How Do Geography Curricula Deal with Geographical Skills? A Comparison of Different Countries?

Symposion Kozen Demostrability at the Geography Teaching In The Past, Present And Future, Ljubljana, Slovenya, 9 - 11 Ekim 2021, ss.63-68

The aim of this study is to compare the situation of geographical skills in three

countries: Turkey, Australia and England. One of the main aims of curriculums is to educate

students with geographical skills. These geographical skills can be differing from country to

country. In this paper we compared Turkey, Australia and England’s curriculum about what

kind of geographical skills are aimed to developed for students. According to conclusion,

Turkish geography curricula has eight main geographical skills to develop for students in

certain way: Map Skill, Observation Skill, Field Study Skill, Geographic Inquiry Skill, The

Skill of Prepare and Explain Tables, Graphics and Diagrams, Chronology Skill, The Skill of

Using Proof, The Skill of Perception of Variation and Continuity. On the other hand, even

England and Australia’s geography curriculums emphasis the geographical skills, they don’t

have a certain section about it and determined geographical skills. In geographical education

it is important to have well developed skills in order to find a job or in careers like in

environmental management, environmental policy, natural hazard management, urban

planning, regional development, geographical information systems, applied economic and

social research, market research, teaching, tourism and travel, and other fields. Some of these

careers require further study for a professional qualification, as in the case of urban planning

and teaching. Thus, it is suggested to determine certain geographical skills and organized the

content of geographical education in high schools.

Keywords: Geography Curriculum, Geographical Skills, Turkey, Australia, England