Professor Norman Graves - RIP

A cross posting from my Living Geography blog. 

I received sad news today from Frances Slater, via GA President Fiona Sheriff about the sad passing of Norman Graves at the end of September. Frances' book 'Learning through Geography' sits in the bookshelf by my desk alongside Norman's classic 'Curriculum Planning in Geography'.

Norman was GA President in 1978. His entry on my GA Presidents is on the link here.

Image: Norman speaking at an IGU event in Leningrad in 1976 - image supplied by Norman.

The entry on the blog outlines his tremendous work in curriculum thinking. In a GeReCo piece by John Morgan, he says that at the time of his work at the Institute of Education Norman, David Hall and Bill Marsden:

"were attempting to make sense for teachers of the convergence of curriculum theory and geographical theory. Geography was going undergoing its conceptual revolution and education was being reshaped by new findings from educational psychology and the introduction of rational curriculum planning. Graves summarised the challenges for geography teachers, who must make sense of the philosophical basis of their teaching and consider psychological questions of how young people learn. He noted that there were sociological questions of why some children learned faster and more effectively, but this was not his prime concern (even though it was of growing interest to others and spawned the birth of the ‘new sociology of education’ (Young 1971) also at the Institute of Education (IoE)."

Norman was very much involved with the work of the IGU as well as supporting the work of the GA.

A full appreciation of his work will appear in a future GA journal (and no doubt elsewhere) and I will collate these onto Norman's blog entry.

To finish, here's Norman with family and friends celebrating his 100th birthday in January of this year.

Image provided by Helene Scott with thanks, and with whom copyright resides.

Updates 10th October 2026

The IGU-CGE (Commission on Geographical Education) used the image that Norman had given to me from Leningrad in their Facebook post.

The IGU Commission on Geographical Education is deeply saddened by the passing of Professor Norman Graves recently. 

Chair of the Commission from 1972 to 1980, he was a leading figure in geographical education who helped strengthen the Commission’s international reach and influence.
During his chairmanship, Professor Norman Graves continued and developed the Commission’s collaboration with UNESCO. He initiated and edited the New UNESCO Source Book for Geography Teaching, published in 1982, bringing together contributions from geography educators across the world.
His interest in geography began as a primary school pupil in France and grew into a lifelong dedication to geographical education. His career took him from teaching in English secondary schools to the University of Liverpool and the Institute of Education, University of London, where he served as Professor of Geography Education and later Pro-Director (Professional Studies).

In his 2008 article, “Reflections on a Life in Geographical Education,” published in International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, Professor Norman Graves championed “the free flow of ideas across national boundaries” and urged geographical education to confront environmental harm, impoverishment and intolerance. His words remain a powerful reminder of our shared responsibility: to sustain dialogue across borders and help young people engage thoughtfully with the world and with one another.

We remember Professor Norman Graves with deep gratitude for his scholarship, leadership, and enduring contribution to our international community. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, former students, and colleagues.

May he rest in peace.

Former GA Chief Exeecutive Professor David Lambert said of Norman that he was:

"a remarkable, gentle, perceptive and generous man".