The knowledge debate… Firth (2007; 2011) Lambert and Morgan (2009; 2011) Lambert (2011) Morgan (2011) Winter (2009; 2012) Young (2007) DfE (2010)…
…thinking skills, learning to learn and the emotional dimensions of learning [have] assumed more immediate or urgent attention than a critical gaze on the material content of lessons... (Lambert and Morgan, 2011, p.281)
…geographical knowledge has rarely, if ever, figured in such discussion. It has been marginalised by the exigencies of everyday practice and the imperatives of policy. (Firth, 2011, p.312)
Why, then, is Geography in such a poor state of health? …treats knowledge as a technical phenomenon, devoid of politics and ethics… a reductive, simplistic enterprise (Winter, 2009, p.671)
…university Geography has had little influence on school Geography… (Winter, 2009, p.672)
Questions for teachers: Does the origin of knowledge matter? How can epistemological developments in the academic discipline inform the school subject? Should they?
References DfE (2010) The Importance of Teaching. The Schools White Paper 2010, London: DfE Firth, R. (2007) Geography Teachers, Teaching and the Issue of Knowledge. Nottingham: The Nottingham Jubilee Press, University of Nottingham. Firth, R. (2011) Making geography visible as an object of study in the secondary school curriculum, Curriculum Journal, 22, 3, pp. 289–316. Lambert, D. (2011) Reviewing the case for geography, and the 'knowledge turn' in the English National Curriculum. Curriculum Journal, 22 (2), pp. 243-264. Lambert, D. and Morgan, J. (2009) Corrupting the curriculum? The case of geography. London Review of Education, 7 (2), pp. 147-157. Morgan, J. (2011) Knowledge and the school geography curriculum: a rough guide for teachers, Teaching Geography, 36, 3, pp. 90–92 Morgan, J. and Lambert, D. (2011) Editors' introduction. Curriculum Journal, 22 (3), pp. 279- 287. Young, M. (2007) Bringing Knowledge Back In: From social constructivism to social realism in the sociology of education. London: Routledge. Winter, C. (2009) Geography and education 1: the state of the health of Geography in schools. Progress in Human Geography, 33 (5), pp. 667-676. Winter, C. (2012) Geography and education II: Policy reform, Humanities and the future of school Geography in England. Progress in Human Geography, 36 (2), pp. 254-262. Young, M. (2008) Bringing knowledge back in: From social constructivism to social realism in the sociology of education. London: Continuum.