Changing Horizons in Geography Education - HERODOT Network ...

where it is divided into specific branches, such as geomorphology, waters, climate,soils, biogeography, population, settlements, economy etc.According to the national curriculum regional geography is taught in the 6 th , 7 thand 8 th class of primary schools and in the 2 nd , 3 rd and 4 th grade of grammar school.On the primary level regional geography deals with the world, Europe and Sloveniavery systematically. The whole system of general geography reflects in the approachto all continents, Europe and Slovenia. In grammar schools regional geography of theworld, Europe and Slovenia becomes more thematically oriented (problem-solvingapproach, case studies, practical examples etc). To a certain extent regional geographyis also part of the geographical syllabi for vocational and technical schools.The basic frame of regional geography in schools is to know the Earth, its continentsand their smaller units – regions. This concept of regional geography wasestablished by Hettner in the 1930’s. Although the description of individual parts ofthe Earth was suitable for those times it does not meet the needs of today.Our understanding of the landscape with all the elements, mutual relations andprocesses is getting more and more complicated, so a description of the characteristicsmeans a pure accumulation of more or less important facts. The results are thatthe textbooks have become increasingly encyclopaedic in nature and they promoteex-cathedra teaching otherwise teachers, according to their opinion, cannot meet therequirements of the syllabus. Consequently the knowledge of pupils and students isless and less appropriate for our time. (Popit, 2001)Syllabus changes always raise difficult questions and comments relating tounnecessary content. How and what should be reduced is a growing dilemma notonly in primary and secondary education but also in the university courses. This isthe situation that Slovenian school geography faces and will have to deal with andfind a solution.Conceptual change should not lead to the complete absence of systematic approachto studying countries. A survey of some German, English and French textbooksshows that exemplar and thematic approaches to the problems of larger, more extensiveand global meaning are often put forward (Popit, 2001). Consequently, a certaincountry or countries can be completely ignored in a syllabus or in a textbook. Theresult is a reduction in the comprehensive nature of the curriculum but an increase indepth of analysis. Because of the use of a limited number of themes that deal with aspecific part of the world, teachers have to choose those which provide an extensivemeaning according to the milieu from which the textbook or syllabus originates. Sothe attention might be given to the problems or examples of minor significance whilethe most important processes and phenomena remain unmentioned. Therefore, todevelop important concepts of geography in education needs considerable cooperationbetween subject experts, researchers and authors from different countries. Onlythen will the result be a flexible and adaptable system that successfully introduceschanges into syllabus, and provides an appropriate education of future geographyteachers (Popit, 2001).In current Slovenian textbooks a systematic division of Europe and the worldis a basis for the structure of chapters while a chosen area is discussed systemati-190