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Geography in the Australian CapitalTerritory: A Mixed PictureJulia Freeman aa Canberra Grammar School , Monaro Crescent , Red Hill, ACT, 2063,AustraliaPublished online: 03 Feb 2011.

To cite this article: Julia Freeman (2006) Geography in the Australian Capital Territory: A Mixed Picture,International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 15:2, 185-188

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.2167/irgee192g.0

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1038-2046/06/02 0185-04 $20.00/0 © 2006 J. FreemanInternational Research in Geographical and Environmental Education Vol. 15, No. 2, 2006

Geography in the Australian Capital Territory: A Mixed Picture

Julia FreemanCanberra Grammar School, Monaro Crescent, Red Hill, ACT 2063, Australia

doi: 10.2167/irgee192g.0

Geography is alive and well in non-government schools in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) but many believe that its rigour has been compromised through being incorporated into Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE) for delivery in government primary and secondary schools.

SOSE is one of eight Key Learning Areas (KLAs) that make up the framework around which the ACT’s school-based curricula are constructed. It is into the KLA called SOSE that Geography exists. The Studies of Society and Environment Curriculum Framework, revised in 1993 and currently part of a system-wide curriculum review,1 is the document which provides the current basis for school-based curriculum design in the ACT.

Being part of the SOSE KLA involves being incorporated into an amalgam in which ‘knowledge and skills are drawn from disciplines such as anthropology, accounting, archaeology, ecology, economics, geography, history, law, philoso-phy, politics, psychology and sociology and from multi-disciplinary studies such as Asian studies, environmental studies, global studies, multicultural studies, religious studies, Torres Strait Islander studies, tourism and women’s studies.’2

Each KLA is often allocated a similar amount of teaching time as each of the other KLAs – English, Mathematics, Science, Languages other than English, Arts/Sport and PE. The other KLAs all have far fewer subjects incorporated within them. This means that the time available to teach the geography-based component of SOSE is less than many teachers feel is either necessary or desirable.

The amount of SOSE taught in schools in the ACT is determined within each school as long as the outcomes specified in the Frameworks documents are covered. The outcomes are specified within each of five content strands in SOSE, namely

(1) Time, Continuity and Change.(2) Place and Space.(3) Culture.(4) Resources.(5) Natural and Social Systems.

and one skills-based strand ‘Investigation, Communication and Participation’. The unique characteristics of Geography are often lost within this structure.

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The level of achievement, attained by an individual student, is defined by the outcomes organised from Levels 1–7 for each of the SOSE strands. These levels cut across each of the five bands of schooling.3

The main difference between government and non-government schools in the ACT is that the senior secondary colleges for Year 11 and 12 students are separated as government senior secondary colleges, whereas non-government schools run from Years 7 through to 12.

In the ACT in 2004, only 14 students studied Geography4 in government colleges,5 in comparison to 114 students6 from non-government colleges. This difference in the number of students studying Geography in government and non-government schools can be attributed to a number of factors including:

variations in the amount of time allocated to SOSE in Years 7 to 10;broader structural influences in the non-government sector;inadequate training and support for Geography teachers in the context of SOSE.

Variations in the Amount of Time Allocated to SOSE in Years 7 to 10Independence in the design and delivery of a SOSE programme in the envi-

ronment of the ACT’s School-Based Curriculum has resulted in a high level of variability between schools in their programming. While some high schools devote alternate semesters to geography-based SOSE units and history-based SOSE units, other high schools, when faced with the framework requirements, build units based upon any other of the discipline strands encompassed within SOSE. Teaching of geographic understandings and skills is therefore, often fragmented and lacking in continuity to reach the depth of understanding that engenders deep and meaningful learning. The ‘Studies of Society and Environ-ment KLA has been insufficiently rigorous in some high schools and has led to a decline in the development of the knowledge and skills that underpin the disciplines of History and Geography’.7

The way in which geographic learning is delivered in government schools in the ACT means that there are very small numbers of students studying Geography in the final stages of their secondary schooling. Four out of eight senior secondary government colleges in the ACT offer Geography; and in these, less than 2% of students8 study Geography. The lower proportion of senior secondary students in ACT government colleges can be largely attributed to inadequate time being allocated to developing geographic understanding and skills at the junior secondary (High School, Years 7 to 10) level.

In comparison, non-government senior secondary colleges have a much higher proportion of their students taking Geography in their senior secondary years. For example, Radford College had 5%, Marist 7.5%, St Clare’s 10.6%, Canberra Girls’ Grammar 18.1% and Canberra Grammar School has over 35% of its students studying senior Geography.

Variations in the amount of time allocated to the teaching of Geography between schools in the ACT also have implications for continuity from primary to tertiary studies in Geography. From primary to secondary, there can be no assumption of geographic knowledge and skills when students enter Year 7. Also, the transition into tertiary geographic studies is particularly difficult

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because of inconsistencies in the levels of geographic understanding and skills acquisition from one high school and college to another in the ACT. This makes it particularly difficult for creating introductory courses at both secondary and tertiary levels.

The Australian National University (ANU), in line with the national pattern, has merged its Geography and Forestry Departments to become a School of Resources, Environment and Society (SRES). Given the situation where a high proportion of SRES’s first year students have not done Geography at school it is not possible to assume students have even a basic geographical knowledge. It is also significant to note that a high proportion of those going on to do Honours in Geography at ANU are students from the non-government sector who have done Geography at school.9

Broader Structural Influences in the Non-Government SectorOne source of difference between students from government compared to

non-government school in the ACT is that the non-government schools consult with, and are influenced more strongly by, other education authorities outside the ACT. This has led to non-government schools having:

Years 7 through to 12 in the same school;Geography being taught as a separate subject;senior teachers with specialist expertise.

Having geographic resources such as GIS capability for use in Years 7 to 12 can improve the quality of the geography experience in the earlier years of secondary schooling. Fieldwork capability and equipment can also be developed more fully. It is essential for students to have exposure to good geography using current resources, well-designed fieldwork and with easy access to integrated technologies including GIS.10

Being part of a non-government school means that Geography have remained a separate course by name and structure which allows students to identify more closely with the nature of the discipline. This is not usual within government high schools where the units are usually based around SOSE themes where the specific nature of disciplines becomes blurred.

Continuity of teaching from Years 7 to 12 means that teachers who are more specialised and potentially more passionate about Geography are encouraging students to continue with their passion for the subject for their senior studies. Specialist geography teachers are also more likely to understand the latest devel-opments and job prospects.

Inadequate Training and Support for Geography Teachers in the Context of SOSE

The strength of a discipline within a school is often more about the quality of the teachers delivering the course than the curriculum structures that it works within. Nevertheless, the history of change in the structure of education in ACT has led to many teachers teaching Geography without a tertiary background in the discipline. This is partially the result of ACT children in the 1960s and 70s being taught either History or Geography at High School. Now we have SOSE

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departments in the ACT with many teachers who have not studied Geography either at school or at a tertiary level, with little opportunity to develop the passion that drives good teaching of geographic understandings and skills.

In ConclusionSome of these issues are also found in other states and territories although the

problems have been compounded in the ACT. This can be attributed to the amal-gamation of so many subjects into the SOSE KLA and school-based curriculum design leading to significant variation between schools. Geographic understand-ing and skills in the ACT has fallen behind that in many other areas of Australia. This phenomenon is an anomaly in the context of the ACT’s education system often being touted as one of the best in Australia.

Notes 1. ‘Every Chance to Learn’ Curriculum Renewal Consultation Report. 2. Studies of Society and Environment Curriculum Framework, Australian Capital

Territory, Department of Education and Training. 3. The Five Bands of Schooling: Early years of schooling (Preschool to Year 1) Preschool–

Infants; Lower Primary (Year 1 to Year 4) Primary Schools; Upper Primary (Year 4 to Year 7) Primary Schools; High School (Year 7 to Year 10) High Schools; Post compul-sory (Years 11 and 12) Colleges.

4. As a ‘T’ course or equivalent. 5. Board of Senior Secondary Studies ACT, Year 12 Study 2004 (Abridged Edition) 6. This includes 50 students studying NSW HSC Geography at Canberra Grammar

School in 2004. 7. ‘Every Chance to Learn’ Curriculum Renewal Consultation Report, p. 38. 8. Based on the number of candidates awarded TES in 2004. 9. Richard Baker, Geography Convenor and Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning

for the Science Faculty at ANU.10. Hawker College in conjunction with Tuggeranong College has, however, developed

a GIS programme for use across ACT schools but the programme still needs to have wider usage by all levels of secondary geographers.

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