Geography teacher educators' perspectives on the place of children's geographies in the classroom

While many have extolled the benefits ofincorporating children’s geographies in schoolgeography (Biddulph, 2012; Yarwood and Tyrell,2012; Roberts, 2017), its place in the classroom isuncertain (Catling, 2011; Hammond, 2020). To gaina more nuanced understanding of how, and why,children’s geographies are drawn upon and engagedwith in school geography, this article examines thephilosophies and experiences of geography teachereducators. In doing so, it draws on researchconducted by the authors during the 2019 Geography Teacher Educator conference held inBristol, England. Participants engaged in a reflectivediscussion about children’s geographies, which wasframed by Castree et al.’s (2007) notion of ‘borders’existing between academic and school geography. Ittranspires that while many geography teachereducators perceive that children’s geographies isfundamental to teaching geography, they identifygaps in their knowledge of the sub-discipline thatcompromise their ability to utilise it. Furthermore,geography teacher educators opined that the widercontext of accountability and performativity that pervades schooling in England today renders itchallenging both to explore children’s geographies inthe classroom and to develop their knowledge of thefield.