Progress(ion) in Geography David Lambert Professor of Geography Education Institute of Education London

School Geography in England NC to be revised: simplified and to focus only on the ‘core knowledge’ of academic subjects Less concern with skills and competences; more concern with academic rigour English Baccalaureate: Eng, Ma, Sc, Lang and either history or geography (and what else? ) Greater university involvement in A level specifications State funded academies (and ‘free schools’) no longer have to follow the NC Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove (2010-present)

Reclaiming the ‘knowledge agenda’ This talk will: Not make the mistake of ‘100 academics’ Establish a principled position for a strong school geography Embrace a progressive, knowledge-led geography curriculum

The emergence of a learning “fetish”? Where ‘learning’ is regarded as: A good thing in itself - and assumed to be value free in this sense. (It is not. Learning can be trivial, dangerous or wrong) An essentially scientific or technical process –thus, with correct technique, learning can be ‘accelerated’, as if this were a desirable end in itself. (But understanding aspects of science, geography, history or art can be counter- intuitive, and require sustained, sometimes painstaking effort) Paramount. Teaching is subservient to, and led by, the learning. We become embarrassed by teaching, and instead talk only about ‘facilitating’ learning. (A profession that abrogates responsibility in this way may be one that has lost confidence in itself - and the future)

The curriculum as an entire planned learning experience underpinned by a broad set of common values and purposes Three key questions 3 How well are we achieving our aims? Assessment fit for purpose Whole curriculum dimensions Learning approaches Components Accountability measures Every Child Matters outcomes Focus for learning Curriculum aims Be healthy Stay safe Enjoy and achieve Make a positive contribution Achieve economic wellbeing Attitudes and attributes eg determined, adaptable, confident, risk-taking, enterprising Knowledge and understanding eg big ideas that shape the world Skills eg literacy, numeracy, ICT, personal, learning and thinking skills Successful learners who enjoy learning, make progress and achieve Responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society Confident individuals who are able to lead safe, healthy and fulfilling lives The curriculum aims to enable all young people to become To make learning and teaching more effective so that learners understand quality and how to improve Embraces peer- and self- assessment Uses tests and tasks appropriately Links to national standards which are consistently interpreted Helps identify clear targets for improvement Gives helpful feedback for the learner and other stakeholders Maximises pupils’ progress Promotes a broad and engaging curriculum Draws on a wide range of evidence of pupils’ learning Is integral to effective teaching and learning Informs future planning and teaching Statutory expectations PSHE PW EW+FC PEMuMFL RE SCMaICTHiGeEnD & TCiA & D Physical development Personal, social and emotional development Mathematical development Knowledge and understanding of the world Communication, language and literacy Creative development 1 What are we trying to achieve? 2 How do we organise learning? Attainment and improved standards Behaviour and attendance Further involvement in education, employment or training Civic participation Healthy lifestyle choices To secure Including all learners with opportunities for learner choice and personalisation Using a range of audience and purpose Matching time to learning need eg deep, immersive and regular frequent learning In tune with human development A range of approaches eg enquiry, active learning, practical and constructive Building on learning beyond the school including community and business links Opportunities for spiritual, moral, social, cultural, emotional, intellectual and physical development Overarching themes that have a significance for individuals and society, and provide relevant learning contexts: Identity and cultural diversity - Healthy lifestyles – Community participation – Enterprise – Global dimension and sustainable development – Technology and the media – Creativity and critical thinking. LessonsOut of schoolExtended hoursRoutinesEventsLocationsEnvironment National Curriculum ‘Big Picture’ [QCDA 2007]

Some Questions Is it OK that students can complete their school geography (mostly at 14 but in some cases at 18 years) without: Understanding latitude, longitude and time zones? Knowledge of ocean currents and world wind patterns? More than a patchy knowledge of the world’s major biomes? (Nick Gibb’s favourite) the certain knowledge that Belgium is a country? Understanding the merits (and disadvantages) of Mercator’s projection? Knowledge of glaciation and its impacts especially in the northern hemisphere?

Geographical Association ‘Manifesto’ [2009] Reasons Growing ‘genericism’ in the curriculum Skills rather than knowledge Learning rather than teaching Themes/issues rather than subjects Political influences on the curriculum Citizenship? Sustainability? Contents The subject resource Thinking geographically Living geography Exploration and enquiry Real world fieldwork Young people’s geographies Curriculum Making animoto_video short.mp4

Geographical Association: ‘making geography happen’ Part of The Action Plan for Geography Good quality ‘curriculum Making’ Based on pupils’ work Attempting to show progression

The Geographical Association’s Geography Curriculum Consultation 2011 Rationale for handling geographical knowledge - Kn1: geographical contexts; ‘core knowledge’ - Kn2: conceptual content knowledge - Kn3: ‘procedural’ knowledge and applied practical skills

The Geographical Association “Thinking Geographically” National Curriculum proposals 2012 i.Organised by place, space and environment ii. Stressing ‘relational thinking’ :- for example, with the following ‘couplets’ (after Peter Jackson) place and space scale and connection proximity and distance people and environment

Back to basics! (that is, the fundamental question) What is school geography for? The world beyond experience Concepts and theories (‘systematicity’) Disciplined communities All young people should have access to geographical knowledge, and to encounter the world as an object of disciplined thought

Applying the analysis in real life Climate change is “too important to be left to the whim of individual teachers”. "It appears climate change is being systematically removed from the curriculum, which is not acceptable...” (UKYCC)

Applying the analysis in real life Climate change is “too important to be left to the whim of individual teachers”. "It appears climate change is being systematically removed from the curriculum, which is not acceptable...” (UKYCC) What has been removed (from KS3)? ‘Exploring sustainable development and its impact on environmental interaction and climate change.’ In other words, little of substance. And note, understanding climate and climate patterns was not required in the pos!

Catching our breath What are the important distinctions between: Curriculum and pedagogy? School subject and university discipline? Experience of the world (in the everyday) and the world as an object of thought (in school)? Knowledge and skills? Content and aims? And how do we keep these entities connected?

“Bringing Knowledge Back In” Schools are special places (they are not ‘everyday places’) Inducting young people into ‘powerful knowledge’ Clear distinction between curriculum and pedagogy (Michael Young 2008)

Powerful Knowledge? Characterised by these features: It is abstract and theoretical (conceptual) It is part of a system of thought It is dynamic, evolving, changing It is sometimes counter-intuitive It exists outside the direct experience of the teacher and the learner It enables societies to think the ‘unthinkable’ and the ‘yet-to-be-thought’.

Powerful Knowledge? Example: ‘Cities’ Many children have a working, everyday knowledge of living in a city... But geography lessons make the city an object of thought, asking for example: – In what circumstances do cities grow? – How are cities organised? – Can cities be regulated, planned and controlled? – What is the ideal city? (‘to enable societies to think the ‘unthinkable’ and the ‘yet-to-be-thought’)

What kind of (curriculum) Future do we want? F1subject delivery – of knowledge for its own sake; traditional subjects: under-socialised knowledge F2skills and ‘learning to learn’ – knowledge is constructed: over-socialised knowledge; subject divisions are artificial. Experiential. F3subjects are not given (as in F1), but not arbitrary either (as in F2) led by ‘... the epistemic rules of specialist communities’ to provide ways to understand the world objectively, and take pupils beyond their everyday experience. (Michael Young 2008; 2010)

White Paper: The Importance of Teaching.... and ‘core knowledge’ ‘The National Curriculum should set out clearly the core knowledge and understanding that all children should be expected to acquire in the course of their schooling. (para 4.7) Does this imply F1?

White Paper: The Importance of Teaching.... and ‘core knowledge’ ‘The National Curriculum should set out clearly the core knowledge and understanding that all children should be expected to acquire in the course of their schooling. (para 4.7) Does this imply F1? Or F3?

Returning to ‘curriculum’ From a recent from a senior official at the Training Agency, London “I am looking into how we might need to move from a position where secondary teachers deliver a syllabus leading to an exam, to one in which they are shaping the curriculum”.

Towards a new era of localised curriculum making?

Student Experiences Geography: the discipline Teacher Choices Underpinned by Key Concepts Thinking Geographically Which learning activity ? Does this take the learner beyond what they already know ? Curriculum Making

The moral implications of teaching geography Some questions: 1.What do children learn (anyhow) through day to day experience? 2.What do the children need to be exposed to in geography lessons? 3.In what ways is learning geography in school an educational achievement? 4.How does it enable students: eg to travel ‘with a different view’?

Some practical implications of an ‘F3’ geography Some issues Geography is a high status academic subject: An A-level ‘facilitating’ subject A part of the English Baccalaureate And yet, geography is also a powerful knowledge for all (ie 5-14 years) Issue 1 Issue 1 Continuity and progression KS2-3 Raising the profile of ‘geography’ in years 5 and 6? KS3- GCSE Content specific GCSE national criteria? Place specific GCSE specifications?

Some practical implications of an ‘F3’ geography Some issues Geography is a high status academic subject: An A-level ‘facilitating’ subject A part of the English Baccalaureate And yet, geography is also a powerful knowledge for all Issue 2 Issue 2 Breadth, depth and challenge Is the abolition of level descriptions a problem, or an opportunity? How to distinguish extensive Kn1 from intensive Kn2 - in our day to day teaching? - in GCSE examinations?