Learning to Understand and Teach Geography

Becoming a teacher of geography in a secondary or primary school is a positive ambition and a demanding challenge. This chapter introduces preservice teacher education, beginning with reasons programs give for learning to become teachers of geography. The range of program structures available is indicated, followed by reasons prospective teachers give for wanting to teach geography. Learning to teach geography involves understanding the subject, which is varied among future teachers. Programs need to address future teachers’ course-entry geographical knowledge to develop and recontextualize it for teaching in school, as they must be introduced to national or regional geography requirements and guidance. However, the most significant aspect of the geography teaching program for future teachers concerns their classroom geography teaching. Aspects of geography curricula in schools are noted, and geography teaching strategies are considered with the benefits and limitations of research into geography’s teaching. Preservice teachers need to appreciate the controversial nature of many geography topics in school geographical studies and learn ways to teach about contentious issues. The significant role of geography mentors in schools is considered next with the range of their roles and responsibilities to preservice teachers. Penultimately, several concerns about preservice geography teacher education are reflected upon, including future teachers’ views of their programs, the contribution of geography education tutors, and the nature, variety, effectiveness and expectations of geography courses. The importance of learning how to teach geography is re-emphasized, and the need for further research into preservice geography teacher education is re-emphasized.