Geography teacher educators’ perspectives on the place of children’s geographies in the classroom

Whilst many have extolled the benefits of incorporating children’s geographies in school geography (Biddulph, 2012; Yarwood and Tyrell, 2012; Roberts, 2017), its place in the classroom is uncertain (Catling, 2011; Hammond, 2020). To gain a more nuanced understanding of how, and why, children’s geographies are drawn upon and engaged with in school geography, this paper examines the philosophies and experiences of geography teacher educators. In doing so, it draws on research conducted by the authors during the 2019 Geography Teacher Educator conference held in Bristol, England. Participants engaged in a reflective discussion about children’s geographies, which was framed by Castree, Lambert and Fuller’s (2007) notion of ‘borders’ existing between academic and school geography. It transpires that whilst many geography teacher educators perceive that children’s geographies is fundamental to teaching geography, they perceive that there are gaps in their knowledge of the sub discipline, which compromise their ability to utilise it. Furthermore, geography teacher educators opined that the wider context of accountability and performativity that pervades schooling in England today renders it challenging both to explore children’s geographies in the classroom, and to develop their knowledge of the field.