CHILDRENS UNDERSTANDING OF PLACES - THE WORLD AT HAND

Place is, as Daniels (1992) argued, important in the geographical imag ination; the psychological literature indicates that it is also basic to personal development and well-being. We offer a brief outline of ev idence to show how places are important to children: as a basis for se lf-identity for social integration; and for civic participation. Envir onmental psychology's current research agenda includes the study of pl ace attachment; and of place understanding (asking how, the child inte grates local geographical knowledge). It is also in the process of rec onceptualising the child's social relationships as been essentially pl ace-situated: as a result, we should consider children's place underst anding in the context of their everyday activities.