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Learning First Curriculum Handbook

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This is not geography specific, but there are plenty of references to some geography related research in it. ( Young and Lambert get a mention, Margaret Roberts on Enquiry, and even the GeoCapabilities project which I was part of the project team for ). Executive Summary The curriculum formalises what knowledge and skills are to be taught and learned in a nation or education system. It lies at the heart of the provision of high-quality education for all students. A knowledge-rich curriculum explicitly outlines and puts a priority on the subject knowledge and related skills that students should be taught at each stage of schooling. It is written to induct students into the shared references, concepts, and forms of knowledge that enable meaningful participation in cultural, intellectual, and civic life. The curriculum must identify the content that provides students with the knowledge required for future study and employment, that enables them to participate in society as informed and c...
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More delays

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Due before summer... then due in September... and now... Source: TES
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Out in January 2027

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The cover for a new book coming out on the 21st of January 2027 which I have co-written with Alex Standish and the 2023 cohort of Fawcett Fellows, and co-edited with Alex is here. It is available to pre-order here. It will be published by Bloomsbury - the first time I've published with them. This book invites geography subject leaders to reveal the intricacies of how they construct, implement and evaluate their secondary curricula.  Through these reflections, they outline their vision of the geography students they want to nurture, core concepts, how units of study are sequenced for progression, how skills and fieldwork are integrated, opportunities to explore geographical issues and values, and links to academic geography. Each chapter explains how these teachers decide which places, case studies and issues to study, how they attempt to avoid stereotypes and single story narratives, and how they develop pupils’ ability to examine issues from different perspectives.  They als...
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'What are we teaching?' - Richard Bustin

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The first of a series of books that would be useful to those preparing for the new curriculum. The latest book by geography teacher Richard Bustin was published by Crown House Publishing in October 2024. It is an extension of the work carried out by Richard for his PhD, and a previous book published by Springer Nature. Richard's PhD was based on his involvement in the work of the GeoCapabilities project.   I am proud to have been part of phase 2 of this project, which has had three phases to date. My involvement came when the project developed the ideas of curriculum making and connected it with the idea of vignette and the use of artefacts. All of these are referenced in the book. GeoCapabilities began in 2012 with a pilot project led by the American Association of Geographers . This work is summarised in the online journal RIGEO. The first phase was funded by the AAG. Read the article by Lambert, Solem and Tani here. At the GA Conference in 2012, I co-presented a session on th...
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Welcome to the blog!

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Hello and welcome to my latest new blog: to support you through the implementation of the new curriculum change in your geography teaching and to share curriculum ideas from other influential geographers and educationalists. I'm Alan Parkinson , creator of the LivingGeography blog which has received around 11 million page views over the 18 years that I've been writing it, alongside plenty of others.  See my profile in the right hand column for details on the other blogs that I write and maintain. One of my roles, alongside my teaching of KS3 geography at King's Ely school, is as Vice President of the Royal Geographical Society - it's a great privilege to have this role. I serve on the RGS's Council: its governing body, and the Society responded to all the stages of the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) and will continue to support teachers through the next stages of the curriculum review. Check the RGS Schools page for all the resources and other support  th...
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