Teaching children the geography of England and Wales: an analysis of selected Georgian and Victorian textbooks and educational pastimes

Abstract

Children in Georgian and Victorian times were expected to be familiar with the geography of England and Wales. This study analyses some of the resources then available which taught children this information. John Aikin’s England Delineated is evaluated as a geographical text and then compared with less formal games and puzzles, then on the market, which were also designed to teach the geography of these countries. Three further textbooks, which adopted contrasting approaches to teaching children the geography of England and Wales, are then also analysed and compared with Aikin’s approach. The study found that different resources associated towns and cities with different features, some by their notable products, others by their historic buildings, or their connection to historic events. Where places were defined by product, however, there was a high degree of consistency between product and place across the resources. Some resources describe places objectively, others subjectively. Of the resources analysed, England Delineated was considered the most geographical in content and in approach to that content. Games and puzzles were found to be valuable in complementing the Aikin text. Suggestions for future research are made in the conclusions.