Advancing a Framework to Describe School Geography Curricula Around the World
Date
2019
Authors
Chang, Chew-Hung
Kidman, Gillian
Wi, Andy
Singh, Shyam Anand
Mitchell, Jerry
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education
Abstract
Geographical education is practiced differently around the world, as there are many factors (e.g., geographical location) and contexts (e.g., political, cultural) that countries may face in terms of planning and developing their geography curriculum. Invariably, each country has a different curriculum for school geography. The International Charter on Geographical Education (Charter) outlined some key research questions that geography educators around the world should engage with and the contribution, outcomes and research agenda of geographical education (International Geographic Union - Commission on Geographical Education, 2016). Using the Charter as a basis, we compare different curricula around the world by identifying the core geographical concepts, skills and attitudes of geography education with a view of developing a framework that allows researchers and teachers to exchange ideas on how to teach geography better. Through content analyses of curriculum documents, international declarations on geographical education and discussions with international scholars and practitioners, we examine the levels at which geography is taught, the intended cognitive and affective learning outcomes, the instructional approaches, the assessment practices, and even the teacher professional development opportunities that are described in the documents in each country's case. Consequently, we develop a holistic framework that can be used by geography educators who seek to compare school geography practices around the world. In addition, we attempt to describe the essence of geographical education within an international context, which will have applicability for researchers developing an international assessment item, for instance. The research project will have important contributions to the international geographical education community as well as geographical education in Singapore.
Description
Keywords
geography, geography curricula, conceptual framework, geography education
Citation
Chang, C.H., Kidman, G., Wi, A., Singh, S.A., & Mitchell, J. (2019). Advancing a framework to describe school geography curricula around the world. Research in Geographic Education, 21(2), pp. 55-72.