Using current events to help preservice teachers understand the world they live in encourages preservice teachers to learn about global issues. It also encourages them to develop skills in analytical thinking and reflective judgment by reading and discussing complex real-life scenarios. A semester-long pen-pal project was crafted to help…

Textbooks are an important tool for teaching and learning in high school geography classrooms. But what sort of picture do they provide of places that are different and distant from the countries in which they are published? This study explores this question through a concise analysis of a widely used American world geography textbook, with a…

Geography is not what it used to be. Nowadays, that subject is often buried--and therefore inadequately covered--in a social studies curriculum itself under siege because of the extended commitment in schools to reading and math. But geographical knowledge also is not what it used to be. It has become essential to understanding a brave new world…

A new survey has found that most young adults in the United States have difficulty identifying Iraq on an unlabeled map of the Middle East, or are unaware that the population of China is more than four times that of the United States. This lack of geographic literacy goes beyond simple gaps in knowledge and skills for most of these people do not…

Examines the representation of South Africa in geography and history textbooks currently being used in American schools. Asserts that these books are flawed with misleading, inaccurate, and racist texts and illustration. Offers recommendations for revising the view American students are given of South Africa. (KH)

Textbooks play a central role in the US education system. High school level World Geography textbooks are an important tool in the campaign to reform geography education in the United States, particularly through the introduction of the National Geography Standards. The status of the Standards in US schools is appraised. Five factors (authority,…