Curriculum Resources
Geography: Shaping Australia’s Future
Geography: Shaping Australia’s future was prepared by the National Committee for Geographical Sciences and presents the state of play of geography as a discipline in Australia. It provides a unified vision for Australian geography over the next decade.
The plan offers a framework for engaging research, teaching and industry that aligns strategically with contemporary social, economic and environmental challenges of our region.
The AGTA Roadshow
Interpreting and implementing the Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum: Geography / New NSW K–10 Geography Syllabus for ACT and NSW teachers professional learning days were held during November 2015. The speakers’ presentations can be accessed below.
- Geographical thinking with the Australian Curriculum: Geography (17.63MB PDF) presented by Malcolm McInerney
- Inquiry-based learning in geography (45.1MB PDF) presented by Dr Grant Kleeman
- Exciting your students in geography presented (40.4MB PDF) by John Butler OAM
- What is the best way of teaching geography at each year level? (17.29MB PDF) presented by John Butler OAM
- Literacy in geography (5.76MB PDF) presented by John Butler OAM
- How can fieldwork bring Geography to life? (3.15MB PDF) presented by Susan Caldis
Australian Curriculum: Geography
Further details
GeogSpace
Scootle resources
Towards a national geography curriculum for Australia Position Paper
The ‘Towards a national geography curriculum for Australia’ project was an initiative of the
- Australian Geography Teachers’ Association (AGTA)
- Royal Geographical Society of Queensland (RGSQ)
- Institute of Australian Geographers (IAG)
Project team members Rob Berry and Roger Smith undertook extensive consultation with geography teachers in all States and Territories prior to writing a draft report. After a review by the project’s Steering Committee the final Position Paper was published. It was generally acknowledged that the process and preparation of the Position Paper made a positive contribution to the work that followed in the writing of the Australian Curriculum: Geography.
>> Download the Steering Committee’s Towards a National Geography Curriculum for Australia Position Paper (620 KB PDF)
Citation: Berry, R. & Smith, R. (2009). Towards a National Geography Curriculum for Australia: Background report – June 2009. Melbourne: Australian Geography Teachers Association Ltd, Brisbane: Royal Geographical Society of Queensland Inc & Canberra: the Institute of Australian Geographers Inc.
Australians need Geography
Geography is vital to the education of every young Australian in the 21st century. It is the study of places – their environments, populations, economies and communities – and how and why these places are changing. Geography gives students a holistic view of the world, combining the natural and social sciences.
Students of Geography gain the understanding, knowledge and skills to make sense of complex issues such as climate change, drought, ageing populations, urban growth, ethnic conflicts and globalisation.
Including Geography in the core curriculum to Year 10, and teaching it as a distinct subject in secondary school, is the best way to give students the framework to understand the world around them. Download Australians Need Geography (2.17 MB PDF).
Geography – It’s essential
A clear and user-friendly guide setting out the place of Geography in the curriculum. The booklet aims to
- increase awareness and understanding of the characteristics and value of Geography
- support both primary and secondary educators in clarifying the essential components of teaching Geography
- draw together all the current resources that have been written about Geography methodology and skill development, providing links to these.
Topics covered include:
- What is geography?
- How does geography contribute to student learning in Victoria?
- How do geographers inquire?
- Where does Geography fit in the curriculum?
- Where could Geography lead?
The full document published by the Geography Teachers Association of Victoria is available here. Links within the document are hyperlinked to supporting documents.
Geography’s place in the curriculum
A Study into the Teaching of Geography in Years 3-10: Maps state and territory syllabus and curriculum documents and draws on interviews with representatives from key organisations. Further details here. A copy of the report can be obtained here.
- Supporting Geography in Our Schools: Media Release from The Hon Julia Gillard MP 7 April, 2008. Further details.
- Gillard puts geography on the map: News article published in the Age newspaper on 8 April 2008. Further details.
- “Australia needs a geographic revolution” argues Brad Ruting from the School of Geosciences at the University of Sydney. Read the article.
True Blue Geography
‘True Blue Geography’, is an Op-Ed article from Bill Pritchard and Nick Hutchinson.
History and geography are the warp and woof of the social sciences. Our personal, community, national and global lives are the outcome of interconnections between time and space. To understand why and who we are, we need to understand both where we have come from (our history) and what places we’re in (our geography).