Harnessing Indigenous Knowledge and Place-Based Learning for Sustainability

Long-standing cultural practices, ecological understanding, and community relationships with the land have great value for sustainable practices and education. Indigenous knowledge systems offer insights into sustainable resource management, biodiversity conservation, and climate adaptation. When combined with place-based learning, these perspectives foster deeper environmental stewardship and context-specific solutions to sustainability challenges. Integrating Indigenous perspectives with contemporary research and policy can support more inclusive, resilient, and ethically grounded approaches to managing natural resources and addressing global environmental change. Harnessing Indigenous Knowledge and Place-Based Learning for Sustainability explores the intersection of indigenous perspectives and education for sustainable development. It examines the challenges and opportunities in advancing transformative education that fosters systems thinking, critical reflection, and social action in response to urgent global challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and social inequality. This book covers topics such as school facilities, social justice, and educational policy and reform, and is a useful resource for educators, sociologists, academicians, researchers, and scientists.

About the Author :
Ahmad Qablan is a professor of science education at the College of Education at UAEU. He earned his Ph.D. degree in science and sustainability education from Florida State University, USA, in 2005 and worked for more than 15 years at the College of Educational Sciences at Hashemite University in Jordan, as well as 6 years as a senior programs manager at Queen Rania Teacher Academy, Jordan. I also worked as a visiting professor of science education at the University of Alberta, Canada, for 5 years. He has conducted several educational research projects with UNESCO, UNICEF, the EU, and USAID. He published over 100 books, chapters in books, and journal articles with local and international publishing houses. Asma Abdallah is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at Sharjah Education Academy, with extensive experience across higher education, school leadership, and educational consultancy in the UAE and Jordan. She previously served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at United Arab Emirates University and Assistant Professor at Abu Dhabi University, alongside her work as a school inspector and professional development consultant with ADEK’s Irtiqa program. Her research focuses on teacher licensing, inclusive education, AI in education, and leadership development. She has authored and co-edited several scholarly books with IGI Global, including Building a Unified Teacher Licensing System: Policies, Education Reforms, and Cultural Integration (2025). She has published widely in Scopus- and Web of Science-indexed journals such as Heliyon, BMC Psychology, and Frontiers in Psychology. Dr. Abdallah holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Jordan. She has been recognized with the Jordanian Independence Medal, First Class, awarded by His Majesty King Abdullah II for her contributions to education. She is an active reviewer for international journals and maintains a strong research profile with a Scopus h-index of 15.