Geographical Knowledge Construction and Production

Abstract

Geographical Knowledge Construction and Production: Teacher and Student Perspectives is a readable and illuminating account of three high school classrooms in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. It challenges the narrow focus of the Advanced Placement (AP) programme as a tool for admission into colleges and universities in the United States. The research provides insight into the College Board's AP programme and argues for teaching and learning that is transformative and geared toward equipping students with the skills and knowledge necessary to confront the challenges of the 21st century. In particular, it advocates for geographic education that is anchored in the structure of the subject, teasing wherever possible, the contradictions and tensions embedded in the complexities of facts relating to people and places. This book is essential reading for professors and students of education, teachers and students of AP courses, parents, administrators, and state and federal agencies vested in the AP programme.

About the Author

Archie Deen took his Ph.D. in Geography Education at University College London, Institute of Education London. He holds the Master of Science in Geography from King's College, University of London, and the Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Sociology from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. He is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers (FRGS-IBG) and a member of the Association of American Geographers (AAG). In 1999 and 2000, he was the recipient of the Best Practice Research Scholarship in Britain, and in 2009, 2004 and 2002, he was nominated Teacher of the Year in his school and state. Archie brings over 20 years of teaching and research experience in Geography, and Environmental Geography at both secondary and college level in Britain, the United States, and Sierra Leone. He has presented at conferences including the Association of American Geographers and the Association of Independent Schools in the United States. His research interests are in geography education, political ecology, and human impact on the environment.

REVIEW

"The Advanced Placement programme has been growing rapidly in the USA, particularly its Human Geography course, so it is good to have this well-written and coherent analysis of its effectiveness. There is a fine account of the rationale of the thesis and good use is made of the literature both on geography education and on critical pedagogy. The methodology is strong and there is a convincing account as to how the analysis was undertaken. The recommendations are sensible and written with a refreshing directness, e.g. 'In the end, I lacked the patience to learn how to use the H2 hand recorder.'"
-Professor Michael J. Reiss- Department of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment, University College London, Institute of Education London