Reimagining Spatial Citizenship in Geography Education: A Conceptual Review for Future-Oriented Learning
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The rapid transformation of global societies requires geography education to move beyond traditional content-based instruction toward future-oriented, competency-driven learning. This study aims to conceptualize the foundations of future geography education by synthesizing recent international literature through a systematic literature review and conceptual analysis. Using a PRISMA-guided approach, this study reviewed peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2018 and 2025 and scholarly books published between 2015 and 2025, focusing on geography education, spatial thinking, digital transformation, inquiry-based learning, and sustainability-oriented education. The selected literature was analyzed using thematic content analysis to identify dominant trends, theoretical orientations, and pedagogical implications. The findings indicate that future geography education is characterized by the integration of spatial thinking as a core disciplinary competence, inquiry-based and learner-centered pedagogies, digital and geospatial technologies as epistemic tools, and sustainability-oriented global perspectives. The synthesis reveals that geography education plays a strategic role in developing powerful disciplinary knowledge, systems thinking, and global citizenship competencies necessary for navigating complex and uncertain futures. This study contributes a conceptual framework that positions geography education as a key component of future-ready curricula and provides theoretical insights to inform curriculum development, teacher education, and educational policy. Future research is encouraged to explore the practical implementation of this framework across diverse educational contexts.
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