The main purpose of this article is to expose and disrupt discourses dominating global development in an English school geography textbook chapter. The study was prompted by a teacher's encounter with cultural difference in a geography lesson in South Korea. I investigate the issues raised through the lens of a new curriculum policy in English…

This paper explores issues, perceptions, and experiences related to the transition from studying geography at school to university. The findings seek to highlight that there are a range of stakeholders that can be engaged in this transition process, as well as a range of strategies for doing so. The transition from school to university geography…

This paper applies Dennis' [(2009). "What does it Mean when an Ethnographer Intervenes?" "Ethnography and Education" 4 (2): 131-146] modes of ethnographic intervention to a fieldwork experience of an observed secondary school lesson in England. Ethnographic research raises numerous ethical dilemmas, in the face of which…

This paper is partly based on a lecture given at the AGTA conference in Perth in January 2013. It argues for a progressive subject based curriculum in which geography plays an essential part. This is based on an analysis of why and how subjects like geography, as part of the humanities, have been undermined and diminished in recent times. In a way…

The importance of developing employability skills of graduates has become a strategic priority in higher education. Knowledge of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools is a valuable skill for graduates both in terms of the specific skillset it provides and of the wider transferable skills. This paper discusses the importance of GIS as an…

The word "geo-graphy" means "writing the earth". The subject of geography bears responsibility for engaging, constituting and configuring world knowledge, in other words, what the world is. This paper describes an enquiry into the nature of school geographical knowledge at a time of curriculum policy reform. In 2010, the newly…

This article provides an insight into the development of primary geography since the inception of the national curriculum in England in the late 1980s. It is hoped this is informative as the "Australian Curriculum: Geography Foundation to Year 12" is introduced to and implemented in primary schools. It draws out various matters which…

In this article, the author offers some practical support for teaching about weather, climate and climate change. In England, weather and climate are traditionally taught within the geography curriculum, although it is actually a very scientific subject, involving skills such as making careful observations and measurements, interpreting data…

This article describes how energy issues and education for sustainable development (ESD) are part of the agenda for two current European projects, CoDeS and SUSTAIN. The latter is mainly concerned with the development of inquiry-based primary and lower secondary science education while the former is a network that aims to learn more about…

The Primary Geography Quality Mark (PGQM) is a support mechanism for the development of successful school geography, which uses evaluative criteria to help subject leaders plan and lead the subject. Evidence from schools that have used the PGQM shows that whilst core knowledge is a necessary ingredient of geography, the knowledge and skill of…

There is strong evidence that all students can gain significant learning benefit when their courses include opportunities for engagement with real-world problems, beyond the walls of their higher education institution (HEI). Internationally, cross-disciplinary discussions are increasing around the value of student learning that involves community…

This article enquires into the value of "concepts" as a framework for the school curriculum by questioning their contribution towards our responsibilities for thinking about the earth. I take Derrida's deconstructive reading of Plato's Timaeus to show how spaces in meaning can be revealed, and more transgressive ways of knowing invited…

This article looks at the possibilities of content-based instruction in mainstream English secondary schools. It considers the continuum from a language to content focus in classrooms where teachers collaborate. English as an additional language (EAL) and subject curriculum teachers work together to support young people while they simultaneously…

Presents two "desk" exercises used to introduce undergraduate geography students in England to an investigation of Pleistocene phenomena. (RM)

A course to make college level geography students (London School of Economics) aware of the nature of film and television and to indicate the importance of these media to the geographer is described. The course emphasizes activities and involvement so that students can develop judgments about how film and television shape reality. (KC)