Developing an International Declaration on Research in Geographical Education

1. Developing an International Declaration on Research in Geographical Education Simon Catling & Liz Taylor For the UK IGU CGE Committee Geography Teacher Educators’ Conference University of Winchester, January 24th to 26th 2014

2. Who is promoting this topic? • The purpose of the International Declaration on Research in Geography Education is to promote geographical education research internationally, particularly to help make the case for and to encourage those who find it difficult to obtain support for research in geographical education. • The British Sub-Committee of the International Geographical Union (IGU) Commission on Geographical Education (CGE) is making the case for and drafting this Declaration. • The intention is to promote discussion at the CGE meeting in Krakow, Poland, in August 2014, and to obtain feedback, with the possibility of putting the Declaration to the full IGU Congress meeting in 2016 for endorsement. • The current draft has been discussed and further work encouraged by the IGU CGE Steering Group.

3. IGU CGE Charters & Declarations There are three Charters/Declarations by the IGU CGE, which the IGU has endorsed at full Congress meetings. • The International Charter on Geographical Education (1992). • International Declaration on Geographical Education for Cultural Diversity (2000) • The Lucerne Declaration for Geographical Education for Sustainable Development (2008).

4. Why a Declaration? There has been a developing critique of the state of research in geographical education. • Research tends to be individual, small scale, and personally or under-funded. • It is not viewed by policy makers and educatorsas significant, and seems to have little, if any, impact. • There is a need to argue for and to promote larger scale studies, and national and international team research, in geographical education and to offer support and encouragement to potential researchers. • Geographical education research is more strongly focused in Western nations and in relation to Western young people and education systems, though there is some increase in studies, for instance, in Singapore and Hong Kong. • It is important to widen the nature, scope, learning, cultural and national contexts of geographical education research. • Geographical education research is vital to support the learning and teaching of children, young people and teachers in schools, as well as adults in higher education and in the community.

5. Evidence of research activity in geographical education – 1 • There is evidence of increasing small-scale research activity and review, for example, in the pages of the journals International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education [IRGEE], Journal of Geography, Review of Geographical Education On-line, Research in Geographic Education, and The Journal of Geography in Higher Education. • Much research of relevance to geographical education is not undertaken by geography educators or in the context of geographical education, for instance in journals such as Environmental Education Research and Children’s Geographies. • It is only very occasionally that research articles in geographical education appear in key international and national education journals.

6. Evidence of research activity in geographical education – 2 Geographical organisations are encouraging research in geographical education, eg The Geographical Association [GA], The Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers [RGS-IBG], The American Association of Geographers [AAG], The National Geographic Society [NG], and The National Council for Geographic Education [NCGE]. Conferences are held internationally by the Commission on Geographical Education of the IGU, at least annually, to disseminate research activities, approaches and findings, to review research needs, and to foster networks and collaboration in geography education research. Organisations such as the GA, RGS-IBG, the AAG, the NCGE and the European Association of Geographers support geography education research dissemination at their conferences. It occurs nationally. Efforts are being made to increase postgraduate studies (MA/MSc and PhD) in geography education, but the balance between nations and universities is uneven.

7. Elements in an International Declaration on Research in Geographical Education Executive Summary. Preamble. The Nature, Value and Focus of Geography Education Research. Context of Research in Geography Education. The Development of Researchers. Strategic Development for Research. Methodology. Dissemination. Impact. Annex: The suggested dimensions of and examples of topics for research in geography education.

8. Key points in the Executive Summary To commend geography education research. Its basis in informing and underpinning high quality learning, teaching, assessment, curriculum and resources. To recognise the potential for research in many forms, at varied scales and in different contexts. To develop an international culture of research for conduct and dissemination. To disseminate geography education research. To recognise the resource and contextual constraints, but encouraging cross-institutional collaboration, nationally and internationally, in varied political and socio-economic contexts. To encourage investment in the development of geography education professionals and researchers. To embed research practices in teacher education and accreditation programmes.

9. Four priorities for geography education research To encourage co-ordination within geography education research by facilitating the network of researchers and the dissemination of methods and findings; To create overviews of research in geography education in order to identify progress, key understandings, gaps, future needs and possible approaches; To establish mutually agreed lines of research in geography education through the clarification of current gaps and the prioritisation of future needs; To invest in capacity building within current teams of geography researchers and through identifying and fostering future members of such teams.

10. A Task and Questions To skim read selected parts of the draft International Declaration on Research in Geography Education, and note points on the sheets provided (a) to add, (b) to clarify, and (c) to delete. Any comments and questions?

11. Thank you for your ideas and views. Your feedback will be further considered by Simon Catling and Liz Taylor with the UK IGU Committee. This will lead to: further revisions to the Declaration (it has been through 6 drafts already!); identifying who else to involve; producing a further draft to discuss at the IGU Conference in Krakow, Poland in August 2014. This will lead, no doubt, to further revisions.

12. Some key references Bednarz, S.W., Heffron, S. & Huynh, N.T. (eds.) (2013) A Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education: Geography Education Research (A Report from the Geography Education Research Committee of the Road Map for 21st Century Geography Education Project). Washington, DC: Association of American Geographers. http://natgeoed.org/roadmap. Butt, G (ed) (2010) Special Forum on Perspectives on Research in Geography Education, Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 19, 2, 79-125. Kidman, G. & Papadimitriou, F. (2012) Content analysis of international research in geographical and environmental education: 18 years of academic publishing, International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 21, 1, 3-10 Papadimitriou, F. & Kidman, G. (2012) Statistical and scientometric analysis of international research in geographical and environmental education, International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 21, 1, 11-20.