Description

Education is always political. Throughout your school and university education, teachers and academics have made decisions about curriculum, pedagogy, and purpose (what they teach, how they teach it, and why). These decisions are often informed by a range of interweaving and multi-scalar factors including government policy; research and debate; the relationships between geography as an academic discipline and school subject; school systems and cultures; as well as the socio-political context and consideration of the communities that are served. This module examines how geography is communicated in different spaces of education, focussing on the relationships between everyday life, geography in schools and geography in the academy. The module offers a space for you to reflect on your own (geographical) education and to critically consider how, and why, education varies between places and across time-space.

During the lectures and seminars, you will examine debates about (geography) education’s role in the reproduction of social and environmental in/justices. This will be done through consideration of both teaching and learning in classrooms and lecture theatres, and geographies of education. You will also explore the geographies of educational spaces at a range of scales from the classroom to the campus. The lectures and seminars will encourage you to reflect on (young) people’s everyday geographies and how they connect to education in terms of both what is taught, and people’s embodied experiences of educational spaces, institutions and systems. Throughout the module, you will also engage with debates about the purposes of education and theories about teaching and learning.

Prerequisite knowledge

This module is open to all students of geography with an interest in examining the relationships between geography and education. Although this module is structured in terms of areas of focus, there are also opportunities for you to make connections with other modules you have studied and your own areas of interest in geography. For example, by investigating how a particular area of geography (e.g., urban geographies or geopolitics) is represented and communicated differently in different educational spaces. There are also opportunities to focus on specific dimensions of education – for example, curriculum, pedagogy, education and sustainability education, and/or challenging injustices in, and through, education.

Career skills the module will develop

The module is of value to all students of geography, in gaining a wide lens view of educational systems and processes. The module is of particular interest to those considering working and/or researching in education after their degree. Possible careers that this module links to include (but are not limited to): teaching at primary or secondary level; further study at Masters or Doctoral level; working for a think tank; working for the civil service in education; working for an NGO; and working with children or young people - for example, at a museum.

The module will develop the following skills, which are of value to a range of careers within and beyond education:

Academic skills including critical reading and writing, and research.

Speaking and presentation skills through seminar discussions.

Critical consideration of ethics, power, and positionality in education.

Reading and interpreting educational policies and plans at a range of scales from the national to the classroom.

Skills in, and knowledge about, educational practices – including teaching and learning.

Module aims

To examine the relationships between geography and education.

To critically consider how, and why, geography is an important element of a person's formal education and everyday life - and to explore the relationship(s) between these spaces.

To examine the history of formal education, considering how schooling has been shaped and by whom.

To investigate ‘the gap’ between geography in schools and universities – considering both transition and how knowledge and ideas move between these spaces.

To examine how socio-political and environmental in/justices have been reproduced in, and through, education and to consider how these injustices can be challenged.

To develop a critical understanding of geographies of education and educational spaces.

To consider the ‘place’ of children’s geographies in education.

Please note: the module content may change as it is updated to ensure that it draws on recent research and debate.