跨世紀的美國地理教育新貌
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Date
2001-11-??
Authors
黃朝恩
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
地理學系
Department of Geography, NTNU
Department of Geography, NTNU
Abstract
『目標2002年：美國教育法案』中明訂地理科為未來美國中、小學核心學科之一，足見美國人民為了繼續保持國家的競爭力，重新對地理教育加以重視。為此，美國地理學界合力於1992年制訂了「國家地理課程標準」，並頒布於「生活化地理」一書之中。這些標準貫穿在K至12年級各階段，可作逼21世紀該國推展地理教育之依據。由此可知，美國在此世紀交會之際，再度發現地理教育的重要性，從而開創出二十一世紀初地理教育的嶄新風貌。 上述變貌同樣展現在高等教育階段，無論大學部和研究所皆然。過去十年來，地理課程在美國中小學階段大幅成長的同時，美國大學裡也出現地理學術的蓬勃，選修地理相關科目的大人數節節高升。修讀地理的畢業生大量投入規劃部門服務，從事城鄉、都市、觀光、區域、環境或國土的規劃工作，尤其擅長的是利用電腦製圖和GIS技術進行分析處理。 這種重新定位強烈表現在大學地理課程的再出發。目前，不少指標的確都顯示出此一急劇成長。「目標2000」法案通過後，美國大學開始對地理學有了新的調整，不少州的大學皆在錄取大學生入學時，將中學地理成績列入可評量科目之一。 此外，美國教育部的大學課程小組也在上述演變的推動下，規劃將「人文地理概論」納入「高級修習學程」。新的動力也展現在各大學的研究所教育方面，不少著名大學紛紛設立地理學博士課程，新的地理系也在許多中小型學校中有如雨後春筍般成立。 總之，本文旨在引介美國近十年來地理教育的變革，可見無論在小、中、大學階段甚至研究所裡都表現出欣欣向榮的景象。這種演變反映了下列三個事實：(1)人們對環境科學和社會科學中空間觀點的重新肯定；(2)擴充中的就業機會，不少行業皆要求雇員有良好的地理素養；(3)全球化課題和環境議題的聚焦和積極省思。
The inclusion of Geography as a core subject in "Goals 2000: The Educate America Act" is the culmination of a decade of reform in American education. There is now a widespread acceptance among Americans that being literate in Geography is essential if students are to leave school equipped to earn a decent living, enjoy the richness of life, and participate responsibly in local, national as well as global affairs. In response to this demand, a national consensus has been built and "Geography for Life: National Geography Standards" is thus drafted. These standards identify what students should learn. Schools may use them as guidelines for developing their own curricula. They fit into each grade specifying the essential subject matters, skills and perspectives that students should pursue in order to attain high level of competency. All these show that, the reform in American Geography education at elementary level is remarkable and the impact will be definitely significant. As for higher education, geography recently acquires a rapid expanding place too. A number of indicators show its growing status in education. For instance, more and more universities require geography grade points either before admission or before graduation; both the numbers of undergraduate majors and the enrollment in graduate programs increase dramatically nationwide; new Geography departments are established one after another; introductory Geography course is developed as an AP course. A rising profile of the discipline is clear enough. What capture peoples' interests is that Geography may provide insights and understandings that are critical both to intelligent participation in a democratic society and to the advancement of knowledge. These are in turn useful to their future career. From the viewpoints of American geographers, a society cannot prosper for long without a fundamental knowledge of space, place and landscape that frame its existence and shape its relationships to other societies
The inclusion of Geography as a core subject in "Goals 2000: The Educate America Act" is the culmination of a decade of reform in American education. There is now a widespread acceptance among Americans that being literate in Geography is essential if students are to leave school equipped to earn a decent living, enjoy the richness of life, and participate responsibly in local, national as well as global affairs. In response to this demand, a national consensus has been built and "Geography for Life: National Geography Standards" is thus drafted. These standards identify what students should learn. Schools may use them as guidelines for developing their own curricula. They fit into each grade specifying the essential subject matters, skills and perspectives that students should pursue in order to attain high level of competency. All these show that, the reform in American Geography education at elementary level is remarkable and the impact will be definitely significant. As for higher education, geography recently acquires a rapid expanding place too. A number of indicators show its growing status in education. For instance, more and more universities require geography grade points either before admission or before graduation; both the numbers of undergraduate majors and the enrollment in graduate programs increase dramatically nationwide; new Geography departments are established one after another; introductory Geography course is developed as an AP course. A rising profile of the discipline is clear enough. What capture peoples' interests is that Geography may provide insights and understandings that are critical both to intelligent participation in a democratic society and to the advancement of knowledge. These are in turn useful to their future career. From the viewpoints of American geographers, a society cannot prosper for long without a fundamental knowledge of space, place and landscape that frame its existence and shape its relationships to other societies