International perspectives on the future of geography education: an analysis of national curricula and standards

Abstract

Geography as a school subject is expressed in a wide variety of ways across different national jurisdictions. This article explores some of the issues arising from attempts to represent geography as a subject for study in schools through the organisational structures offered by national standards and/or national curricula. It serves as an introduction to this special issue, which primarily concerns itself with the contemporary analysis of geography education in seven national settings across the globe.

We stress the importance of considering political, cultural, social and philosophical traditions when analysing the curriculum choices made for geography education. Although it may be assumed that geography as a disciplinary specialism is concerned with a body of knowledge that is common across the globe, the creative tensions generated between the disciplines, educational trends and matters of social or policy concern play out differently, making comparisons across jurisdictions hazardous. Understanding this, we argue, is of great significance to those who plan and shape the geography curriculum. Despite the difficulties we hope to offer something more useful than a series of descriptions of geography teaching in different national settings. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a set of robust and irresistible arguments for the inclusion of the study of geography in schools. We argue that geographical knowledge is a vital component of the education of young people across the globe, even though it may be expressed in different ways in different national settings.

Keywords:

• national curricula
• national standards
• Euro-American geography traditions
• geographical knowledge
• education policy

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the reviewers, many from the Geography Education Research Collective (GEReCo) who commented on drafts of the articles contained within this special issue.

Notes

1. In relation to children in the primary and secondary years (up to 16 years).

2. Other forms of state schools, all of which have no requirement to teach the National Curriculum, also exist – such as “Free” Schools, University Training Schools, Studio Schools, etc.

3. Wrigley and Kalambouka's (2012) research identifies that in a case study of four academies, only 12% of the pupils studied history or geography at General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), compared to 57% in other schools locally. In one academy this research found that only a single pupil took history, with no one taking geography, at GCSE.