SMSC in Geography

Spiritual development in Geography

The fact that Geography is the study of real people in real places means that it constantly links and develops students spiritually. For example, when looking at natural disasters such as Earthquakes, volcanoes or Tsunamis, a fascination of the world around them is developed, whilst the study of population, Brazil and Kenya to name a few gives students an appreciation of the world around them. The study of population and globalisation also allows students to reflect on their own beliefs and others, and the impacts a global world has on these. Throughout, topics like this enable students to reflect and share their own experiences and the diverse nature of our classes really enhances discussion and debate in this area. Imagination and creativity is a theme in teaching, where students are stretched in activities ranging from the design of their own villages and consideration of needs and wants in this, to environmental surveys of the school.

Moral development in Geography

Geography is a subject that lends itself to investigations, debates and a consideration of different viewpoints and most geographical topics have a moral element to them. For example when considering physical topics such as rivers, flooding and coasts consideration is given to how much these issues that arise are man-made and is because of exploitation. Similarly in the tourism, fashion and development topics, debate centres on the role of humans and how ethical our actions are. For example the allocation of aid, exploitative tourism and other moral issues that occur in LEDC’s and MEDC’s are topic areas for debate. Geography allows students to see and explore consequences of mismanagement, and also to look at the situations from different points of view. Debates allocate students different roles in decision making processes which help develop empathy and appreciate the opinions of others.

Social development in Geography

Social development is a focus in Geography and looks to enhance and develop students throughout KS3. One of the introductory topics in Year 7 on settlement see’s classes collaborating as a group and this collaborative learning continues throughout. Similarly peer assessment and feedback further enhance students social skills. Questions and debates encourage the scenario of ‘what would you do’ in the situation relating to various topics in Geography, encouraging students to co-operate and resolve conflict. The Humanities Club will also look to foster social development where students will work with peers from different year groups, as well as outside agencies. For example, already recycling is being introduced to the school, and there are plans to link and work with the Rainbow Refugee centre.

Cultural development in Geography

Throughout Key Stage 3 Geography looks at various cultures and their influences across the world as well as more local studies and their cultural awareness is developed as a result. For example there are units on ‘Exploration of the UK’, ‘Exploring the World’ , ‘Sport and Fashion’ as well as a school enquiries that all help develop students culturally. Work within the subject allows them to express their opinions and communicate their knowledge in varied ways, including artistic forms such as the creation of their own volcanoes, empathy work linked to natural disasters and also contact with people, schools and students from different countries or who have visited there to further develop this cultural awareness. Within Human Geography in particular the topics lend themselves to exploration of their own identities and others.