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Geography Education for Global Understanding pp 29–42Cite as

Why the World Needs Geography Knowledge in Global Understanding: An Evaluation from a Climate Change Perspective

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Part of the book series: International Perspectives on Geographical Education ((IPGE))

Abstract

This chapter examines two critical concepts of global understanding as outlined by the international year of global understanding (IYGU). How do we transform knowledge about global issues into action and how do we unpack our understanding of the connections between local action and global issues? While climate change is featured as a key theme in the IYGU discourse, global understanding transcends a concern for environmental challenges to include issues in the social, political and cultural milieu. Nonetheless, the authors will focus the discussion based on the empirical evidence collected over the last five years of their research on climate change education to discuss the relationship between knowledge and curriculum that empowers individual action, with a view to engage global issues. There is a deliberate focus on geographical concepts such as space, place, scale, physical and human processes, environmental and cultural diversity and interdependence in the discussion, so as to explain how geography as a subject connects science to students’ everyday action. The chapter will also provide recommendations on how school geography curricula can empower students to move beyond knowledge to taking action for global understanding.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Chew-Hung Chang & Andy Wi

Authors
  1. Chew-Hung Chang
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  2. Andy Wi
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Correspondence to Chew-Hung Chang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. IGU-Commission on Geographical Education, Büyükçekmece, Istanbul, Turkey

    Ali Demirci

  2. Faculty of Education, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

    Rafael de Miguel González

  3. Department of Geography, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

    Sarah Witham Bednarz

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Chang, CH., Wi, A. (2018). Why the World Needs Geography Knowledge in Global Understanding: An Evaluation from a Climate Change Perspective. In: Demirci, A., Miguel González, R., Bednarz, S. (eds) Geography Education for Global Understanding. International Perspectives on Geographical Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77216-5_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77216-5_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-77215-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-77216-5

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