ABSTRACT
The concept of place is at the core of geography. Places have a past, a present and a future. Children interact with places on a daily basis. They have strong feelings about places and they know what they like or dislike about any particular locality. Places are meaningful for children. A place-based perspective includes an analysis of children’s emotional, aesthetic and spiritual connections to places and localities in addition to the manner in which their lives are shaped by the places in which they live. Place is a complex phenomenon. Places can be local, immediate and concrete, such as a child’s home, school and school grounds, or places can be far away and abstract. Buildings, towns, cities and countries are all referred to as places. Place can be as small as a room or as large as continent. The term ‘sense of place’ is often used to emphasise that places are significant because they are the focus of personal feelings.
