Putting place at the heart of teacher education: UHI Orkney educator, Ali Hepburn, publishes new research

UHI Orkney educator Ali Hepburn has co-authored a new journal article exploring how place-attentive teaching and learning can be embedded within initial teacher education in Scotland.

Ali, who is Acting Curriculum Lead for Education, Childcare and Hospitality, Lecturer in Teacher Education, and Programme Lead for the MEd Specialist Qualification in Headship, collaborated with UHI Inverness' Mark Lindley-Highfield on the paper, which has been published in the academic journal Education in the North.

Titled Developing place-attentive teaching and learning in initial teacher education in Scotland through the pillars of Arctic pedagogy, the article examines how the principles of Arctic pedagogy can support teacher education that is deeply connected to place, culture and community. Drawing on Scottish and circumpolar perspectives, the research highlights the value of teaching approaches that recognise local context, relationships and lived experience as central to meaningful learning.

The paper contributes to wider discussions around teacher education, sustainability and rural and island learning, and reinforces the importance of place-based approaches within Scottish education.

The article appears in Education in the North, Volume 32, Issue 3 (2025), and reflects UHI Orkney’s ongoing commitment to research-informed practice and education that is rooted in local and regional contexts.

The article can be accessed online here.