Empowering Young Learners Through Geography Education

The goal of primary school education is to foster and develop responsible and reflective young people who are not only capable of decision-making in their present and future lives, but also capable of shaping and acting in their world. Geography can play a decisive role in this regard. Using selected position papers of various geography associations and organizations as well as two selected geography curricula and teaching concepts as examples, this chapter first describes the special situation of geography instruction in primary schools. Focusing on current societal challenges such as sustainability, climate change, globalization, digitalization, and digitality, the chapter then considers what knowledge, skills, and attitudes children and young people need today to be able to cope with the uncertain and complex challenges of today and tomorrow and emphasizes the importance of enabling primary school children to critically evaluate current practices and to draw lessons from past mistakes. For each of the challenges, selected practical ideas are described to show how geography teaching can play a crucial role in developing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of young learners in primary school, empowering them to deal with the uncertain and complex issues of today and tomorrow.