Geography standards dropping

The Australian, Justine Ferrari, 5 December 2007

The Australian has obtained a study, commissioned by the Howard Government, which examines the teaching of geography in schools. The Australian claims that the study shows that students have a ‘scrambled’ understanding of
the subject and lack the ‘basic knowledge’ needed to study geography in Years 11 and 12.

The study, conducted by management consultants, Erebus International, was commissioned by the former federal education minister, Ms Julie Bishop, amid fears that the subject of geography was in decline.

NSW is the only state that still studies geography from Years 7 to 10 as a mandatory and separate subject. In all
other states, geography has been integrated into the Studies of Society and the Environment curriculum learning
area.

As a result, The Australian has reported that the study has found that geography curriculum from primary school to
Year 10 has lost the ‘content, rigour and skills’ it once had when it was a ‘stand-alone’ subject.

The study says that there is a ‘gap in continuity’ in the teaching of geography, and that this gap means that ‘many students have a “scrambled” understanding of world patterns of places, resources, developments and issues’.

The study also found that the quality of geography teaching varied from school to school. ‘It depends too much on the teacher, not the system, as to whether a student will gain geographical understanding, knowledge and skills,’ the study said.

 

 

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