MAPPING OUT GEOGRAPHY - AN EXAMPLE OF EPISTEMOLOGY AND EDUCATION

Geography has recently emerged as a topic of considerable interest amo ng educators, but there is little consensus about either content or pe dagogy in the precollegiate geography curriculum. However, geography e ducation is essential if students are to develop a sense of ''geograph ic literacy'' and an ability to reason spatially. A major problem is t hat many teachers who never studied geography are now being asked to t each it. This literature review discusses the epistemology of geograph y 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 cur riculum is examined in the light of today's geography education reform efforts. Without an understanding of both the core epistemological th emes 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.