Changing Perspectives in High School World Geography: 1950–2005

Abstract

This study set out to better understand the changing links between geography and citizenship. Content analysis was conducted on eighteen high school world geography textbooks and state/national standards. Interviews were conducted with teachers and textbook authors. Five significant changes were noted: decline of national orientation and a greater focus on non-Western cultures; greater emphasis upon consumption over production; the accentuation of values clarification; increasing coverage of basic or prevocational skills; and standardization of format and content in textbooks. Many of these changes point towards a new cosmopolitan citizenship model, although some teachers and state social studies standards still see geography from a national perspective.

Key words:

• world geography
• secondary education
• citizenship
• cosmopolitan
• perspectives

Acknowledgments

Thanks go to Briavel Holcomb, Jeffrey Smith, Ken Mitchell, Dave Robinson, and Dennis Hayes, as well as all interviewees.

Dr. Alex Standish is an assistant professor of geography at Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, Connecticut, USA. He is researching the links between globalization and educational change, and is author of Global Perspectives in the Geography Curriculum: Reviewing the moral case for geography.