Send message to Authors

Paper short abstract:

Geo-literacy forms an integral part of school learner's comprehension about the world on a local or global scale. One of the places where learners are able to test their geo-literacy skills is in museums.

Paper long abstract:

Geo-literacy includes the spatial skills that are acquired to contextualise oneself in relation to the natural and social environment. By accessing geographical skills learnt at school, learners are able to increase their comprehension of the world in terms of social, environmental, economic and political issues on a local or global scale. One of the places where learners are able to test these skills is in museums. Museums offer an attractive framework for some of the big ideas in geography such as location, correlation, process, pattern, distribution, consumption and scale. One of the key demands placed on South African museums is their educational mandate to emphasise the importance of enhancing social cohesion. The Iziko Museums of South Africa are a group of eleven museums located in Cape Town that creates a nexus where school learners are able to learn about their own national heritage through educational programmes. These programmes instil pride, promote knowledge, stimulate dialogue and encourage problem-solving around the museum collections, research activities, and exhibitions. A museum setting creates opportunities for school learners to make sense of their own world and to develop multiple intelligences. Geo-literacy in museum education can play an important role in improving awareness of the challenges of the past and, potentially, can improve capacity towards problem solving in the present and future.