Geographical Association

These are challenging times for our subject. In many schools geography is suffering from cuts to teaching time, threats from other curriculum areas and initiatives and the growth of a 'skills-based' transition year. It is vital, therefore, that geography departments communicate what they do, celebrate their achievements and develop a distinct presence and impact within the school.

'You can travel the seas, poles and deserts and see nothing. To really understand the world you need to get under the skin of the people and places. In other words, learn about geography. I can't imagine a subject more relevant in schools. We'd all be lost without it.'

- Michael Palin, actor, writer, traveller

The GA's manifesto for school geography, A Different View, states that it is

'a re-affirmation of geography's place in the curriculum... designed to be used in any context where geography needs to be explained, encouraged or promoted.'

- GA 2009

In this climate of uncertainty it is necessary to develop skills and strategies to promote geography as a school subject - geographers know its value, but do parents, senior leadership teams, colleagues and governors?

A Different View is an excellent starting point, giving a focus for debate and discussion about the place, importance and value of geography within your school's curriculum.

It is also important that geography is seen more than just a 'curriculum subject'. In February 2009 the Geographical Association commissioned Ipsos MORI to investigate which issues Key Stage 3 students think are important and whether they feel they are learning about them.

Two of the major findings from the survey are that:

• The great majority of students think it is important to learn about issues affecting different parts of the world, particularly how the world they live in may change.
• Most young people think that not enough time is spent learning about the wider world in school.

Key findings and full results of the survey are available in the Resources area.

Geography can nourish and enrich a whole lifetime of learning, and should aim to be a leading contributor to a balanced education for all young people. Many contemporary challenges - climate change, food security, energy choices - cannot be understood without a geographical perspective.

'Geography serves vital educational goals: thinking and decision making with geography helps us to live our lives as knowledgeable citizens, aware of our own local communities in a global setting. Geographers are skilful: using maps and mediated images of people and place, numerical data and graphical modes of communication and getting to grips with the geographic information systems that underpin our lives, make geographers skilful and employable.'

- A Different View, GA 2009

'I'd like to think that the majority, if not all, of my staff no matter what their subject, are going to engage students. But the engagement in geography is because it's so real, because it is so topical, because it is so contemporary.'

- Headteacher, Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre

'Geography is absolutely crucial to all our futures - from global issues like climate change to local issues like planning - geography is at the core.

- Jim Knight, Schools Minister, March 2008

Impact has been defined as 'the powerful or dramatic effect that something or somebody has'. The impact of geography in a school can manifest itself in a number of ways. The numbers opting for GCSE Geography may indicate some elements of success at KS3, but do such figures illustrate how the subject impacts on other areas of the school?

It is necessary for departments to look outwards in order to gauge their own impact.

• Does geography lead on any school developments?
• Do geographers contribute to any whole school issues?
• Does the work of the geography department gain recognition by the Head, governors, parents, other schools or local press?
• Has the value of geography been recognised by others locally, regionally, nationally or internationally?

The geography department in one school aspires to:

- Become the best Geography Department in the UK.
- Build an extraordinary learning community that goes beyond the curriculum.
- Foster a spirit of enquiry that goes beyond the curriculum.
- Draw on the rich variety of experience and views to support a coherent and collegiate approach to teaching and learning.
- Nurture links with other schools and departments locally, nationally and globally.

For each of the statements, to what extent do you think they would be achievable in your own school?

In collaboration with your departmental team, audit your current practice and create a plan to raise the profile of geography and maximise its impact across the school over the next twelve months.

View the following PowerPoint to see why and how you can celebrate quality geography.

Download: Celebrating Quality Geography (PPT, 2.3M)

COURSE ENDS

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