Geography, ‘Race’ and Education

This article is intended as a contribution to the debate about the relationship between geography education and issues of racism in the light of the Macpherson Report (1999) into the murder of the teenager Stephen Lawrence. The article notes a renewed concern with issues of race in a range of educational initiatives and suggests that this offers an opportunity for geography educators to reflect upon the contribution that geography can make to multicultural education. Previous and existing approaches are analysed, and it is suggested that the weaknesses inherent in these approaches can be addressed through a sustained engagement with recent developments in the study of ‘race’ within the discipline of geography. The article concludes with some tentative suggestions about how geography educators concerned with these issues might proceed.