Geography's core concepts

What is this blog about?

Sydney, Australia

I am Alaric Maude, an Australian geography academic. For the last 20 years I have worked in the field of geographical education – helping to develop curriculum, writing a book for primary school teachers, and publishing on geographical concepts, powerful knowledge and sustainability. In 2024 I produced a book on Thinking geographically: A guide to the core concepts for teachers, published by Routledge.

My aim in these blogs is to help teachers to understand the core concepts in geography, and to use them to teach their students to think geographically. Geography is more than a broad body of knowledge; it is also a way of thinking about the world through its concepts.

Teaching students to understand and use geography’s core concepts is also a requirement in some national curriculums. And in the UK the 2025 Curriculum and Assessment Review recommended ‘minor refinements to the Geography Programmes of Study and GCSE subject content to … deepen children and young people’s understanding of key geographical concepts’. I hope these blogs will help teachers to respond to these requirements.