Challenging the teaching of geographies of exclusion – the potential of geocapabilities for a transcultural approach in Australian and English schools

Abstract

This expository paper critically examines the value of school geography in social debates that have a direct significance for the lives of young people. Migration is chosen as a focus, both because it is a defining feature of everyday life and the world we live in, and an area of research and debate in the discipline of geography. We draw on two national contexts, those of Australia and England, and illustrative examples from the authors' research, to discuss how social change through migration is explored, expressed and represented in geography education by the national curriculum of each country. This occurs through two particular lenses, geocapabilities and transculturalism, which are presented as potential transformative strategies for ensuring that geographical teaching of such issues remains pertinent to the lives and futures of the young people in the classroom. In doing so, the paper seeks to critically consider the omnipresent socio-political agendas and landscapes of compulsory schooling in each nation that influence the construction of geography education, using the context of migration as a defining social dimension of contemporary global society. The paper concludes by arguing that geography teachers and educators should actively consider the use of a geocapabilities and/or transcultural lens when exploring complex social geographies such as migration. In doing so, it is contended that these dual concepts can support and empower young people in their academic and social navigation of the complexities of current society.

Youth in the City: Fostering Transcultural Leadership for Social Change

“…When reflecting on how transcultural leadership for social change may develop effectively within specific local contexts, a few key considerations may help to frame the issue. The spaces and places within which we live, work, meet, and perform our identities and ideologies contribute significantly to our sense of social responsibility, civic engagement, social inclusion and psychological well-being or, conversely, our sense of isolation and exclusion (Casinader et al, 2020). Thus, a process that encourages transcultural leadership must facilitate a creative engagement with complex social geographies -that is, a transcultural understanding of space and place and of how we can explore, experience, understand and transform specific localities.…”