Stories for Country: Developing a Place-Based Pedagogy Based on Indigenous Ways of Knowing

This 2022 doctoral thesis by Benjamin Bruce Wilson develops a richly grounded place-based pedagogy rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing. Drawing on a methodological paradigm called Narrative Ecography, Wilson foregrounds Indigenous approaches to learning that centre deep relational connection to Country and the stories that arise from those connections. He argues that Indigenous pedagogies, which have sustained Indigenous societies for tens of thousands of years, offer powerful insights for contemporary education—particularly for nurturing respect, care, responsibility, and ecological stewardship in learners.

In Stories for Country, place is not simply a backdrop for learning but an active teacher. Students are invited to explore their own stories of connection to local places, histories, landscapes, and Earth-kin, and through this exploration they develop a sense of obligation and reciprocity toward the world they inhabit. Wilson’s framework positions storytelling and Country-centred narrative practice as core pedagogical tools capable of fostering reciprocal relationships between learners and environment, disrupting conventional, abstract, disconnected forms of schooling.

For the Telling Your Stories Project, this thesis offers a robust, research-based foundation for weaving Indigenous, place-based narrative practices into pedagogy. It affirms the value of culturally grounded storytelling that honours relationality with place and community, supports learners’ sense of belonging, and encourages responsibility and care for the ecological and cultural worlds they inhabit.