What facts shall we teach?

 A nice article in an early edition of 'The Geographical Teacher' from 1918....

As we wait for the report of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, what facts should we teach?

Source:

Orford, E. J. “GEOGRAPHY : WHAT FACTS SHALL WE TEACH ?” The Geographical Teacher, vol. 9, no. 5, 1918, pp. 212–15. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40554678. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.

From the archive: Lord Meston's Address in 1934

I visited the GA Archives in Solly Street earlier this week and made some good discoveries.

One of the things I discovered was from Lord James Scorgie Meston, who was President in 1934.

Lord Meston's Address to a GA group in Glasgow was published in the Scottish Educational Journal in 1934.

Here is the address, in two pages.

There are a few interesting sections - this one shows how what might be seen as powerful knowledge dates...

What was the question of Memel? 

I had to look it up and discovered a link with the League of Nations - another institution that the GA has close links with.

How shall we teach Geography?

The Spring Conference in 1946 included another debate about pedagogy and curriculum design in school geography, something which has been talked about for as long as I can remember during my career, and even back then was a hot topic.

The sequencing of what to teach and when was important. Also considered the knowledge that students needed to be introduced to.



For a more up to date view on Curriculum, check out Paula Owens and Alan Kinder's article in the Autumn 2019 issue of 'Teaching Geography', which connects this with the new OFSTED framework in a creative way. Free to download by journal subscribers.

References

E. M. C., et al. “HOW SHALL WE TEACH GEOGRAPHY ? Report of Discussion at the Caernarvon Spring Conference.” Geography, vol. 31, no. 3, 1946, pp. 116–119. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40563884

Powerful Knowledge

Powerful knowledge is a persuasive argument for the need for professional subject knowledge, and the role of school in teaching that knowledge, using skilled pedagogy. It has found favour in recent years, with the work of Michael Young, who I have seen speak several times, particularly in a debate with Margaret Roberts. It has also informed the work of the GeoCapabilities project I was involved in.

An early attempt, dating from 1918, was made by E. J. Orford.

He described the need to know certain facts at certain stages in a child's education. It's worth reading to see how we've come on so much in 100 years... or not.

Well worth a read...



References
Orford, E. J. “GEOGRAPHY : WHAT FACTS SHALL WE TEACH ?” The Geographical Teacher, vol. 9, no. 5, 1918, pp. 212–215. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40554678.