Dame Elizabeth Rata: Episode 11: Geography 1877 - 1899

In the video below Episode 11 is about Geography's importance to the school syllabus and contains plenty of interesting examples to show exactly what 19th century school children were taught. There were accounts of the earth and its inhabitants with an emphasis on the local environment as well as New Zealand and global physical and climatic features.

The essential elements of effective teaching were all used in Geography. There was explicit teaching and use of informative textbooks and resources such as globes and maps. This factual knowledge was directly connected to stimulating pupil activities often involving adventurous outdoor field trips. I include an account by a Bannockburn teacher of an unanticipated and hair-raising chair, or early flying-fox ride, across a flooded river along with a field trip up Mt Difficulty in the Bannockburn area of the South Island…

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Professor Elizabeth Rata is a sociologist of education in the School of Critical Studies, Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland where she is Director of the Knowledge in Education Research Unit (KERU).