The purpose of this article is to examine how geography is represented and positioned in primary and secondary (referred to here as K-12) education in the United States through a critical analysis of the content and implementation of the National Geography Standards, "Geography for Life." We begin by providing context on the organization…

The purpose of this article is to examine recent changes in the geography national curriculum in South Korea through the lenses of three curriculum components that often find themselves in competition--subject content, educational processes and national/social purposes. In recent years, the prevailing national and social aims outlined for the…

In understanding the divergences and commonalities in the representations of geography across different national settings, the case of Singapore is examined through the notion of politicisation of school curricula to meet the needs of "significant power groups". In particular, the development of school geography in Singapore and its…

Australia is in the process of implementing a national geography curriculum to replace the separate state and territory curriculums. The paper describes the process of curriculum development, and identifies the different groups that were involved. These included the board and staff of the national curriculum authority, geography teachers across…

This article presents an analysis of the national curriculum for geography as it has evolved in England since its inception in 1991 following the Education Reform Act of 1988. Whilst the main contents of our original analysis are provided by way of a table, enabling the reader ready access to the broad trends we identify in how geography has been…

The present study investigates environmental education (EE) before and after Iran's Islamic Revolution. The research method is case study, and among the case study methods, historical analysis has been used in this research. A wide array of sources were employed, from government performance reports to documents, records, books, and articles…

Primary geography education is an important part of initial teacher education. The importance of prior experiences in the development of student teachers has long been recognised and there is growing evidence of the nature of those experiences in areas such as geography. This paper reports the findings of research conducted with one cohort of…

There have been remarkable changes in the Omani educational system since the implementation of the Basic Education Reform in 1998. The current study was an attempt to offer insights into the state of geography in the current reform. Particularly, the study examined teachers' preferred reasons for teaching geography, teachers' views on important…

"Curriculum making", highlighted in the Geographical Association's Manifesto in 2009, was the focus of a research symposium held in London in April 2011. Using an auto-ethnographic approach, I reflect on and explore my experience of participating in that symposium. The analysis explores the "cultures of influence" and the "forms of…

Solutions to the pressing environmental problems of our time include a shift towards more sustainable ways of living, and in this, education is recognised as having an important role. It is expected that if sustainability is addressed in teacher education, its prevalence in schools will also increase. However little has been reported regarding how…

School geography in England has been characterised as a pendulum swinging between policies that emphasise curriculum and pedagogy alternately. In this paper, I illustrate the influence of these shifts on geography teacher's professional practice, by drawing on three "moments" from my experience as a student, teacher and teacher educator. Barnett's…

Reflecting on a personal journey as a geography student, an academic, an educator and a teacher trainer, the article provides a critical narrative of the state of school geography in Singapore and argues that its development has remained relevant to the changing issues at a global level. Using personal reflections and document analyses, school…

As a result of China's geography education reform, the Geography Standards for Senior Secondary Schools was released in 2003. Being the first kind over the past seven decades, the Standards put forward some changes for senior geography education. For the textbooks' crucial role in Chinese educational system, the changes in geographical education…

The Turkish education system has undergone radical changes since 2004 in all educational curricula, including social studies at the primary and secondary levels. Today, almost six years after its inception, an assessment is needed as to whether the reforms of 2004 affected beneficial changes in the social studies program. If not, it is important…

Geographical education in Portugal has undergone many reforms since the late 1970s. Reforms have affected mainly the content and the goals of the discipline's national curriculum, in a process designed to reflect the evolution of geography at academic level. However, the reforms seem to have had little effect on what teachers believe geography and…