What next for Geography Education? A perspective from the International Geographical Union – Commission for Geography Education

Abstract

In the last two years the Commission of Geography Education of the International Geographical Union (IGU-CGE) has been involved in the declaration of two key documents: the 2016 International Charter, declared in Beijing, and the International Declaration on Geography Education, declared in Moscow in 2015. Both of these declarations emphasise the importance of international collaboration particularly around the sharing of research findings and understandings within geography education. One of the challenges facing the commission to meet these objectives is the huge variety in the status and scope of geography education in different countries. Based on the assumption that the status of geography education within National Curricula indicates the likely investment in research and research findings, the paper draws upon data on the prevalence of geography education around the world, to analyse the differing levels of importance prescribed to the subject. The results indicate that a coming together of international geography educators has never been timelier, as geography flourishes and waivers significantly in different places.  The paper highlights the important role of organisations like the IGU- CGE to offer political support for geography education both within National Curricula but also as a field of enquiry and scholarly research.