Approaches to Geography Curriculum Development

There are a variety of ways to approach curriculum development, and these methods continue to evolve as we learn more about effective teaching and learning. The curriculum materials in schools today are the product of ideologically driven approaches to design and development at the intersection between views on the purposes of schooling, societal goals for education as manifested in standards for disciplinary learning, and the learners and educators in classrooms using materials. This chapter briefly reviews historical approaches to curriculum development in geography and shares a rationale for a student-centered, inquiry-driven approach. The chapter outlines a process to design and develop curriculum materials that center student voices and experiences in a way that allows them to develop a deep understanding of geography.