The Foundation and Evolution of Powerful Geography in K-12 Education: An Introduction

This introductory chapter recounts the genesis of Powerful Geography through a historical perspective beginning in the 1980s with the development of the applied geography program in the Department of Geography and Planning at Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University). By focusing on applied geography, the department highlighted what students can do with their geography, leading to graduates successfully securing jobs using what they learned. Combining the applied geography approach with current educational theory, like GeoCapabilities and Null’s liberating curriculum, the formation of Powerful Geography took shape in a time when geography education desperately needed a reawakening. Powerful Geography, an approach to teaching and learning geography primarily targets the K-12 level, focuses on the diverse nature of students’ aspirations and interests to create a geography curriculum that is relevant to each student and of great value in our modern society.