The mind and character of an individual can be fostered by the subjects which have proved themselves to be of value in improving the education of man, not only from scientific, but also from moral and aesthetic stand points. The question is whether or not geography as a subject fulfils this requirement. For this it must have a distinctiveness of aim and a limitation of content. Civilization today is passing through great crises. Wars, rumours of wars, cold wars, economic crises, exhaustion of natural resources etc. are reported daily in the newspapers. Education of a certain type is needed - an education which will develop in man a deep concern for the freedom and good life of his fellows, and some understarding of the major problems of the world and possible solutions. Man is no longer a unit of a small self-contained community, but has his responsibilities as a citizen, firstly of his own country and secondly of a world community. Upon his solutions to the problems of the world depend to some degree the progress and development of his town, country, of the world generally. Education therefore ought to train the child to take his place in the world, not only as a man, but as a citizen. Children must be taught to think and reason for themselves. Geography as a subject lends itself magnificently to the general education of men and the development of good citizens. Geography can help to teach pupils to understand and experience the adult world. South Africans are fortunate in that geography is a compulsory subject up to standard seven. In high school beyond this level it is not offered by all schools.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:rhodes/vital:1846 |
| Date | January 1982 |
| Creators | Van der Merwe, Abel Jacobus |
| Publisher | Rhodes University, Faculty of Education, Education |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MEd |
| Format | 980 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Van der Merwe, Abel Jacobus |
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