Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Making Sense of the New H2 Geography Syllabus

Geography is a timeless concept. It is about time, space and people.

With technological advancements and a better understanding of the world we live in, geography is evolving to be more of the same as it always had been: the study of space in relationship to our natural and human environment, sense of place, physical and human processes, scales in data, spatial physical and human phenomena over time, and the systems of different elements of the world. These are roughly the same concepts geographers deal with for the longest time.

Technology wise, there is never a better time to engage with Geography. The popular game Pokemon Go, with its extensive use of the social aspect of Geographic Positioning System (GPS), is just one part of Geography; as does Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and its use in land use planning, natural disaster mapping and climate forecasting.

While there are many changes to the examination format which deals with the integration of both human and physical aspects of geography, it brings the subject, at least to 'A' Levels, even closer to the original being of geography: the study of the human and physical relationships of space, over time and scale. Though it is even harder to 'spot' topics and every student has to study every part of the syllabus more than ever before, though we move on from regions to themes and now, geographical systems; it is even more relevant and focused to the student's surroundings, and even more impactful on the lives of students. 

My only concern is that it will not be lead relevance to the breadth of the subject any student would reasonably be exposed to universities in the best Geography university courses in the world, particularly as it is short on the Cultural and Identity aspects of Geography, while skipping on Demography and perhaps Economic Development altogether. However, when we manage expectations in our students and we tell our students that there is more to what is in the syllabus, I believe students will make the transition to the next stage - University, work and beyond.

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