Protected Tourism Areas as Pedagogical Arenas: A Resource–Knowledge–Subjectivity Framework for Analysing Educational Practices

ABSTRACT Protected natural areas such as parks, reserves and eco‐tourism zones are increasingly recognised not only as ecological assets but also as educational spaces. Yet, existing studies often fail to capture the complex interplay between the material environment, the forms of knowledge transmitted, and the shaping of learner subjectivities. This paper proposes a conceptual and methodological framework—the Resource–Knowledge–Subjectivity (RKS) model—to analyse how educational practices in protected areas are constructed, negotiated and experienced. Drawing on educational space theory, curriculum and knowledge governance, and theories of environmental subject formation, the RKS model conceptualises protected areas as pedagogical arenas where nature is curated as a resource, environmental knowledge is selectively framed, and participants are positioned as ecological subjects. The paper details each dimension of the framework and visualises their interrelations through an integrated conceptual model and tension map. It further outlines methodological strategies for applying the framework in diverse settings, including national parks, school field trips, community‐managed reserves and eco‐tourism environments. By illuminating both synergies and tensions across dimensions, the RKS model provides researchers and educators with a tool for more critically engaged and context‐sensitive inquiry into environmental learning. This theoretical contribution invites future empirical research that attends to space, knowledge and subjectivity as co‐constitutive elements of environmental education in natural settings.