ABSTRACT

In a way, these opening quotes take us back to Chapter 1 when we examined the role and purpose of geography in the school curriculum; indeed, John Morgan provided his personal view of the ‘future of the geography curriculum’. There are also links with Chapter 2 in which we addressed the goals of education as expressed in the 1988 Education Reform Act (page 105), which include the notion of preparing young people for adult life (i.e., their future). This chapter is dedicated to exploring-and demonstrating-the nature of geography’s contribution to preparing children ‘for life in a changing world’. We do this under six headings:

● A futures-oriented curriculum ● Education for sustainability ● Education for a technological world ● Spiritual, moral, social and cultural dimensions of teaching geography ● National Forum for Values in Education and the Community ● Priorities for a critical school geography

Before embarking on this discussion, it is perhaps worth pausing with John Huckle’s quote above. Can you identify the ideals with which you came into teaching? What were your motives? Have they changed in any way during your training? On Huckle’s mind was the ideal that being a geography teacher is worthwhile because geography is such a powerful medium of education (see also Naish in Chapter 1). Specifically, in his own words, what he also meant was the following:

School geography has the potential to develop young people’s understanding of their ‘place’ in the world and so to help them form their

identity. It can enable them to perceive the structures and processes which help and hinder their development, and can also foster their commitment to social justice and democracy, and the conserving, participatory and critical forms of citizenship…and thereby help to create a better world.