Graham Butt - Geography Education Research in the UK: Retrospect and Prospect: The UK Case, Within the Global Context

This series is under the editorial supervision of the International Geography Unions Commission on Geographical Education. Led by the priorities and criteria set out in the Commissions Declaration on Geography Education Research, the series plays an important role in making geography education research accessible to the global community. Publications within the series are drawn from meetings, conferences and symposiums supported by the Commission. Individual book editors are selected for special editions that correspond to the Commissions ongoing programme of work and from suitable submissions to the series editors. In this way, research published represents immediate developments within the international geography education community. The series seeks to support the development of early career researchers in publishing high quality, high impact research accounts.

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Writing a book is a process that is pleasurable, inspiring and rewardingbut also, at times, cathartic, frustrating and painful. This is the case not only for the author himself (or herself), but also for those around him.

There are always people to thankespecially those who have supported the production of the publication in different ways. I am particularly grateful to Clare Brooks and Joop van der Scheethe commissioning editors for the small collection of books on geography education research of which this publication is a part. The series is supported by the International Geographical Union Commission on Geography Education (IGU-CGE) and by the series publisher, Springer. I was delighted to work as an editor with Clare, and her colleague Mary Fargher, on the first book in this series The Power of Geographical Thinking in 2017. I hope my current offering will be as well received as that publication has been.

Special thanks must go to two of the leading lights in geography education research, nationally and internationally, who generously gave their time to be interviewed by menamely Clare Brooks and David Lambert, Institute of Education, University College London. David has been something of a fellow traveller with me during my career in geography education: he has also always been a source of level-headed, intellectually secure and inspirational thinking in the field. I spent the first three happy years of my career teaching in a state school in Hertfordshire under his direction as Head of Geographya position I took over from him when he moved to work at the Institute for the first time in 1986. Clare and David have also been close colleagues of mine in the Geography Education Research Collective (GEReCo), which Clare and I set up in 2007. Also interviewed for this book were two leading education academics from beyond the field of geography education: Christine Counsell, Ex-Lecturer in History Education at Cambridge University and now Member of Ofsteds curriculum advisory group; and Alis Oancea, Director of Educational Research at the University of Oxford, Department of Education. Both were characteristically generous with their time and thoughtsI owe them many thanks.

I must also acknowledge the receipt of one of Oxford Brookes Universitys first Research Excellence Awards, which funded a sabbatical of one semesters research leave in 2017. This afforded me valuable time away from other duties, during which much of the groundwork for this project was completed.

Finally, my thanks to those who have been affected most by my efforts to writeto my wife, Cathy, who has always been wise enough to know when to shut the door and leave me to it, especially if the writing process has become frustrating. And, finally, to my much loved Spanador (Google it!)Bramblewho joined me for long walks in Cannon Hill Park in Birmingham, and latterly in Aughton Wood in the Lune Valley, when I was trying to think things through during the writing process.

As always, errors of omission and any mistakes in the textfor which I apologiseare all my responsibility.

Brookhouse, Lancashire, UK

January 2019