The impact of world sporting events on the teaching of geography
Making connections – The broader concept of geography & sport
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Integrating sport into the teaching of geography stems from the
notion of recreational geography and the geography of leisure.
Interconnections focus on the shared themes between the two
subjects, for example a shared interest, common understanding
of sport by the public.
Sport within geography focuses primarily on cultural and
historical aspects. For example, the economic gap between
players and supporters. (Cultural geography)
Major events such as the London 2012 Olympics have become
major case studies in the combined study of sport and
geography.
Shared elements of geography and sport
Sport & the geography curriculum
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Including sport within the teaching of geography receives a positive
response from pupils. They are engaged and do not feel they are
just learning geography, as a result of the added sport context.
However, there is no specific place within the curriculum to include
‘sport in geography’ as a standalone topic. This would allow broader
geographical themes to be included within the topic.
Teachers must consider the attitudes of the class, when including
sporting context to lessons. Pupils who do not enjoy any element of
sport still may not engage with the lesson.
Key Stage 3; much greater opportunity to be included, key stage 4
much more limited due to exam board specifications and time
pressure.
Some ideas for integrating sport into your lessons
These are some potential ideas to allow you to adapt some subjects/topics to allow the inclusion of a sporting
context into the teaching of the topic.
Year group
Topic
Potential sport element/ lesson titles
Key Stage 3
Map skills
How do athletes travel? Where are the Olympics?
Key Stage 3
Specific country (i.e. Brazil)
The geography of the Olympics, world cup
Key Stage 4
Sustainability
How sustainable is world sport? Sustainability of the Olympics?
Key stage 4
Tourism
How do aeroplanes affect sport, global travel
References
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Bale, JR (1981) Geography, sport and Geography education vol. 66, no. 2, pp 104-115 by GA
Bowden, M (2001) Geography of sport, international encyclopaedia of social and
behavioural sciences.
Chubb, S (ND) Sport and Geography, University of Cumbria
De Chano, L & Shelley, F (2004) ‘Using sports to teach geography’, Journal of Geography,
vol. 103, no. 5, p. 185
Digby (2008) ‘Geography’ vol. 93, pp 40-47 This changing world: The London 2012
Olympics
Rawding, C (1999) ‘World Cup Geography’, Teaching Geography, vol. 24, no.1, p. 30
Jones, M (2013) What is personalised learning in Geography in Lambert & Jones (eds.)
Debates in Geography Education.
Consider the following…
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David Storey – Sport in geography, political geography, identify within sport.
Susan Hardwick – Using different themes within teaching geography, interaction with
places, spaces, providing context to learning.
John Bale – Sport and Geography.
John Morgan – Teaching social geographies. (Although not strictly related to teaching
sport, Morgan investigates ways in which we can teach current and relevant issues within
geography, relating to the theme of context and ‘current’ geography)
Mark Jones – Personalised learning in Geography. How to make the curriculum relevant
and engaging. (Students with an interest or awareness of sporting events…)
Nick Hopwood – Children’s perceptions. What is ‘their’ geography? Deciding/
constructing their own culture (Does sport influence young people’s culture?)