Trends in High School Geography and the Prospects for Geography Education

Abstract

Geography, currently taught as part of the geography and history course, is expected to become a separate compulsory subject in high school. Many people who support geography have a strong desire that geography will become a compulsory subject in high school. The possibility of this appears to be high these days. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process involved in creating a compulsory subject, the discussions that must be held in government and the additional aspects of the reality of geography as a compulsory subject in high school. Integration of learning about geography from elementary school through high school is extremely important for formation of the personality, international understanding, life education and preparation for a career. The requirements for geography have been discussed in government, within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. For geography to become a compulsory subject, its curriculum needs to be arranged and formulated. In this way a geography curriculum that is integrated from elementary school to high school would be constructed. It is believed that the possibility of geography becoming a compulsory subject in high school has become high in recent years. Under these circumstances, many people who are involved in the field of geography will have to cooperate in order to achieve realization of its status as a compulsory subject. In addition, after geography becomes a compulsory subject, a stronger cooperation system will be needed among geography organizations.