Using geography’s conceptual ways of thinking to teach about sustainable development

Abstract

This paper discusses how geography’s disciplinary ways of thinking can equip teachers “to organize deep geographical learning” about sustainable development in their students. These ways of thinking are based on the subject’s core concepts, and the ones selected for discussion in this paper are environment, interconnection and place. The paper argues, first, that knowledge of the ways that geographers think of the interrelationships between the biophysical environment and humans will give students a deep understanding of environmental sustainability. Second, knowledge of the ways that geographers think about interconnections will enable them to understand the links between environmental, economic and social sustainability, the effects of interconnections between countries on their environmental sustainability, and how to investigate causes. Third, knowledge of the ways that geographers think about place will enable them to understand how ideas about sustainable development vary across space, and how actions for sustainable development are place-based. Applying geography’s conceptual ways of thinking will contribute to both student understanding of sustainable development and geography as a discipline.

Keywords:

• ESD
• geographical concepts
• sustainability
• sustainable development
• environment
• interconnection
• place

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 See Maude (2021) for a discussion of the selection of these concepts, and references to previous work on them.

2 For example, a new expressway can divide a community and destroy its social relationships.

3 Ekins, for example, limits this category to ‘Landscapes of special human or ecological significance, [which] because of their rarity, aesthetic quality or cultural or spiritual associations, should be preserved.” (Ekins, 2011, p. 640)

4 For a discussion of how this might be achieved see Stoknes (2021).

5 As calculated by the Ecological Footprint Calculator of the Global Footprint Network (https://www.footprintcalculator.org).

6 See Sharma and Arora (2015) for an integrated explanation of land degradation in northern India.

7 For extended discussions of powerful knowledge in geography see Béneker (2018) and Maude (2020).