ABSTRACT
The story of geography s development as a popular subject in English schools is both fascinating and complex. This author’s view is that it is both worth while and useful to have some historical perspective on contemporary challenges. This chapter attempts a personal overview of the evolution of geography education and this inevitably is influenced by the writer’s longstanding involvement with the Institute of Education as both student and member of staff. The Institute throughout the 20th century has had a number of geography staff intimately involved with the subject’s evolution. For instance, in order of appointment, Fairgrieve (1912), Scarfe (1935), Long (1946), Honeybone (1948), Roberson (1951) and Graves (1963) all have parts in the subject’s history as indeed have more recent colleagues. This chapter will touch upon their contributions where appropriate.
