Unpacking ‘paradise’: geography education narratives from Seychelles

- Indra Persaud, Institute of Education

PARADISE?

Photo: Indra Persaud

PARADISE?Image courtesy of R. Bustin, with permission

REALITYPhoto: Indra Persaud

As a starting point I use the model representing three competing forces that influence geography curriculum-making

The model was produced as part of the Action Plan for Geography (www.geography.org.uk/cpdevents/curriculummaking)

and found in Teaching Geography 11-18, A Conceptual Approach by David Lambert and John Morgan (2010, p50)

I re-construct the model to illustrate examples of unbalanced curriculum-making

The model is then adapted to represent the Seychelles context

The model is closely related to Schwab’s (1973) four commonplaces for curriculum making; subject matter, learners, teachers and milieu and

Hart’s (2009) trinity of educational practice

Taking students

beyond what they know

Underpinned by Key

Concepts

Thinking geographically

Learning Activities

Milieu (Schwab, 1973): the classroom, school and wider social

context

Disenfranchised from geographical

knowledge

Pedagogic Maverick

Certain key concepts ignored, subject at

risk of being emptied out

Annotation based on ideas from Lambert & Morgan (2010)

The subject is the only source of geographical knowledge and the teacher is the only source

of creative energy

Passive recipient, empty vessel Annotation based

on Lambert & Morgan (2010)

British based disciplinary knowledge

Cambridge exams

Seychellois teachers and students marginalised?

Seychelles Context

Can Seychellois geography teachers become confident, collaborative curriculum makers

rather than curriculum takers?

Through curriculum conversations, the research will explore Seychellois geography

teachers narratives

Photo: Indra Persaud

ReferencesAction Plan for Geography. www.geography.org.uk/cpdevents/curriculummaking

Hart, T (2009) From Information to Transformation, Education for the Evolution of Consciousness. Revised Edition, Peter Lang

Lambert, D and Morgan, J (2010) Teaching Geography 11-18, A Conceptual Approach.

Schwab, J. J. (1973) The Practical 3: Translation into Curriculum, The School Review, 81:4 pp501-522, The University of Chicago Press