Perspectives on Global Understanding in Geography Education in Canada

Abstract

Canada claims a diversity of geography curricula across the country, but global understanding is a common theme across grades and jurisdictions, particularly in early grades. However, the most recent mandatory curricula emphasize numeracy, literacy, and historical perspectives, increasingly at the expense of current global and geographical views and topics, despite mutual relevancy. Substantial innovation is evident in new global issues courses, but most of these are offered as electives or not offered as “geography”. At the same time, teachers and students express the desire for stronger education in the areas of global systems, particularly climate, environment, energy, sustainability, and in field work, all of which would be well served with the spatial and systems thinking and perspective approach offered by geography, and consistent with geography offerings in the post-secondary system. Despite the articulated needs of the community, Canada is facing an existential crisis in geography education as geography as a teachable subject and specialization is disappearing from the faculties of education, limiting the geographical disposition and lens of new teachers, and, therefore, presumably students. Increasing the identity and agency of geography by demonstrating alignment to these global understanding needs, as well as building capacity in pre-service teachers, is critical. Assessments of Canadian students’ global understanding and the impact of curricula initiatives are also important to help inform pedagogy and future curricular direction.