| StorageSite | UCL Institute of Education |
| AdminHistory | The Geography 16-19 Project was a National Curriculum development project for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Based at the University of London, Institute of Education the work was originally funded by the Schools Council and later by the Secondary Examinations Council and the School Curriculum Development Committee. Its aim was to involve teachers and lecturers in the content and development of Geography teaching for the 16-19 years age range, and to thereby encourage them to see the significance of their role in curriculum development.
The initial project (1976-1985) resulted in the completion of the following work::
(i) survey of the 16-19 geography curriculum in the late 1970s;
(ii) detailed analysis of the needs of 16-19-year-old students and of the contribution of geography towards fulfilling those needs; this led to a statement of broad aims for 16-19 courses;
(iii) production of a curriculum framework from which to construct a range of courses for 16-19-year-olds;
(iv) the preparation and implementation of courses for Advanced level of the General Certificate of Education (A level), the Certificate of Extended Education and the Business and Technician Education Council, all courses commonly offered in 16-19 institutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland;
(v) the establishment of an extensive network of schools and colleges in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for the purposes of development, evaluation and dissemination of all aspects of the Project's work;
(vi) the development and trial of teaching materials which incorporate the Project's approach and include suggested strategies for teaching;
(vii) the publication of 'in-house' papers on various aspects of the Project's work (Corney, 1981; Hart, 1981, 1982a, b, 1983; Rawling, 1981b);
(viii) the implementation of a national dissemination drive in 1983-84 leading to the take-up of Project courses and materials.
Between 1985 and 1987 work continued without funding and resulted in:
(i) the publication of teaching materials (e.g. Case, 1984; Hart, 1984; Morrish, 1984; Fien, 1985; Rawling, 1985);
(ii) the publication of a handbook, aiming to show the relevance of the work to 16-19 education in general (Naish et al., 1987);
(iii) the development of a course at AS (Advanced Supplementary) level and of two General Certificate of Education (GCSE) 'mature' courses, one with the Southern Examining Group and one with the London and East Anglian group.
The initial project funded a full-time team of researchers for the period 1976 to 1985. In 1987, after two years with no funding, the Project received financial support from BP for a three year period to roll out the proposed support system. At this point Gerry Hones became the part-time national co-ordinator, working alongside the former project Director Michael Naish. Twenty regional co-ordinators were also recruited. The major tasks over the three year period were dissemination, support, development and evaluation.
(from Geography 16–19: some implications for higher education by Michael Naish & Eleanor Rawling, published in Journal of Geography in Higher Education Vol. 14, No. 1, 1990)
From 1988 Project HIT (Humanities and Information Technology) started. A two year project funded by the Microelectronics Education Support Unit, it aimed to support teachers interested in using IT in teaching humanities, history and geography. |