The wider perspective
Learning about people and places beyond the immediate environment is a fundamental part of geographical education. Geography responds to the natural curiosity of the child about the diverse environments of the world and, of course, studying the lives and environments of others enables the child to understand and appreciate more fully the features and individuals found in his/her own place and community.
However, this aspect of the geography curriculum has an even more fundamental role to play in the education of the child. As children study peoples and environments in their own country and in other places throughout the world they can acquire an informed understanding of the lives, concerns and perspectives of others. Their assumptions and attitudes may be challenged and a respect for peoples of diverse cultural, ethnic, social and other backgrounds may be fostered. An awareness of the interdependence of the peoples of the world and their collective responsibility for the global environment in which they live will be developed. In short, geography equips children to become informed and active participants in the global family.
What places will children learn about?
The geography curriculum is structured to ensure that children learn about places beyond their immediate experience from the earliest years in the primary school. In the programme for infants and for first and second classes, the inclusion of the unit 'People and places in other areas' provides opportunities to explore aspects of the lives of people in places in Ireland and other countries. Often the aspects, places and countries used will arise in other learning contexts, for example as children compare homes or food in different places in other units, as an item of personal interest to a child is discussed in general conversation or as a place-name occurs at story time. Theme work will also provide opportunities for the exploration of life in many places in Ireland and elsewhere.
For the middle and senior classes the requirements of the curriculum are more explicit. In third and fourth classes and in fifth and sixth classes children should study a locality in Ireland which contrasts with their homeenvironment, an environment in a European country and one in a non- European location. More variety and a greater range of geographical processes and features can be ensured by using one set of locations in the middle classes and a second set for the senior classes. It should also be noted that at least one of the non-European environments studied should be in an economically developing country.
Key questions about other places
Just as the child's exploration of the local environment involves the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes, learning about other places should also involve the child in a range of activities characterised by questioning and investigation. The key questions of geography (see p. 66-67) which may be used in local studies are also applicable when studying other areas and they may be used to provide a framework for the teacher's planning and for the children's projects and enquiries. The significance of these questions lies in the disposition which they exemplify: an emphasis on enquiry, investigation and critical comparison rather than the rote acquisition of descriptions of exotic locations.
Exploring life in other parts of Ireland and in other countries through the study of carefully chosen locations affords greater opportunities for the development of geographical skills and for meaningful comparisons to be made with the children's home locality. However, it should also be borne in mind that all environments studied should be firmly related to the wider contexts in which they are situated: the location of the locality and its links with the county, region and country should form part of the local study. The same should be true of the other Irish environment studied and of the areas chosen in other countries. Frequent reference to atlases, maps and globes will be a feature of all work on other environments, as will the use of largescale maps of the areas studied.
Children's attitudes about the world
One of the greatest challenges facing teachers and pupils in this work is our preconceived notions of other peoples and places. Before they come to school and during their school years children are constantly acquiring information about the world. Sometimes this is done through direct experience such as visits to the homes of relatives, on shopping expeditions to larger towns and on trips and holidays to places within and beyond Ireland. A great deal of children's information about the world comes to them indirectly from television and video, from books and comics, from electronic sources and from the accounts of others in the family. All of this information provides a rich source for the teacher to exploit in discussion, but some attitudes and misconceptions which children may have acquired will need to be challenged, often those concerning people in other countries.
Television, in particular, presents extremely powerful images to children. A significant amount of the information about distant places which children acquire from television seems to comefrom 'soap operas' and from advertising rather than news programmes or documentaries. Both of these sources can present an incomplete or erroneous view of places and the lives of people who live there. Advertising, because of its need to convey messages in the shortest possible time, often relies on stereotypical images and the impact of the medium is such that these images are readily absorbed. So pupils may come to the classroom with an incomplete or incorrect knowledge about the world and they may have acquired biased views of other people.
Nor should it be assumed that the classroom is free from bias. Indeed many of the books and resources which we use with children can reinforce, perhaps unconsciously, a stereotypical view of the world. For example, wholly unrealistic images of farmers and their work are acquired by many urban children from some story books or cartoon figures and, at times, from visits to some farms which present a romantic, idyllic picture. The once popular style of lesson or book which presented the lifestyles of the children of developing countries as exclusively rural, backward, simple and traditional will be avoided by all teachers. Nor should the inhabitants of developing countries be encountered solely in terms of the cash crops which they supply to the developed world: Kenyans do not exist solely to supply tea to Ireland! Both teachers and pupils need to avoid oversimplification and untenable generalisations: poverty is an urgent problem in Indian cities but not all of India is undeveloped and poor; living conditions and levels of technology which people in Europe would find unacceptable may be perfectly suited to the needs and social structure of rural African communities (and such communities may evince enviable social values not often present in developed countries).
For these reasons studies of the lives of people in other countries should be based upon identifiable locations, individuals, families and communities. Although this may seem to restrict learning about the countries involved it is likely to result in a more authentic picture of life in that place and, if the examples are chosen carefully, a reasonably typical picture of life in that place should emerge.
Some possible approaches
The suggestions which follow may be used in the study of places beyond the locality. Most of the techniques are adaptable for almost all ability and age levels and may be supplemented by other approaches, such as role playing and drama, and with cross-curricular theme work.
Visiting other places in Ireland
Depending upon the location of the contrasting Irish environment selected for study, it may be possible for children to visit the area in question and learn about its features through investigations and enquiry. There is really no substitute for such direct experience of the environment and even if only one visit is possible it should be undertaken. Preparation in advance of the visit and the programme of follow-up work may utilise some of the other approaches described in this section, while the suggestions contained in the earlier sections Organising fieldwork, Investigating human environments and Investigating natural environments will provide advice on suitable learning activities for use during the visit.
Photo packs and resource packs
When visiting and exploring an environment is clearly out of the question photo packs and resource packs may be used to enable children to learn about another place using at least some of the investigative methods which children might have developed in the local area. Photo packs consist of large photographs, often taken from both an aerial and a ground perspective, of features in the environment. Good packs will include a wide range of subjects covering both natural and human features and many aspects of the lives of people.
Using selections of these pictures it is possible for children to gain an impression of the place in question, togain some sense of its distinctive features and to make detailed comparisons with life in their own locality. Simple activities may involve recognising the features and events portrayed in the pictures; further work can entail comparing the contents of the photographs with each other so as to gain an impression of the contrasts and similarities within the area depicted. The subjects of the pictures may also be compared with the experiences of children in their home environments and similarities and differences noted.
Resource packs include a wider range of materials. Photographs normally form part of the pack and these may be complemented by a wide range of items: maps of various scales (some large-scale maps similar to those used for local studies should be an essential component), information booklets on the area, copies of timetables, newspapers, menus, posters and advertisements, postage stamps, phone cards, local currency, and samples of clothing or goods made by the people portrayed in the material.
The purpose of the material is similar to that of photo packs: to allow the teacher and children to experience something of the life of another area and to provide the raw materials which will enable children to ask questions, conduct research, make comparisons, abstract information, present it in graphs, charts, maps and written accounts, and draw conclusions from a diverse range of evidence. For example, many of the questions which children will investigate in studying homes and buildings in an urban area near the school could also be attempted for an environment in another country using photographs. Maps and photographs could be correlated so that the location of the viewpoint of each photograph is identified. Maps and timetables could be used to plan journeys. In contrast to textbooks, resource packs allow the teacher to tailor the range of items used to the needs and abilities of his/her pupils or to the theme which the class is currently studying.
Commercially produced photo packs and resource packs are available for a number of locations, mainly places in non-European locations, because some of the first of these packs were compiled by development agencies. However, the range available is growing. The packs often have background information for the teacher and suggestions on how the materials might be used. Some may also complement schools broadcasts. Few such packs are available for Irish locations at present but it may be possible for teachers to visit the area in question, take photographs and collect items for inclusion in a similar pack. These will have the advantage that their significance can be enriched by the teacher's oral accounts of his/her visit to the area.
Video
Video can play an important enriching role in locality studies. It can be used to stimulate children's curiosity, it widens their interest and it can be very effective in conveying something of the sense of place of another area. It can convey not only the appearance but also the sounds of a place and it can present much detail about how people live, work, travel and interact with their environment. A wide range of videos is available and school broadcasts will also be viewed in recorded format.
For the medium to be used successfully previewing of the tape by the teacher is essential. The level of language and the extent to which the tape complements the aims of the work in hand should be considered. Often only a section of the tape will be suitable or relevant and this may then be selected in advance of the lesson. Having a knowledge of the contents will enable the teacher to prepare pupils fully, to set the context and to explain any unfamiliar terms in advance. In can also help if the children's viewing is directed by havingto watch out for particular items of information or opportunities to make certain assessments or judgements. These might form part of the postviewing talk and in some cases the tape might be viewed a second time, during which stills (using the pause button) might be discussed.
When assessing videos for purchase, consideration should be given to how well they fit in to the locality studies in the school's geography plan, the extent and quality of the follow-up suggestions and background material supplied with the tape and the availability of linked photo packs, resource packs, CD-ROMs and other teaching materials.
Story
Story is one of the most versatile and useful of all teaching approaches in geographical education. Some of the earliest geographical concepts developed by the child may be acquired through hearing and reading stories of people from the locality and other areas and through examining the accompanying illustrations: the names of buildings and other features, the sense of a place different from one's own environment, the notion of home, shelter, work and leisure, the effect of weather phenomena on the lives of people. Many stories also lend themselves to the development of geographical skills: stories of journeys, from simple excursions to the shop or school to adventures over long distances told in novels, may be used for map work, drawing and sketching.
The ability of story to convey the sense of a place and time different from that of the reader, and advice on how stories might be used in the classroom are discussed at length in the Teacher Guidelines for History. For the teaching of geography, story is invaluable for the way in which it can create a mindpicture of a place which includes not only details of features and objects of an environment but also the mood of a place. Story has a unique ability to allow us to come to understand the perspective of others, to empathise with their situation and to challenge the attitudes we hold.
An invaluable guide to the use of stories in geography lessons with a bibliography of suitable stories may be found in Heather Norris Nicholson's Place in Story-Time (Geographical Association, Sheffield, revised edition, 1996).
Visitors, friends and relatives
Opportunities may occur from time to time when it is possible for people who live or work in the area under study to visit the children and to talk about it. A relative of a pupil may be resident in another part of Ireland or abroad andarrive home on holiday. Many Irish families have relatives abroad, both in developed and developing countries, and some may be willing to speak to a class. Overseas aid charities and development agencies may also be able to supply a speaker.
Speakers from other localities can help make the study of a distant place very real for pupils but the methodology requires much careful preparation. Advice on organising the visit of a speaker is discussed in detail in the Teacher Guidelines for History.
It is also worth remembering that family members living abroad can help by agreeing to answer children's queries by post or e-mail and some may help to procure photographs, local maps and other items.
News and topical affairs
News items, both the personal accounts of incidents and journeys in the lives of pupils and the occurrences and major events reported in the mass media, frequently offer geographical opportunities. The interest generated by these events should be exploited: the places involved may be identified and labelled on the wall map while newspaper cuttings may include photographs of natural phenomena or human events. Many newspapers maintain web sites which children could visit using the computer so as to obtain further information. Children may also be encouraged to investigate further the people, climate, features or other aspects of the places mentioned. Working out how one would go to the place from Ireland (and how long the journey might take) can help the child to envisage the distances and locations involved.
Projects
Projects have been a common feature of primary classrooms for some years and they are a valuable way in which children may become active in their own learning. Moreover, they accord with the importance the language curricula now attach to writing for an audience, drafting and redrafting and fostering the child's impetus to write. However, much project work, whether conducted by groups or individuals, may degenerate into little more than transcribing undigested paragraphs of information from encyclopaedias and reference books or printing passages selected from CD-ROMs or on-line sources. This must be avoided at all costs.
One useful method is to help the child frame a number of questions about the topic of the project in advance: the need to answer these questions rather than the layout of the reference books will tend to dictate the format and the content of the finished piece. For children who are unused to project work, the teacher might even offer them a list of suggested questions and areas of enquiry. Later, questions for investigation should emerge through discussions between the pupils and teacher.
Teachers should also help pupils in selecting and using suitable reference books and should encourage the use of other sources of information. Children could conduct surveys among their peers, the school staff, family members or other relevant groups (for example on the extent to which people use products from the country in question, or on the images which people have of the lives of people living there). They could be encouraged to obtain information from sources such as newspapers, magazines and internet sites, to construct maps and to present information collected in ways which are different from the original sources.
Links with other schools
These can add greatly to the excitement of the study of an area beyond the immediate environment and can also enrich the study of the children's local environment. Often personal contact between teachers can facilitate the inauguration of links between classes. Sometimes children in the class may have relatives or friends in school in another country. Frequently the internet will carry details of schools seeking to make contact with other schools for such exchanges and of course information technology offers many advantages in the transmission of messages and data.
One way in which to go about the work is for both classes to prepare work on their own localities and then exchange it with the linked school. This means that the work on their local study has a sharper focus and a ready audience and they will be well prepared to make comparisons with the descriptions and findings presented about the distant location. It also helps if children write to named individuals in the linked class so that some sense of personal contact is achieved.
Before-and-after stereotypes
This activity can enable children to become aware of the extent to which their view of other people and places is biased or influenced by stereotypes. Before work commences on the study of a place the children are asked to write down the first five or ten things which occur to them when the name of the place (and the country in which it is located) is mentioned. The sheets are then stored away without comment or discussion. The exercise is repeated after completion of the unit of work and the current reaction of the children is compared to their original thoughts. What do they notice? Have any opinions changed? Why do they think they had thought like that?
Development education
Specific units on development education are included in the curriculum for fifth and sixth classes but some of the topics involved may well be encountered at much earlier stages. The issues involved are complex. They include topics such as the circumstances of international trade, the effect of aid and debt, the inequitable distribution of resources and food, and the need to recognise the interdependence of peoples and ecosystems in development. These form an essential element in the child's understanding of the global community of which he/she is a member.
Learning about the issues involved is a first step: the ultimate goal of development education is to enable the adults of tomorrow to arrive at just solutions to the dilemmas which face the global community and to empower them to act as responsible citizens of the world. This involves developing skills of analysis and debate, being able to propose constructive solutions that respect the rights of others and acknowledging one's own responsibility for the welfare of the Earth and its peoples. Some of these skills are at the heart of geographical enquiry and are utilised throughout many of the methodologies discussed in these Guidelines. Approaches such as the use of story, resource packs and interviewing visitors have obvious applications in development education.
Development education agencies and charities have been at the forefront of the development and adaptation of other teaching techniques, such as games and simulations, role playing and drama, music, dance and co-operative activities. Several packs are available which provide excellent suggestions and a range of support materials. Examples include:
- Ar Scáth a Chéile: Development Education in the Primary Classroom (Trócaire and Curriculum Development Unit, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, n.d.)
- Therese Hegarty et al., Windows on the World: Shaping and Being Shaped by Culture (4 vols., Columban Fathers and Sisters, Navan, 1992)
- Kathleen Horgan, Team Planet: An Action Pack on Our World and Ourselves (4 vols., Primary School Development Education Project, Limerick, 1993)
- Ita Sheehy, So Everybody Fights: A Teaching Programme on Development Education for 9-13 Year Olds (Irish Commission for Justice and Peace, Blackrock, 1988).
A reference library of support materials for development education is maintained by the National Committee for Development Education, 16 South Cumberland Street, Dublin 2.