Troubled transition? The relationship between curriculum for excellence geography and Scottish undergraduate geography

Since the late 1990s, there has been a concern about a growing disconnect between Geography in academia and the Geography taught in the school curriculum. The claim is that School Geography has remained, to some degree, stuck with outdated notions of the discipline, resulting in detrimental effects on those making the transition from School Geography to University Geography. This paper investigates whether these issues are present in Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Geography. Drawing upon curriculum materials a survey of Geography school teachers, university staff and a handful of follow-up interviews, CfE was evaluated with respect to policy and implementation, course content, pedagogy, and the relationship between Scottish Geography’s secondary and tertiary educational sectors. Findings pertained to concerns around non-specialist teaching, and about how transition is impacted by socio-economic inequality between state and independent schools. Significant criticisms were voiced over outdated topics, resulting in declining pupil interest, while issues were identified regarding certain pedagogies and problematic stereotyping of places. A distinct deficit of communication between educational sectors became clear, and it is concluded that there are significant problems with CfE Geography symptomatic of a wider disconnect with University Geography, presenting a serious barrier to transition into Higher Education Geography.