REFERENCE POINTS IN CURRICULUM DESIGN: GEOGRAPHY AS A SCHOOL SUBJECT

Abstract

This study is theoretical and exploratory. It aims to describe a reference system which should determine or influence the decisions for the new curriculum design. The example of geography as a subject matter (or, in a wider perspective, of a field of study called “Geography – Environmental Studies”) reveals specific elements resulting from the characteristics of the interior structure. The reference system may be altered, reduced, amplified, categorized or adjusted with respect to other subjects or fields of study, that are at least similar. The example of the “vertical” curriculum of Geography (grades V – XII) relies upon a system of outcomes (competencies) in progression (according to levels and ages) and it depends on the time horizon of the design. Consequently, different options might come out within the process. Nevertheless, the curriculum depends a lot on the paradigm of its design: with a scientific dominance (with a likely minimal individual human insertion) or with a subjective touch, as a result of some individual or group opinions which are more or less justified.

Keywords

• competences
• curriculum
• environmental studies
• fields of study
• geography