Teaching A Geographical Component In World History Curriculum

Abstract

This article is devoted to the topic of teaching a geographical component in World History curriculum in American public high schools. Despite the fact that the federal legislation entitled No Child Left Behind (2001) declared geography as a "core" academic subject, geography was the only subject dropped from federal funding. As a result, geography as a separate subject in the majority of public schools around the country ceased to exist. California, New Mexico, and Rhode Island have adopted state standards of combined course of World History and Geography. However, a small geography segment included within the World History course has not been sufficient to provide students with a satisfactory level of geographical literacy. American students show their lack of geographical knowledge in one study after another even though the 21^st century is an era of globalization and increasing international relationship. The geopolitical approach to teaching the World History course promoted in this paper can improve the situation significantly in a relatively short period of time. This geopolitical approach stresses the connection between history and geography. It involves an analysis of a countys economy, culture, domestic and foreign policies as directly connected to its geography. This approach improves students analytical thinking and conceptual understanding.