The Institute of Australian Geographers (IAG), the Australian
Geography Teachers’ Association (AGTA) and the Royal
Geographical Society of Queensland (RGSQ)
Submission to the Minister for Education, Science and Training
on
The Place of Geography in Australian Schools
December 2006
Summary
Geography is the study of places—their environments, populations, economies and
communities—and how and why these places are changing. When students learn
about their own place or region, and of other places within Australia, they develop the
knowledge and understanding to make sense of their own place, and to make
informed decisions on local, regional and national issues. With this knowledge they
are able to examine some of the important issues facing individuals, communities and
governments in Australia. When geography teaches about places outside Australia
students develop knowledge of the world and of their position within it, also an
important aspect of informed citizenship. In our view learning about geography is an
essential part of the education of young Australians.
What are the issues?
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Geography has traditionally been considered a ‘core’ discipline within the
secondary school curriculum in Australia, but the number of students studying it
as a separate discipline has declined in most states.
The experience of many teachers has been that the absorption of geography into
SOSE has meant a loss of much of the content, rigour and skills taught when
geography was a separate subject.
Some syllabus learning outcomes are overly ambitious.
The content of geography syllabuses should be reviewed to ensure that it covers
the topics of most relevance to future Australian citizens.
The press has focused on the criticism that geography syllabuses have become
ideological, and that geography has a political agenda. We disagree.
If, as a result of Australian Government initiatives, history is taught as a
separate subject in Years 9 and 10, the place of geography in the school
curriculum needs to be considered, as geography is currently combined with
history as SOSE in most states and territories.
What should the Australian Government do?
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As a matter of some urgency, examine the implications for geography of current
moves to make history a separate and compulsory subject in Years 9 and 10.
Commission a study of secondary school geography syllabuses and assessment
across Australia. This must cover the whole of secondary school.
Work with the states and territories to provide high quality materials and
professional development training for teachers.
Provide incentives for more university staff to get involved in school education.
Work with the states and territories to set standards for geography teachers that
specify high quality training in the discipline.
Work with the states and territories to develop a common core to the geography
curriculum, but one that allows scope for local and regional variations between
and within states and territories.
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The place of geography in education
Geography is the study of places—their environments, populations, economies and
communities—and how and why these places are changing (for a list of geographical
questions see p. 8). When students learn about their own place or region, and of other
places within Australia, they develop the knowledge and understanding to make sense
of their own place, and to make informed decisions on local, regional and national
issues. For example, they will be able to understand the issues facing regional
Australia. When geography teaches about places outside Australia students develop
knowledge of the world and of their position within it, also an important aspect of
informed citizenship. They may also learn about how other places, both within and
outside Australia, manage problems they can identify in their own place or region.
Students still need some knowledge of the names and locations of places, but much
more importantly they need to understand why these places are like they are, how
they are changing, and the methods used to examine these questions. This is a socially
useful contribution to education. In the words of a Queensland high school student,
‘Geography is a real life subject’, for it is impossible to read a newspaper without
finding reports on current issues that are studied in geography.
Through the study of geography students gain a knowledge of their own and other
parts of the world, and of the processes and activities that shape and change the
characteristics of places. They also learn some of the concepts and approaches that
geographers use to understand the world around them, such as relative location,
centrality, proximity, scale, human adaptation, interrelationships, connectedness,
systems, cycles, agglomeration, perception, culture and power. With this knowledge
they are able to examine some of the important issues facing individuals, communities
and governments in Australia. These include:
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The effects of human settlement on the land of Australia, and the ways in which
these effects are being managed.
Why different cultural groups (e.g. indigenous, settler, immigrant) understand
and engage with the Australian environment differently, and how this can lead
to land-use conflict.
The management of water and drought.
The management of coastal areas, where human pressures interact with physical
processes to threaten some of Australia’s favourite environments.
The sustainability of our use of regional, national and global environments.
Why Australia’s population is so highly centralised in a few cities, and how the
problems resulting from the growth of these cities can be managed.
Regional differences in economic and social well-being, and the implications of
these differences for individuals, communities and governments.
The movement of Australians between regions, the causes of these movements,
and their demographic, economic and social effects.
Population trends and futures in Australia.
The changing nature of ‘community’ and ‘identity’ in Australia, as a result of
greater mobility, international migration, the increased use of
telecommunications, and social change.
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A geographical education therefore helps to produce citizens able to make informed
decisions on personal, local, regional and national issues. An understanding of
Australia’s geography is also important in helping young people to develop their own
identity as Australians. In our view geography is as important as history in the
education of future Australians.
A unique feature of geography is that it combines both the natural and the social
sciences. In the upper years of secondary school it is often the only scientific subject
(along with Biology) taken by humanities-oriented students, and the only social
science or humanities subject taken by science-oriented students. This gives the
subject considerable value in broadening students’ education. Students comment that
geography helps them to integrate the other subjects they are studying.
An important feature of school geography is the emphasis placed on learning a wide
range of transferable skills, possibly wider than in any other subject. These include
the ability to communicate in written, numerical, graphical, cartographic and oral
forms; to observe; to collect and analyse a very diverse range of information; to work
collaboratively with others; to think critically; and to be open to a wide range of
causes and consequences of the phenomena being studied. In some states geography
students also have the opportunity to learn about geographic information systems,
which use sophisticated computer software to map and analyse spatial distributions.
These are all skills that are valued by employers. Geography makes an important
contribution to the development of all of the four key skills identified in the ACER
report on an Australian Certificate of Education (reading literacy/verbal reasoning,
mathematical literacy/quantitative reasoning, written English and ICT literacy), and
most of the ‘employability skills’ identified by the Australian Chamber of Commerce
and Industry and the Business Council of Australia, as also listed in the ACER report.
What are the issues?
1. Geography has traditionally been considered a ‘core’ discipline within the
secondary school curriculum in Australia, but the number of students studying it as a
separate subject has declined in most states. Some of the reasons for this decline are:
a. In the early and middle years of high school geography has been amalgamated with
other subjects into the learning area of Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE),
except in NSW. The geographical content of SOSE is often taught by teachers with no
training in geography, and no great enthusiasm for the subject. This does not
encourage students to go on to study geography in the final years of secondary school.
b. Geography has lost students through competition from a range of new subjects.
These include subjects such as legal studies, accounting, business studies,
environmental and outdoor education, tourism, sustainable futures, psychology,
behavioural studies and women’s studies. The final years of high school increasingly
resemble the first year of university, with a bewildering range of choices. Subjects of
basic educational value, like history and geography, are being displaced by subjects
which perhaps should be taught as vocational subjects, or left until the tertiary level.
c. Geography has failed to maintain its appeal to students. This may be the fault of the
syllabuses, the teaching or the public perception of geography. Some students also
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appear to avoid geography because of a perception that it has an above average
workload.
The consequence of these trends is that students are no longer gaining a knowledge of
their place, their region, other regions in Australia and the rest of the world, or of the
skills for understanding these places. This produces future citizens knowing little of
their world and unable to make informed decisions on a wide range of issues.
2. The experience of many teachers has been that the absorption of geography into
SOSE has meant a loss of much of the content, rigour and skills taught when
geography was a separate subject. They find that students taking up geography in the
final years of high school are lacking much of the basic knowledge needed for that
level of study.
3. Some syllabus learning outcomes are overly ambitious. For example, in NSW the
objectives of the Geography Stage 6 syllabus state that students will develop
‘informed and responsible values and attitudes towards ecological sustainability; a
just society; ethical research practices; active and informed citizenship; and
responsible, autonomous life-long learning.’ Teachers can certainly help students to
be ‘informed’, but what is regarded as ‘responsible’ is likely to be a matter of some
disagreement within our society on most, if not all, of the areas specified.
4. The content of syllabuses is inevitably selective, but whether they cover the topics
that are most relevant to future Australian citizens needs review. For example, some
devote little or no time to a study of the geography of the Australian economy,
although economic issues are central concerns of households, communities and
governments. All students completing geography at high school should be able to
understand how their local economy functions and how and why it is changing. They
should also understand the economic conditions and issues in different parts of
Australia, because these are central to informed citizenship. As an example,
geography is the only subject in which city students can learn of the issues facing
communities in country Australia.
5. The press has focused on the criticism that geography syllabuses have become
ideological, and that geography has a political agenda. We disagree. Our review of the
final year geography syllabuses of several states does not find evidence of ideological
bias, although the selection of topics to be studied could be criticised on other
grounds. On the other hand, the topics that geography students study in secondary
school inevitably include problems which some will see as ideological or political.
Issues such as land degradation, water management, environmental sustainability, the
management of large city growth, and global inequality all involve different opinions
about what is the problem and how it should be managed, and are therefore the
subject of political debate and disagreement. Avoiding discussion of these issues,
which are regularly reported in the media and which many students feel are important
to them, will simply leave them alienated. Instead, they should be helped to learn
about these problems, to understand why there is disagreement, and, if they wish, to
form their own opinion. It is therefore vitally important that students are taught the
biophysical and socioeconomic processes underlying these issues by teachers who are
properly trained in the discipline, and this is often not what they are getting through
SOSE.
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6. If, as a result of Australian Government initiatives, history is taught as a separate
(and perhaps compulsory) subject in Years 9 and 10, the place of geography in the
school curriculum will also need to be considered, as geography is currently
combined with history as SOSE in most states and territories. The view of the IAG
and AGTA is that geography should also be taught as a separate subject, both for its
intrinsic and educational value and for its role in informing future Australian citizens.
What should the Australian Government do?
1. As a matter of some urgency, examine the implications for geography of history
becoming a separate subject in Years 9 and 10, for the reasons noted in the previous
paragraph.
2. Commission a study of secondary school geography syllabuses and assessment
across Australia. This could examine the various syllabuses, benchmark them against
selected other countries, and identify strengths and weaknesses. Through the IAG and
the AGTA the opinions of geography teachers and academics involved in school
geography could be surveyed. Such a study might be best undertaken by a small
group of university geographers, drawn from the discipline and from faculties of
education, with considerable consultation with and input from practising teachers. The
inquiry could be similar to the one into school history established by the Australian
Government in 1999, but should involve experts from across the nation rather than
from only one state. It would make recommendations on how any problems identified
could be addressed, and evaluate the case for a more nationally uniform syllabus. One
of the inquiry’s tasks could also be to develop a preliminary statement on the
geographical knowledge that all Australian students should have when they leave
school.
Alternatively, if the Australian Government follows the recommendations of the
ACER report on an Australian Certificate of Education, this task could be undertaken
by a national subject committee for geography. However, we want to emphasise that
the problems of geography teaching cannot be solved by only focusing on the final
years of school, as the problems start at the beginning of secondary school, and
continue with SOSE. In addition, as only a small proportion of students take
geography in their final years at school, improving the geographical education of
young Australians means concentrating on the early and middle years of high school.
A study that looks at the whole of secondary school is therefore needed.
3. Work with the states and territories to provide high quality materials and
professional development training for teachers. A key strategy to improve the
teaching of geography is to ensure that teachers have access to current information
and regular professional development opportunities. Teachers need information that
keeps them up-to-date with a rapidly changing world, material which could be
prepared by teams of academics and teachers. This is not something that publishers
will undertake, as their focus is on textbooks for the much larger student market, so it
will need help from governments.
4. Provide incentives for more university staff to get involved in school education.
The quality and accuracy of the geography curriculum and geography teaching could
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be improved if more discipline-based academic staff became involved in syllabus
development, assessment, and teacher training. Academic staff used to have a major
role in curriculum development and assessment in the final years of high school, and
this was regarded as one of the responsibilities of a university department. This
involvement has declined because the education and curriculum authorities in some
states and territories have replaced academics with internal curriculum specialists and
teachers, most academics no longer see this as a responsibility, and the Australian
Government’s reward system for university staff actively discourages their
involvement. Staff are rewarded for research and tertiary level teaching. Materials
written for teachers or students (whether secondary or tertiary) are not counted by
DEST as research output, and do not earn income for the universities. Staff therefore
may be discouraged by their administrations from writing for schools, and
involvement in school education does not help promotion. The Australian
Government could develop incentives that would bring academic staff back into
school education. At the same time, the education and curriculum authorities in the
states and territories may need to change their attitudes to the role of university
departments in school education, and universities will need to recognise and reward
staff who take on this work.
5. Work with the states and territories to set standards for geography teachers that
specify high quality training in the discipline. Along with other subjects, geography
teaching in schools often suffers because in some universities discipline knowledge is
being taught to trainee teachers by education faculty staff rather than discipline-based
staff. We believe that Year 9, 10, 11 and 12 subject teachers should have an academic
major in the subject they are teaching. At the same time, university geography
disciplines should review whether they are offering appropriate topics for future
teachers.
6. Work with the states and territories to develop a common core to the geography
curriculum. As professional associations we do not yet have a view on whether there
should be a national curriculum, and our members are likely to be divided on this
question. On the other hand, we can see advantages in greater national uniformity in
the geography curriculum, not least because this could raise the standard in all states
and territories by concentrating national resources on developing and supporting a
core curriculum. However, it is also vitally important to allow scope for local and
regional variations between and within states and territories, as a response to the
geographical differences between regions. Topics that are relevant in one region will
be completely alien to students in another region. A national curriculum, if one is
adopted, should therefore consist of a combination of common core topics and options
developed at the local or regional level, as recognised in the ACER report.
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Geography’s questions
Geography is the study of places—their environments, populations, economies and
communities—and how and why these places are changing. A place may be a suburb,
a coastal area, a city, a valley or a farming area. Places may be studied as individual
places, or grouped into regions of varying size. The characteristics of a place or region
include not only its biophysical environment, population and industries, but also
intangible characteristics such as wildness, scenic quality, unemployment,
entrepreneurship and political preferences. From an interest in places comes a whole
range of geographical questions:
Where is this place in relation to other places, and what are the implications of its
relative location? How is it connected to other places through flows of materials,
information, people, capital and decisions?
What is the environment of this place? What are the relationships between its climate,
landforms, water resources, soils and vegetation?
How has this environment been perceived and used by different people over time, and
how is it used and perceived by different people at present? How have people altered
and managed this environment?
How is this environment likely to change in the future?
Who lives in this place or region? What are the social and economic characteristics of
the population, and why do they differ from other places? Who is moving into, or out
of, this place, and why?
What is the economy of this place or region, and how can we explain its
characteristics? Why are some regions and places more prosperous than others?
How do I live in and relate to this place? What places do I use and for what purpose?
Is this place important to my sense of community and identity? How am I linked to
other places? How would people from different backgrounds to me perceive this
place?
What is happening to this place or region? Is the population growing or declining,
and why? How and why is the economy changing? What are the impacts on this place
of changes at the regional, national and global levels?
These questions lead to studies of relationships within places (such as the influence of
environmental characteristics on land-use), and between places (as in studies of the
effects of land-use on downstream water quality in a river system, or the migration of
people within Australia). They also lead to comparisons of the same phenomenon or
problem in different places, and to analysis of the spatial distribution of phenomena
across a number of places, two methods for understanding causes and effects. Finding
answers to these questions involves the natural sciences (as in study of the
hydrological cycle), the social sciences (as in the concept of agglomeration economies
or environmental perception), and the humanities (as in studies of the depiction of
places in literature and film).
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Members representing the Institute of Australian Geographers
Professor Jim Walmsley is Professor of Geography at the University of New
England, and President of the Institute of Australian Geographers. He has been a
Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia since 1994. He is also a
Corporate Member of the Planning Institute of Australia. He was a winner of the
inaugural University of New England Award for Excellence in Team Teaching. His
main interests lie in urban and regional development and planning, migration, and the
role of leisure, recreation and tourism in economic, social and regional development.
Alaric Maude is an unsuccessfully retired Associate Professor of Geography at
Flinders University, Adelaide, where he continues to teach, supervise and research
regional development and environmental sustainability. In the early and mid 1980s he
helped to write a Year 12 Geography syllabus in South Australia, which also involved
the preparation of guidebooks for teachers and holding in-service training sessions
across the state. For over a decade he co-edited the Meridian series of geography
textbooks for tertiary students, published by Oxford University Press. He is Secretary
of the Institute of Australian Geographers, and edits the South Australian
Geographical Journal.
Members representing the Australian Geography Teachers’ Association
Nick Hutchinson is currently a part time Lecturer in Education at Macquarie
University, Sydney, where he teaches Geography in the Secondary School,
Curriculum Instruction in the Secondary School, Information & Communication
Technologies and Education. He was elected Chair of the Australian Geography
Teachers’ Association in 2005. From 1989 to 2003 he was Head Teacher in Social
Sciences at Turramurra High School, NSW. In 1991 he was awarded a Fellowship of
the Geography Teachers’ Association of NSW, and in 2003 he was awarded the
Macdonald Holmes Medal for distinguished contribution to the field of geographical
education in Australia.
Dr Grant Kleeman is a Senior Lecturer in Education at Sydney’s Macquarie
University where he is Coordinator of the School of Education’s Secondary Teacher
Education Program. Grant is an experienced Geography educator. He has extensive
experience in curriculum development and assessment and is one of Australia’s
leading Geography textbook authors. He is Vice President of the Geography
Teachers’ Association of New South Wales and a Director of the Australian
Geography Teachers’ Association. Grant’s research interests include the role of
interest groups in determining what and how students learn.
Jeana Kriewaldt is an experienced Geography teacher whose interest in effective
learning and teaching has led to her appointment as a lecturer in the Education Faculty
at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She specializes in geographical education
as a pre-service educator. She was recently awarded life membership of the
Geography Teachers’ Association of Victoria where she has served on Committee
since 1993, including three years as President. Previously a contributing author to
Geography textbooks, her most recent contribution is as editor to Keys to Geography.
She is currently an elected director of the Australian Geography Teachers’
Association.
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Member representing The Royal Geographical Society of Queensland
Kathryn Berg is Administrator of the Society and has been involved with its work in
geographical education since 1989. Since its inception in 1995, she has coordinated
the Australian Geography Competition which this year attracted entries from 92,410
secondary school students. Kath is a member of the International Geographical Union
Olympiad Task Force and organised the International Geography Olympiad held in
Brisbane earlier this year, in which teams from 23 countries participated. She is a
member of the Queensland University of Technology Humanities Advisory
Committee.
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