Geography and education III

Abstract

This third and final progress report traces developments in geography education in England from 2007 to 2012. I identify four recent education policy reforms introduced by the Coalition Government that impact on school and HE geography – international comparisons, core knowledge and the English baccalaureate (E-bac), teacher education and the A-level/HE interface – before focusing on each one in turn. The main themes to emerge from the analysis are: first, questions about using international comparison to inform national education policy change; and, second, the social divisiveness of increasing differentiation and selection in curriculum knowledge and subjects. The third theme is the predicted curtailment of theoretically informed, critical engagement with educational and, specifically, geographical issues by teachers following the introduction of ‘on-the-job training’. Recent education policy reform has created an ever-growing level of control and regulation over school knowledge, the geography curriculum, students and teachers which will surely impact upon university geography education in the future.