School Geography’s Critical Role for a More Sustainable Future: Powerful Knowledge and Praxis

Sally Windsor () and Jeana Kriewaldt
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Sally Windsor: The Department of Pedagogical, Curricular and Professional Studies, The University of Gothenburg, 411 20 Gothenburg, Sweden
Jeana Kriewaldt: Faculty of Education, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3010, Australia

Social Sciences, 2023, vol. 12, issue 11, 1-10

Abstract: In this theoretical article we draw on the concepts of powerful knowledge and powerful pedagogies to argue that the school geography curriculum is key to developing structured teaching programmes for students to extend their knowledge and actions for a sustainable future. We argue that geography education uniquely opens up opportunities for action with its focus on place-based, sensory and multimedia experiences, that centre on students’ schools and their communities. This article posits that, although important, merely identifying geographical powerful knowledge is not enough, teachers must also incorporate geographical “powerful pedagogies”. Geography, as a discipline, holds a critical role when it comes to sustainability and education for the future as it makes the links between people and the environment clearly visible. Yet for Geography to be a discipline that empowers students to navigate their current and future life-worlds, it must encompass action through fieldwork and incorporate dialogue between students, teachers, experts and the public that focus on perspectives and possibilities for praxis—action for the good of humankind. This article situates geography education in the powerful knowledge debate by offering a new synthesis of theories connecting curriculum, practice architectures and praxis/action for the future.

Keywords: geography; praxis; powerful knowledge; powerful pedagogical practices; theory of practice architectures (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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