Geography of geography: the evidence base
The Society, along with the wider geographical community, has known for a long time that geography attracts a disproportionately low number of young people from disadvantaged and Black and ethnic minority backgrounds to study the subject.
We knew national participation trends but had little benchmark data at regional and school levels. And it is only by knowing more about who is choosing geography at school and university (and, importantly, who doesn’t), and how the rates of uptake and progression vary that we will be able to develop effective interventions to address the inequalities and ensure that geography is a vibrant discipline.
The Society therefore commissioned a significant piece of independent research using the Department for Education’s National Pupil Database and linked HESA data (information on students at university) to answer our questions. Given the source of the schools data, the results are for England only for the period from 2009/10 to 2017/18. We hope similar analyses will be undertaken in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The approach we took and key results are presented in the summary report and supplementary data which can all be downloaded below.
How to cite
Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) (2020). Geography of geography: the evidence base. Available at https://doi.org/10.55203/XQLB9264 Last accessed on: <date>
Use of data should also be attributed in the same way.
Young people's views on subject choices, further study and careers
What motivates young people's choices of subjects to study at school and university, and what influences their career choices?
What do young people think about geography?
Why is there a lower uptake of geography at A Level and at university by students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and minority ethnic groups?
'I didn't have any teachers that looked like me'
Sharing the experiences of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic geography teachers.