Session Description: The status of Geography in English schools is under threat and reasons may be traced to educational policy reforms impacting on the practices and morale of the school Geography teaching profession. Some schools have recently incorporated Geography into an integrated Humanities curriculum for 11-14 year olds.
The popularity of school Geography has implications for its future in universities. UK University offer acceptances between 2002 and 2006 in physical Geography increased by only four per cent and in human and social Geography decreased by 14 per cent (RGS, 2008) stimulating restructuring in several university departments.
The situation of school and university Geography in England gives rise to some important questions about the future of Geography globally:
- what similarities and differences can be identified in the histories of Geography in education across national contexts?
- what politics of curriculum reform are at work in school and university sectors?
- how important are links between school and university for the future of the subject?
- can we learn anything from international comparisons about the constraining and enabling forces of political change?
- can we develop, through a critical understanding of political histories, deeper insights into how to enhance the status and contribution of Geography in education?
The main aim of this Panel session is to stimulate an international debate around these questions by beginning a comparative analysis of the situation in schools and universities in England and the US and widening the discussion with the audience.
