As much as the history and study of Africa have been incorporated into social studies curricula, Africa is still a region that is prone to misperceptions and misconceptions. Social studies teachers could provide students with an alternative image, but what if they only perpetuate misperceptions of Africa? This case study examines preservice…

Questions remain about inquiry instruction, while research confirms that using primary sources can aid students' inquiry learning processes. This study questioned: "How do second-grade teachers at an International Baccalaureate Organization/IBO language immersion setting incorporate inquiry methods in instructional practices?"; "How…

The English Geography National Curriculum encourages primary teachers to focus on similarities and differences when teaching distant places. The issues this raises are particularly acute when teaching geography in the context of the Global South. In this article I argue that comparisons based on object-based thinking can lead to views of the…

In late 2012, both the second edition of the "Geography for Life: National Geography Standards" and the National Science Foundation-funded "Road Map for Geography Education Project" reports were released; the former document describes the conceptual goals for K-12 geography education, and the latter, a route to coordinating reform efforts to…

The aim of this paper is to investigate and frame some learning conditions involved in the practice of geographical excursions. The empirical material from this study comes from several excursions made by students in human geography and an ethnomethodological approach through participant observation is used. The study is informed by theories from…

This article reports some of the findings of a longitudinal ethnographic research study on the intercultural transition experiences of 50 engineering students in a China-U.K. articulation program. It focuses on the interaction between these students and the U.K.-based cohort, mainly home students. The findings indicate that lack of suitable…

Over the last two decades Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has received increasing attention. Due to the close affinity that geography as a school subject shares with both theoretical constructs and methodologies of ESD, geography has assumed a key position in the implementation of ESD in formal education. Still, little attention has so…

Foucault's notion of heterotopia offers a novel way to understand teachers' conceptualizations of childhood, in juxtaposing adult memories of childhood with their present context of teaching children. Memory writing prompts were given to 41 early childhood teachers, and the resulting written narratives were analyzed as heterotopic spaces. The…

Limited research exists that considers the usefulness of outdoor learning as a legitimate pedagogical approach for the delivery of a mainstream secondary school curriculum. To address this shortcoming, we investigated the ways in which mathematics and geography teachers and students from three secondary schools in Scotland responded to the…

"Research has consistently found that pedagogy informed by knowledge of students' existing ideas is more efficient in promoting conceptual change than traditional methods of instruction". Learners in the sub-field of environmental geography exhibit preconceptions that frame and sometimes hinder their knowledge acquisition. Those…

Graduate attributes are a framework of skills, attitudes, values and knowledge that graduates should develop by the end of their degree programmes. Adopting a largely qualitative approach and using semi-structured interviews, this paper outlines students' experiences at a national undergraduate research conference over three years and evidences…

Policy around the legal status and social rights of the nation's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants is unresolved, making it imperative that PK-12 schools and educators prepare for challenges to undocumented students' educational access. In 2008, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) appeared near an elementary school, which required…

Teaching education is Ireland is currently undergoing significant structural and conceptual changes. School placement is at the centre of these reforms. This article reports the findings of an all-Ireland study which investigates student teachers' experiences of teaching geography during their school placements. Based on data collected from…

Students' conceptions are a central learning condition. Until now there have only been qualitative results regarding the important geographical area of the desert, especially its location and formation. Therefore this study surveys students' conceptions (N = 585; n = 448 without pre-instruction on deserts and n = 137 with pre-instruction on…

Young children are naturally inquisitive, and teachers often invite them to question, challenge, and create to expand their ever growing knowledge base. This article describes an inspiration one kindergarten teacher had when she overheard two children in her class discussing their recent experiences at an airport. The students were sharing some of…