Young children's ideas of different nations, peoples and cultures: a research perspective

This paper brings together a range of research findings which have explored different aspects of international understanding over the past 50 years. The conclusion that emerges from the review is that children’s knowledge of their homeland and the wider world is liable to be both variable and partial. The evidence suggests that whilst children gather their knowledge about the world in multiple ways, schools can and do play a major role in developing their understanding. Chronological age, gender, social class and cultural background are some of the key factors that account for differences between groups and individuals. Travel experience, exposure to picture books and electronic media and the influence of stereotypes also impact on children’s understanding.
Learning about different nations, peoples and cultures is a vital part of geography but it raises some awkward and challenging questions to do with global equity, inequality and living within planetary limits. It is suggested that geography educators might find it constructive to respond to the invitation from Andreotti to develop new ways of knowing based on post-colonial analysis. There is an urgent need for more research informed by perspectives from a range of disciplines which will provide the evidence base for a deeper understanding of how children come to learn about the modern world with all its complexities and contradictions.