The Integrated Nature of Geography Education in German and Australian Primary Schools

This chapter explores the teaching of primary school geography by contrasting the multi-perspective Sachunterricht subject from Germany and the single discipline subject of Geography in the Australian Curriculum: HASS. Both Germany and Australia adopt the notion of integrated geographical education. Learning and teaching prepare the children for their actual and future lives in an increasingly globalised world dominated by complex connections and tasks. Children need to gain fundamental insights into complex contemporary topics such as mobility, sustainability and climate change. The teacher must select examples familiar to the child to enable the child to understand the complexity and the mutual interdependence of environment, society and economy. Appropriate connections with the relevant subject disciplines are therefore necessary. At the same time, good teaching and learning must allow children the most significant possible link to their general and individual living experiences.