International Handbook on Geographical Education

I am very pleased to have been asked by Rod Gerber to provide a preface to such a book. Not least because of the twenty-four chapters, eight are written by former students or colleagues with whom I have worked in the past and whom I still meet at conferences on geographical education. It is with a certain pride and joy that I note the progress which has been made in geographical education both in its day to day teaching and in research, in the twenty years following the end of my term of office as Chair of the Commission on Geographical Education of the International Geographical Union (CGEIUG). My successors, Joe Stoltman, Hartwig Haubrich, Rod Gerber and now Lea Houtsonen, have done much and are continuing to work hard, to foster the development of geographical education. This book is proof, if proof were needed, that the international collaboration in this field, is alive and well, with contributions coming from all the continents (except Antarctica!). It would be a moribund subjectthat remained unaffected in one way or another by developments on the 'great world stage', as Fairgrieve (1926) would have put it. And, as Rod Gerber shows, the issues of globalisation, of cultural encounters, of differing value systems, of new technologies, of variable economic development and of environmental quality, all feature as topics which influence and are influenced by, geographical education.

Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Section 1: Introduction.- 1. The global scene for geographical education.- Section 2: International Trends.- 2. Globalisation and geographical education.- 3. Relevant knowledge, skills and values in geographical education.- 4. Maximising the use of communication technologies in geographical education.- 5. Old cultures, new cultures in geographical education.- 6. Geography and the community.- Section 3: Refocussing Learning and Teaching.- 7. Experience Learning in Geography.- 8. Alternative geography.- 9. Continuity and change in geography education: learning and teaching.- Section 4: Improving Curriculum Planning and Development.- 10. Geography curriculum planning in evolution: some historical and international perspectives.- 11. Effective approaches to curriculum development in geography.- 12. The role of teachers in developing school geography curriculum.- 13. International collaboration in the field of environmental and geographical education.- Section 5: Innovation and Change in Geographical Education.- 14. New media will accelerate the renewal of geographic education.- 15. Career-long professional development for geography teachers.- 16. Alliances, networks and partnerships in geographic education.- 17. A question of standards in geographical education.- Section 6: A Focus on Research in Geographical Education.- 18. Research in geographical education: the search for impact.- 19. Geography teachers as action researchers.- 20. Exploring relationships between teaching and research in geography education.- Section 7: International Geographical Education Futures.- 21. Lifelong geographical education.- 22. Self-directed learning and self-directed learners in geographical education.- 23. Improved intercultural geographical education.- 24. Geography and information and communications technologies: some futures thinking.