Mapping Out Geography: An Example of Epistemology and Education

Abstract

Geography has recently emerged as a topic of considerable interest among educators, but there is little consensus about either content or pedagogy in the precollegiate geography curriculum. However, geography education is essential if students are to develop a sense of “geographic literacy” and an ability to reason spatially. A major problem is that many teachers who never studied geography are now being asked to teach it. This literature review discusses the epistemology of geography and the rationale for including it in the curriculum. Research about geography learning and teaching is then reviewed. Finally, a previous, unsuccessful attempt to reinstate geography into the high school curriculum is examined in the light of today’s geography education reform efforts. Without an understanding of both the core epistemological themes and concepts of geography and the problems that students face as learners, the five themes currently being proposed for use in the K–12 curriculum are of limited use.