Geographical education in a changing world

Abstract

We live in a fast changing world. Africa is not the same as it was in the year 2000, neither is China, Italy or your local community. Geographical knowledge and skills are more necessary than ever to understand our world. Without an idea that location matters and how location matters, it is difficult to understand today’s world and to think about tomorrow’s. However, the position of geography in education is under pressure. In many countries the number of geography hours in schools is less than it used to be. The question is how do we develop a new geography in education that will be seen as necessary for today and tomorrow? How do we get rid of the limited and sticky image of geography as the subject where you just learn about countries and capitals, an image that is reinforced by TV quizzes? How do we show the world that geography is future oriented and indispensable for tomorrow’s world? This article focuses on the aims of geography in education and how we can show that the world needs geography.