One of the demands imposed on geography instruction is to inform about the world, but there is some disagreement on how this is to be achieved. Criticism is most frequently directed at the regional geography approach of subdividing the world into culture regions. This paper addresses the question of whether global subdivision by culture regions…

Outlines the need for a world systems approach to locating one's experiences in the environment. Uses experiences of three poets and of the author to illustrate questions and issues geography teachers should reflect on when teaching Australian geography in a world context. Concludes with 10 questions that encourages teachers to reflect on these…

A traditional world regional geography course inescapably entails a flow of information that many community college students find overwhelming. This paper delineates five strategies developed over 30 years of teaching to help students cope with this fundamental problem: (1) using study guides or a manual to help students understand assigned…

Current U.S. policies toward Central American nations motivated this examination of the presentation of the region in 12 social studies textbooks. In order to determine if each text's treatment of Central America was representative of the entire book, three regions, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean were selected for comparison purposes. The…

This paper is part of a larger study entitled "A Comparative Geography of Three Ecologically Similar Regions," which compares the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland with the Murray River region of South Australia and the Rio de la Plata region of Uruguay. Readings with accompanying questions are intended for classroom use. Teachers are…

This speech bemoans the deplorable state of geography education in the United States. American students' geographical knowledge is far inferior to that of European, Russian, Japanese, Canadian, or Australian students. This nation's young people literally do not know where they are, what other cultures are like, or how things fit together. A recent…

This study sought to determine whether mnemonics or lecture was a more effective teaching technique in the instruction of world geography facts within a pull-out gifted education program for eight elementary-level minority students from a Hispanic dominant school within a rural, Hispanic dominant district. Graphic results supported the hypothesis…

Many students in the United States do not possess a sound geographic vocabulary. This study compared two instructional methods, drill and varied activities, that might be used to develop that vocabulary. Eighth-grade social studies classes at three sites (one urban, one rural, and one transitional) were used to assess learning of the 50 United…

Today's students in the Western world show a widespread lack of basic world knowledge. Geography graduates in a Canadian and an Australian university were asked to locate 75 major cities in the world. The results indicated a wide knowledge of cities in the Western world but little knowledge of cities in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Only…

The purposes of this paper are to clarify the concept of international education, expand the understanding of the role of social studies in children's and young people's international education, and enhance awareness of desirable curriculum. Three questions are discussed: how should international education be defined, what contributions should and…

The importance of restructuring the discipline of geography and enhancing its role in the precollege curriculum as part of a global approach to education is emphasized in this paper. International education is seen as an essential part of high school and college education in an increasingly interdependent world. The oil crisis, the world economic…