Practically no one will dispute that the future of Russia depends on the successfulness of the multifaceted modernization of Russian society, a task that cannot be confined solely to the socioeconomic sphere. The most fundamental task is that of changing the societal system of values and institutions. If Russia is to modernize successfully, the…

The purpose of our study was that of analysing, starting from literature, the definitions of the following concepts: capacity, skill, and competency, as well as of analysing the competencies they phrased in school curricula and those that teachers phrased. Moreover, we wanted to give appropriate examples. The hypotheses of our study were the…

The literature on service learning in geography courses has established and substantiated the importance and usefulness of such projects for student learning. In this paper the assumption is questioned that similar sets of benefits accrue to "community" participants, those involved who are located outside the university context. The…

This paper is about how the transformatory pedagogical practice of popular/liberatory education can be further articulated within geography. It is based on the experiences of a third-year undergraduate course, "Autonomous Geographies", in which the author developed some of the core values of popular education, namely engaging with…

Geography as a school subject is highly infused with values and controversial issues. Much attention has been paid to the role of the (geography) teacher in dealing with values education, but the continued lack of pupil-focused empirical work hampers conceptual, practical and policy development. Drawing on evidence from pupil-focused research, it…

Fieldwork remains the mainstay in the study of geography and in the analysis of the environmental processes. However, an in-depth understanding of the environmental and geographical processes requires extensive as well as intensive fieldwork that involves time and substantial effort, both of which may pose a problem within a given curriculum time.…

University instructors are increasingly drawing on active learning exercises to engender critical thinking skills among students. In this article, we introduce the design and implementation of an active learning exercise about mobility and transportation that we assigned in an introductory human geography class at the University of Georgia. The…

Thumb through the pages of a DeLorme gazetteer of any Great Plains state and you will find small black diamonds, each with its own place-name, scattered throughout the large-scale maps. For those who are familiar with the area, the existence of some of the diamonds, supposedly marking the location of a community, can be confusing since these…

During the last few years the Italian school system has seen significant changes but geography continues to be considered a boring and un-useful discipline by public institutions. The main problem is the widespread geographic illiteracy and the fact that very often people do not know the objectives, methodology and tools of geographical studies.…

Starting from the question "what is a story?" "Storytelling Across the Primary Curriculum" leads the reader through the theory and practise of storytelling as an educational method--a method taught by the author over the last ten years through Primary English teaching programmes. This practical book gives teachers the skills and confidence to use…

This paper draws explicitly on the field experiences of two doctoral researchers in geography to elucidate some of the challenges and issues related to researcher vulnerability that are especially acute for graduate students. In spite of significant differences in context, both researchers experienced an unanticipated degree of professional…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the components of a sustainability transdisciplinary education model (STEM), a contemporary approach linking art, science, and community, that were developed to provide university and K-12 students, and society at large shared learning opportunities. The goals and application of the STEM curriculum…

In an increasingly competitive economy, the capacity for self-motivation, problem-solving skills and an ability to think critically are core graduate attributes. However, the capacity to create an educational environment that develops and harnesses such skills is a distinct challenge as resources become increasingly restricted. Geographical Skills…

Programs in geographic information systems (GIS) and related areas (e.g., GPS, remote sensing) have become important additions to the curriculum at colleges and universities of all sizes and types, including tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) such as Haskell Indian Nations University. This article discusses the recent development of a GIS…

In an attempt to develop tolerance and acceptance of other cultural groups, teacher educators from the University of Newcastle worked with members of the local African community and teachers from a local school to develop a Creative Arts and Geography program for young school children (aged 7-9 years). The program developed put together the…