This book provides a unique assessment of the development of research in geography education and its future prospects, offers a challenging critique of the field of subject-based education research, and presents a timely appraisal of possible ways forward for geography education research

This article uses a social generations approach to explore the lives of young people transitioning to life after schooling. Drawing on ethnographic research in England during the geopolitical uncertainty of 2016-2017, we track the trajectories and narratives of six individuals. The research begins with final year pupils in schools talking about their futures, during and after their A-Level exams. We then follow these individuals on routes to Higher Education and employment, exploring how they are socialised into imaginings of the future and/or struggle to inhabit these futures. A deeply ingrained, modernist, neoliberal reckoning of future time is normalised through experiences of schooling. However, this logic is troubled profoundly in the transition to life after school. Young people's experiences in an unpredictable present run in stark contrast to the ordered trajectory of future action they have been socialised to expect. Amidst this uncertainty, ambivalence towards shaping the future ('Fuck It, Shit Happens') can in some ways feel like the most agentic stance to take. Furlong et al.'s (2011) social generations approach to understanding youth transitions reveals how we must critique the very concept of 'the future' if we are to understand the reality of youth transitions in the present.

This chapter focuses closely on the range of ideas considered significant in contemporary geography education research and theory. It foregrounds certain themes that have proved attractive to researchers in geography education (such as, inter alia, progression, capabilities and geocapablities, powerful knowledge and powerful disciplinary knowledge, Future 3 curricula, Young People’s Geographies, ‘curriculum making’, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and fieldwork), but inevitably cannot claim to offer a comprehensive appreciation of all the avenues of research that geography educators pursue.

The introductory chapter of Geography Education Research: Retrospect and Prospect starts by raising the important question of whether geography education research, as a ‘specialist field of intellectual endeavour’ (Lambert 2010), actually exists.

The papers in this issue’s Forum were written by the members of the Geography Education Research Collective (GEReCo, pronounced “Jericho”), a small group of research-active geography educators based in English universities. Their contributions to the broad theme of “Perspectives on Research in Geography Education” were selected to provide a response to some of the key questions research in this field currently faces. The context is clearly focused on research activity in the UK, predominantly in England, but I am confident that the views of contributors have a resonance internationally. A brief description of each of the papers is given towards the end of this introductory section. It is worthwhile outlining the nature and aims of the Collective from which these contributions arise. GEReCo was formed in January 2007 following a meeting at the Institute of Education, University of London, as “a collective of individuals dedicated to the promotion of geography education through research and publication”. It has a number of aims:

This article presents ethnographic research on the aspirations of graduates from a private university in New York City, some of whom move to Los Angeles. Findings depict financial and family pressures exerting a governing force upon the graduates' futures, often beyond their control. Focusing on the narratives of four individuals, we introduce the language of fate as a means of conceptualising the potential repercussions of aspiration and Higher Education. The premise of both is an increased determinacy over one's future, yet in the high-stakes U.S. context here examined, this financial investment and articulation of family hope may generate fated (seemingly inescapable) and/or fateful (ominous) outcomes. The dynamic of 'cruel optimism' illustrates some of the paradoxical consequences of Higher Education, whereby people may be punished by their aspirations. We discuss what factors affect differing outlooks on the future and imply alternative dimensions to adversity beyond the remit of 'inequality'.

Researching geography education is, in many respects, a recent phenomenon. This chapter takes a historical turn by reflecting on how geography education research has grown over time, contrasting research experiences in geography and education departments in universities to track and compare developments. Geography education research in England expanded as a field post 1945, partly as a result of an ‘eminently practical concern’ to support the pre-service preparation of teachers—which required findings from educational research to assist the training process (Morgan and Firth 2010). By the mid-1960s the Robbins Report (Robbins 1963) had brought teacher education more firmly into the higher education fold, following debate about the possibility of locating initial teacher education (ITE) in universities dating back to the Cross Committee in 1888. University-based teacher education affected the production of research in the field, particularly following the absorption of older-style teacher training colleges into higher education institutes (HEIs) where greater expectations of sustained research performance were prevalent.

This chapter discusses the known ‘gap’ between the curricular content of school and undergraduate geography courses, as well as considering the variation in expected student skills between the two. The text draws on global ‘reviews’ of the state of geography education – including issues of transition from school to university – to provide a comparative perspective across jurisdictions (see Butt and Lambert, 2014). The experiences of transition reported by geography students themselves are noted. Previously the ways in which students have negotiated the perceived gap has been largely overlooked, although some work has been completed on self-reflection (Bryson, 1997), on developing transferable skills (Haigh and Kilmartin. 1999), and on approaches to learning in geography (Maguire et al., 2001). Although attention is given to the impact of recent education policy shifts in England, which have required university academics to help revise the content of geography ‘A’ (advanced) levels, the approach taken here enables the reader to make comparisons with educational situations in other countries. A small case study is provided, highlighting the convergence and divergence of content and skills in schools and universities in England, noting the recent work of the A Level Content Advisory Board (ALCAB). The provision of a complete global overview of the gaps between school and university geography, and of their potential solutions, in different jurisdictions is impractical. Therefore, the English case study is designed to highlight common issues and to suggest how similar transition problems might be addressed in different national contexts. Implications for the effective transfer of students from school to university geography courses are discussed and perennial concerns about the range of geography content taught to pre-university students are considered.

In nursing literature, the phrase 'theory-practice gap' is widely used without common definition or description of its underlying concept. This review paper presents a concept analysis using Rodgers (2000) evolutionary process to define and clarify the concept of the theory-practice gap as part of a doctoral study. In so doing it provides a deeper understanding of the concept to enable its consistent application within nurse education. A theoretical definition is developed, the data search that was undertaken is described and a discussion of the attributes, antecedents and consequences is provided. We conclude by offering, a model case, which is employed to illustrate the concept.

This chapter discusses the connections between research in academic geography and in geography education, with particular reference to the roles of theory and thought.

Although it is unusual for any edition of Educational Review to include an Editorial (see Thomas 2016), this Special Issue warrants a brief commentary to introduce the articles it contains. Since 2015 the website for this journal has featured a “Hall of Fame” page which provides links to previously published articles that have proved very popular, are highly cited, or have generated considerable debate among readers. The link to this site can be found here:

Although it is unusual for any edition of Educational Review to include an Editorial (see Thomas 2016), this Special Issue warrants a brief commentary to introduce the articles it contains. Since 2015 the website for this journal has featured a “Hall of Fame” page which provides links to previously published articles that have proved very popular, are highly cited, or have generated considerable debate among readers. The link to this site can be found here:

This article reflects on the implications for practitioners, researchers and policy-makers of the future of the humanities in primary schools in the light of the challenges facing future generations. There is wide divergence in the four jurisdictions of the UK. The humanities are perceived as important, in principle, though curriculum frameworks differ. However, the status of the humanities is often uncertain, in practice, given the current emphasis on outcomes in literacy and numeracy. There is a lack of robust research on how, and by whom, the humanities are taught. The more theoretical articles suggest that the humanities, broadly conceived, are an essential aspect of young children's education - to enable a deeper understanding of human culture and identity, and to develop the qualities and values needed in a diverse world. Additionally, curricular breadth is required alongside a realisation that narrowly focusing on propositional knowledge is limiting. While this has implications for the whole curriculum, History, Geography and Religious Education have key roles in meeting these aims and in engaging and motivating young children. A stronger policy steer is called for, to ensure that schools give more priority to humanities education, with greater investment in professional development in Initial Teacher Education and beyond.