School of Education
University of Brighton
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A case study focused around the question
How do geography teachers construct the geography
curriculum at key stage 3?
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Interviews
Questionnaires
Analysis of documentation
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Interviewees allowed to talk freely on the
subject of the construction of the key stage 3
geography curriculum.
A list of questions for backup if needed.
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Questionnaires are rarely objective
Knowing the PGCE students quite well I felt I
was able to make a useful interpretation of
their questionnaire responses.
(Insufficient time for in-depth interviews)
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Classroom and departmental observations are
at best a snapshot of the reality of the
department.
Documentation can also be misread and misinterpreted.
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Shortcomings of methods & methodology
acknowledged.
Professional judgement comes into play
(as with Ofsted inspections)
Variety of methods reinforces validity.
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School A
It was my perception this department
needed to revise its KS3 curriculum
Also reflected in the most recent Ofsted
report.
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Department achieves around 50% A-C GCSE
Basic text for KS3 original Waugh series.
HoD only interested in exam. classes.
1500 pupils:
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2 GCSE groups
12 taking geography A-level
Student on first placement at this school at a
tiny school for second placement :4 GCSE
groups.
In his limited opinion he felt that ‘the
approach at key stage 3 in his first
placement school was putting pupils off
selecting it at examination level’.
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School B
Limited experience in KS3 geography for
pupils.
Opening comment ‘I like having PGCE
students as I can use the money to buy new
sets of text books. Proudly pointing to his
new set of Waugh books.
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Has moved on through the influence
of PGCE students.
Thinking skills activities
ICT
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School C
Lack of awareness of poor practice in
geography his own county, although he has
remit to visit other schools and run workshops.
Insight I get when my students actually work
within departments is a privilege.
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Department scheme of work :very
detailed but not prescriptive
No non-specialists teaching the subject
1400 pupils (no 6th form) 7 GCSE geography
groups
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School D
New, young HoD in post 12 months when
interviewed.
Most recent Ofsted weaknesses in geography:
- limited use of ICT to support the teaching of the
subject
- the use of a number of part-time staff to cover
geography lessons
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• First job-dusted off lap & data-projector which
had never been used!
• He believes he revitalised pupils’ interest in the
subject by use of very basic technology in his
lessons
• ‘The fun had been taken out of geography. There
were only 23 pupils taking the subject at GCSE.
There was very little cross-over from key stage 3
to GCSE which I think is a fairly good indicator
that they did not enjoy the subject in years 7,8 &
9’ .
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Made immediate changes:
• Year 7 ‘capture’ pupils interest ‘having fun
with maps’.
• Year 8 360 Geography based around a new
set of texts
• Year 9 ‘development’ around current issues
G8 & Live Aid (‘ditched use of old texts)
• Units on sport & crime being developed.
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• GCSE geography uptake increased from 23
to 50 for September 2005 (yr 9 options
made in Feb.2005 after 6 months in post)
• Wants 3 by Sept 2006 to convince SMG that
another full time geographer should be
employed.
• Very noticeable how many times he used
the word ‘fun’ when talking about his aims
with the geography curriculum
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PGCE Questionnaires
• Frequent references to case study work
within schemes of work relating to Kenya,
France, Brazil, Bangladesh.
• Use of videos 20 years old including
China’s Child. Pupils transfixed by
fashions, hairstyles and technology; miss
the geography!
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• Virtually every department where data was
collected has the Waugh series in current
use; some departments are still using the
1992 version.
• One school; pedagogy more important than
content. The exception to the rule; feedback
from students and the interviews with heads
of department, reveal an emphasis on
content not pedagogy.
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• Pedagogy given more attention in ‘challenging’
schools; perception that where behaviour is an
issue, pedagogic approaches need more detailed
attention.
• ‘Dry’ subjects such as farming and rivers brought
to life if a field trip is included.
• Consensus that a topic maintained for too long;
pupils became bored. A case study of the USA,
lasted nearly half the year; pupils became bored.
Other over-long topics: rivers, coasts, farming,
Kenya, France, Brazil and deforestation,
Bangladesh and flooding.
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• Generally there was flexibility to deal with
issues as they arose (e.g. Boxing day
tsunami)
• When the Iraq war broke out, one of my
students was told he must not spend any
time on it as ‘we must get through the
syllabus on coasts’.
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• There was much less emphasis on the Waugh series of
books in my second placement school where the uptake at
GCSE was much greater than in the first placement school.
• I tried to be ‘inventive’ in approach but the year 9’s
especially worked much better if they were just given
questions to work through in a book. This is what they are
used to and they were resistant to change; had they been
exposed to other forms of teaching on a regular basis from
year 7, they might have been more receptive.
• The year 10 GCSE group numbered 25 pupils in a school
of 1600 pupils from year 7-11. This is probably a reflection
of the way the key stage 3 geography curriculum is
constructed and delivered in this particular school’.
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Documentation and Observation
• Majority of schemes reviewed still cling to
1991 structure.
• USA & Japan still there.
• Italy and France predominate EU study.
• Bangladesh the most commonly used
country with regard to flooding
• Kenya and Egypt (LEDCs)
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• Most schemes of work reflect a split of
geography into human, physical and
environmental
• Schemes of work looked at nearly all have a
section called ‘skills’; which seem to be
taught in isolation
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Conclusion and reflection
• Earlier research; an expectation about subject
content
• This project ;an expectation about pedagogy
• Pupils talked about pedagogy; teachers talked
about subject content
• Mis-match in perceptions led to a conference
‘Reinvigorating key stage 3 geography’
• So successful another one this July; planning for
the new Geography National Curriculum
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• Does subject content dictate the construction of
the curriculum at key stage 3?
• Have heads of geography neglected pedagogy
when constructing the key stage 3 geography
curriculum?
• Should heads of department be able to intertwine
their subject expertise with pedagogy, which
Shulman (1986) claims is essential for effective
and successful teaching and learning?
• Is there evidence that departments are most
successful where a balance between subject
content and pedagogy exists, and vice versa?
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“The world’s a wonderful place; how can
geography teachers make it so boring”
(Germaine Greer cited in Molyneux & Tolley
1987,10)
It does indeed take a very special kind of
talent, said Gerald, to make such a subject
as geography dull. A toast: to the extinction
of geography teachers. They all drank.
(Hart 1999, 53)
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