Bridging the gap between school
education, higher education and
employers.
Resources which could help with these transitions.
What kind of relationship do we
envisage between the school
subject, the academic subject and
the world of work?
Changing the Subject
Eleanor Rawling
• Academic disciplines and school subjects are seen as
essentially continuous – the school subject being a
simpler version
• Academic disciplines and school subjects are
basically discontinuous – the factors influencing
them are so different as to result in different forms
• That the academic discipline and school subjects are
related but develop due to different pressures
Graduate Destinations
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/options_geography.htm
But....
• first year undergrads often don’t appear to get
enough input about geography careers at
school.
Potential issues to address in teaching at
school and university
• the reason for the very high employability of
geography graduates lies in the skills they have.
The unique skill set that geographers acquire
(from one of the few subjects that spans the
natural and social sciences) seems to make very
desirable for a huge range of graduate jobs.
• To open up minds to the wide and unexpected
range of careers open to students - particularly
beyond the obvious geography careers
VISION 2020: Providing a trusted voice for geography in education
“The leading subject association for all teachers of geography”
Meet professional and
educational needs
Demonstrate the value of
geographical education
Use our resources efficiently
and sustainably
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Create innovative, highquality and timely
educational resources
Find new ways to promote
professional development
and develop leadership in
geography
Use our online and social
media presence to engage,
inform and connect
Develop direct and
inspirational support for
young people
VALUES
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Play a key leadership role in
defining the purpose and value of
geography in education
Promote ideas and disseminate
evidence on the distinctive
contribution of geography in
education
Work in partnership to show how
geography contributes to broader
educational and societal aims
Celebrate the achievements of
young people, teachers, members
and the Association
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Exploit the full potential of
technology, including our
membership business system
Make more effective use of our
building
Deploy additional staff
resource towards the
promotion of membership
benefits and revenue raising
Draw on and develop the
contribution of volunteers and
the wider community
• geographical education enriches the lives of all young people
• a dynamic subject community is built on participation and innovation
• an independent Association demands stable finances
CHARITABLE MISSION: to further geographical knowledge and understanding through education
GA Support for Young People
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Develop a section of the website which is directly aimed
at students;
Explicit links to GA publications (Top Spec) and articles in
Geography Journal
lesson activities with embedding career awareness e.g.
enquiry or decision making exercises that reference the key
people involved eg planner/vulcanologists/transport
planners/home builders.
Material supporting students to be HE ready – e.g students
talking to camera to offer advice etc.
Promoting GA branch work – lectures, links with
Universities, visits?
Gathering all the quality resources into one place
Eg
Become a surveyor
http://www.becomeasurveyor.com/
GA resources in development
• Funded lesson activities with careers explicit where
appropriate
• Videocasts – academics talking about various areas –
generally knowledge updates for an A level audience.
• Future articles related to this area..
• other ideas?
What do teachers/students want?
What do you think OCR should
consider?