In 2019 the Budj Bim cultural landscape in south western Victoria was listed on the World Heritage Register. It is significant firstly for the Gunditjmara people as a culmination of regaining control over their traditional lands and international recognition of their unbroken connection with the land extending back tens of thousands of years. It…

Statistics need data and data need context. Contexts from across the curriculum can be the most powerful in creating interest, reward, and enthusiasm for both teachers and students. The activity described here is based in STEM, employing aspects of each field to create and solve a hypothetical problem of escaping from an erupting volcano (Science)…

In the Australian state of Victoria, the city of Melbourne endured the world's longest number of lockdown days, with severe government health orders and travel restrictions in place for extended periods of 2020 and 2021. In common with others, we found the provision of field teaching in introductory geology, structural geology, and volcanology,…

"Sustainability" is one of the seven major concepts in the geography curriculum. It is also one of the three cross-curriculum priorities in the Australian curriculum, together with Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. This paper describes how the concept is explained…

Researchers in science education have for some time recognised the need for teachers to develop an awareness of students' common alternative conceptions--a key element of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK)--and use this knowledge to develop student understanding (Morrison & Lederman, 2003). Less attention, however, has been devoted to the…

Australia is in the process of implementing a national geography curriculum to replace the separate state and territory curriculums. The paper describes the process of curriculum development, and identifies the different groups that were involved. These included the board and staff of the national curriculum authority, geography teachers across…

This article critically reflects on our effort to "teach across the divide", by integrating physical and human geography in a new first-year course. We achieved this integration by structuring our course around a series of key events, in order to draw out the interaction of "natural" and "social" forces. After setting…

In 2007, a study titled "Living in the landscapes of the 21st century" was conducted in 11 high schools in metropolitan and rural Victoria. The research team investigated Year 10 students' conceptions of landscapes in order to explore their understandings of natural resource management (NRM), including agriculture, food, land and water…

Aboriginal children learn a two-way pedagogy and most Aboriginal learners have to engage in bicultural and bilingual education to succeed in the dominant educational setting. Aboriginal Australians pride themselves on being Aboriginal, however Aboriginal epistemology and ontology are never considered as true methodologies within a dominant…

Offers a rationale for teaching physical geography and examines emerging themes, developments, and dilemmas within the field. Concludes with a discussion of future trends. (JDH)

Australia is the world's driest continent. One-third of the country's area is unsuitable for any land use, while another third is suitable only for cattle and sheep grazing. Australia's physical geography, weather conditions, wildflowers, and wildlife are discussed. (RM)

Discusses the development and use of a workbook for teaching spatial data analysis at Canberra College of Advanced Education in Australia. The article addresses itself to the pedagogic questions of what statistical methods to teach, how these methods should be taught, and why data analysis should be taught. (AM)

This article describes the development and content of the National Conservation Strategy for Australia (NCSA). The Australian Department of Arts, Heritage, and Environment has produced a teacher's guide designed to help teachers bring the content of the NCSA to their classroom. A description of the guide and ordering information are provided. (JDH)

Defines environmental education and articulates its aims and characteristics. Describes how environmental education is implemented in Australian schools. Concludes with a list of eight requirements for "environmental citizenship." (JDH)

Describes the concept of environmental citizenship and shows how to apply it to the "African crisis" and Australia. Claims geography can link a concern for a better world to the realities of world economic and political order thereby revealing the inadequacies of the accounts of crises offered by governments and the media. (JDH)