenchildren's place exploration, learning, and design; and theecologies of children's computing.

Klappentext
This study focuses on the geographic exploration often-year-old children in New York City. Itinvestigates their ways of discovering and learningabout different local places in New York City and thefactors that influence their geographic exploration. These questions are answered by using multiplemethodologies. Research methods included open-endedinterviews with children and parents, child-producedatlases, child-notebooks, and informal observationsof each child's home and immediate outdoor environments.This study is concerned with improving children'slives in New York City and thereby more generallyurban settings, which possess a contradictory natureas rich places for learning and exploration and aschallenging places within which to raise children. It addresses how parents deal with these urbanecologies, and documents the consequences of theseurban contradictions for children. As such it hasimplications for urban design and policies; cancontribute to the field of education -- geographiceducation and curriculum that recognizes children'severyday modes of learning; and raises issues ofimportance to the healthy development of urban children.