GEOGRAPHICAL TRADITIONS AND EDUCATION

There is a strong resemblance between confessional traditions and the various traditions of geographical learning and teaching. Just as members of denominations usually realize that they are all trying to obtain and enjoy communion with God in their own way, so also do geographers of different traditions realize that, though they are divided in their methodology and immediate interests, they are united in their attempts "to understand the entire globe as a single interacting system." To this end they all engage in field work and the use of maps in attempts to interpret and explain the spatial relationships of observed phenomena. The intention here, therefore, is to note and explain the various geographical traditions, in terms of their contribution to the structure of the discipline and their value as educational instruments