Sign in
6 November 2024
Read time: 4mins
‘The Charney Manor conferences have had a significant impact on classroom teachers, head teachers, ITE tutors and policy makers over many years.’
Stephen Scoffham
23-25 February 2024
This year marked the 26th anniversary of the Charney Manor Primary Geography Research Conference held in February/March since 1995.
Over 200 educators have attended these conferences, coming from across the UK, mainland Europe, North America and Asia. The contribution from delegates from the Republic of Ireland has been a regular and very welcome feature over many years.
Educational context
Although the conference focussed on primary geography it was informed by the wider educational context and an appreciation of current pressures and constraints. The emphasis on factual knowledge which is particularly evident in the curriculum in England at the moment was one of these.
The compliance regime and pressures placed on university ITE providers was also highlighted. One of the opening papers raised some penetrating questions about the voluntary and prescribed constraints on the primary geography curriculum, pointing to a range of topics which are ripe for investigation but currently excluded from the English curriculum.
Are there some aspects of geography which are effectively banned? Simon Catling raised this important question in a challenging and probing paper which formed the backdrop to many informal discussions throughout the weekend.
Themes
A number of themes stand out from this year’s activities, papers and discussions:
- The need to acknowledge different ways of knowing and the importance of going beyond simple facts.
- The opportunities for developing geography in community settings such as neighbourhood gardens.
- A recognition that the natural world has agency and that we live in more than a human world.
- An insistence that fieldwork is more than just a backdrop and that ‘being in place’ is a central component of a geographical mindset.
- The role of metaphors and analogies in communicating ideas.
- The importance of a social justice perspective.
- A deep awareness of how global climate change and climate breakdown is impacting on all aspects of geography education.
- The importance of confidence and leadership in helping geography educators go against the flow and stand up for their principles.
Questions
The papers and discussions touched on many issues including the following questions:
- Can we find ways of turning educational barriers and obstacles into challenges and opportunities?
- Does the traditional distinction between physical and human geography undermine a holistic approach to geography?
- What is the potential for cross disciplinary collaboration?
- How can we see that geography education exists in the context of a profound love for the world?
- Does the notion of the citizen geographer offer a way to integrate classroom learning with current realities?
- Should we be more willing to tackle controversial and political issues?
- To what extent is current practice under theorised?
- Is it time to reimagine primary geography and to consider a new curriculum model based on place, citizenship, social justice and moral purpose?
Impact
The Charney Manor conferences have had a significant impact on classroom teachers, head teachers, ITE tutors and policy makers over many years. They have promoted debate about primary geography through publications, journal articles and research papers to the wider educational community.
Conference delegates have contributed either directly or indirectly to the success of the journal Primary Geography, the Geographical Association Annual Conference and online events such as Geog Live! How the conference will evolve in the years ahead is an open question.
That the conference has been highly significant, both personally and professionally, to those who have attended it is widely attested. It is also, to the best of our knowledge, the only conference in the world that focusses exclusively on primary geography research.
Final thoughts
In summarising this year’s conference, it is instructive to reflect on the ethos of the Charney Conferences. The focus on environment, spirituality and social justice has always shone brightly in our discussions. As we have grappled with impending environmental catastrophe, we have found many sources of hope ranging from indigenous wisdom to the power of networking and community.
We have celebrated nature in many different ways and our research has honoured the integrity and creativity which young children bring to their lives. While our interests have been wide-ranging, they have always been anchored by a primary geography perspective.
Perhaps above all else it is our mutual desire to enhance our own understanding and to share it with others that has made the conferences so special, but it is the empathy we have for each other that has sustained them.
Written by Stephen Scoffham, Visiting Reader in Sustainability and Education, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK
© Stephen Scoffham and the Geographical Association, 2024
