Geography can play a critical role in helping young people develop anti-racist futures. If we are asking pupils to reflect on key geographical issues, such as globalisation, sustainability, climate change, resource depletion and cultural identity, we must strive for a geography curriculum that is representative and inclusive of all learners.
The following five issues must be addressed in order to develop an anti-racist geography curriculum:
1. Terminology
Question terminology that might be used in resources in the classroom. Evaluating dichotomies such as “developing/developed”, and terms such as “slum”, “tribe”, “Third World” and “sub-Saharan Africa” means drawing on their historical context and how words can reinforce stereotypes and create divisions.
2. Resources
Teach about other locations in a balanced, up-to-date and fair way. If you’re teaching about an impoverished community in another country, are your pupils learning about the many positive aspects that exist? Is that map on the classroom wall showing the UK in the centre trying to convey a Eurocentric worldview?
Behind every statistic - in a table, graph and map of developmental and demographic data, for example - are human stories. Think about the diagrams, photos and videos you are showing in lessons. How might they impact learners in your lesson, and are they a fair and authentic portrayal of the topic? Might they reinforce, unintentionally, misconceptions that may exist in the class?
Choosing the right visuals and including captions can help. Collaborate with other teachers so that up-to-date case studies are shared. Out-of-date material should only be taught in terms of exploring how things have changed. And we should always be acutely aware that the reasons why one country has a high figure by a certain measure can be markedly different from another country’s set of reasons.
3. History
Allow your pupils to draw links between the impacts of colonialism and neocolonialism and their effects on a location’s development. Pupils need to become critical thinkers and understand why things are as they are when it comes to geographical issues.
Why, for example, are the world’s poor more vulnerable to the effects of climate change? Haiti is a country trapped in a cycle of colonial-era, unfair debt, but is more often used as a case study for teaching earthquakes.
Similarly, the Green Revolution in India is commonly taught in geography courses. However, India’s unique colonial history contributed directly to the political and economic situation that placed the country at risk for widespread food insecurity by the mid-20th century. This is inextricably linked to the Green Revolution, so we must teach students about the history, too.
4. Representation
The teaching profession in Scotland must reflect its diverse population, to put it simply. Teachers must also have more autonomy and power to shape the geography specifications, create exam papers, consult with the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and provide working knowledge on up-to-date case-study developments for marking schemes.
We do not want to see the world divided up into “developed” and “developing” regions anymore. Are marking schemes updated with recent transport and housing urban developments within studied cities such as Rio de Janeiro and Mumbai, or rural locations such as the Lower Ganges Valley?
5. Fieldwork
Fieldwork is essential to geography and can offer memorable experiences for young people, helping to develop independent research skills. Fieldwork has always been prone to problems: poor weather, vehicle breakdown, expensive equipment, lack of toilet facilities and so on.
However, what about the barriers faced by minority groups? Trips must be organised that account for people with mobility issues and lower levels of fitness. Materials used to promote fieldwork routinely depict white, physically fit male scientists in outdoor settings, and this must change. We must be open and accepting of different personal needs and requirements, around, for example, pupils observing Ramadan, or how autistic pupils might be affected in multi-sensory environments.
Developing an inclusive, critical and multicultural geography education starts by encouraging enquiry, exploring power relations between groups, making connections between the local and national contexts, and by providing different perspectives of a place or issue to pupils.
Geography has the power to change society for the better - if it is taught in the right way.
Shiv Das is a geography teacher in Scotland. He tweets @shiv_teaching
