Decolonising geography education: spaces, processes, politics and people

Book section : Chapter

In this chapter, we reflect on the ‘decolonial turn’ (Puttick, 2023) in geography education. Through critical engagement with literature and debate about the nature of geography education across phases and spaces, we consider how, why and to whom this turn is significant. Following this, we use a content analysis of the Journal of Geography in Higher Education (JGHE) to examine how the discourses associated with decol* and postcol* have been mobilised in scholarship. We consider how these discourses have been used in the framing, context, and signposting of papers; in discussions about knowledge production and publications; and in reflections on pedagogy. We conclude by reflecting on the often deeply place-based discourses of postcolonialism and decolonisation in geography education, as scholars grapple not only with the complexities of educating students in their classrooms and lecture theatres, but also with the geographies and histories of the places that they teach in and about.

Authors: Puttick, S; Hammond, L; Sammar, I

• Publication status: Accepted
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
• Host title: Handbook on Geographies of Education
• Edition: 1
• Language: English
• Keywords: decolonising; geography education; postcolonial; geographies of education; space
• Subtype: Chapter