The world in their heads: children’s ideas about other nations, peoples and cultures

Abstract

How children piece together their ideas about other nations, peoples and cultures is an important but under-researched area of geography education. This article reviews findings conducted in Western industrialised countries relating to primary school children’s global awareness and the factors which influence their understanding. Differences relating to age, gender, ethnicity, social group membership and travel experience emerge as a key theme. It is argued that learning about other countries is problematic because it excites strong feelings, challenges our identity and draws attention to unequal international power relations resulting from colonialism. As such it represents a particular type of knowledge which is both highly individual and emotionally “hot.” The extraordinary growth in world knowledge that occurs in middle childhood is also highlighted as it appears to indicate a developmental stage and a particularly favourable opportunity for promoting global awareness. The article concludes that a stronger focus on the process of learning has the potential to enhance classroom practice and help circumvent the barriers created by stereotypes and preconceptions. This could inform an authentic geography curriculum which will match the needs of the middle years of the present century.