Who are the children we teach? Considering identities, place and time-space in education

Abstract

This article critically considers the importance of educators asking, ‘who are the children we teach?’ before attending to questions of purpose, curriculum and pedagogy. Through examining the relationships between identities, place and time-space, the article contributes to wider debates about how geography can enhance our knowledge of educational institutions, systems, processes, experiences and landscapes. Written in the context of a ‘knowledge turn’ in England–in which supporting young people to engage with disciplinary and subject knowledge has been positioned by some as the central purpose of schooling–the article argues that the geographies of children and young people have, at times, been under-considered in education. To counter this, drawing on a case study of five young people’s narratives about London, the article uses the illustrative example of religion and identity to examine how the young people navigate multiple, sometimes contradictory, social spaces when constructing and representing their identities in London. The article concludes by arguing that for educators to truly empower young people in, and through, their schooling, it is of significant value for them to engage with the geographies of those they teach.