Welcome to this celebration of the first ten years of the Cartography and Children Commission of the ICA. You will find here a representative selection of papers from our conferences, workshops and seminars which illustrate the range of interests shared by Commission members.

Cartography and Children represents a growth area in research and educational cartography is a significant commercial sector. Yet the status and quality of cartography in the school curriculum remains, internationally, at a relatively low level. Map related pedagogy is poorly developed in most countries and non-existent in many. There is an increasing gap between how maps are used in the 'real world' and how they are taught at school. Research evidence for children's thinking with maps is also patchy. The literature is strong on young children's understanding of small, familiar spaces and their ability to use large scale plans. We know far less about older school students' use of small scale maps and 'new' forms of spatial representation such as digital elevation models. In particular, we have insufficient evidence for children's use of GIS tools for problem solving and decision making.

The Commission addresses some of these issues by aiming to:

  • promote the use and enjoyment of maps by children and young people
  • increase understanding of children and young people's engagement with maps, and
  • raise the standard of educational cartography
We are achieving these aims by disseminating research into children's cartographic thinking and stimulating debate on the design and realisation of maps and atlases for schools.

We hope you enjoy this collection of some of our work.
Patrick Wiegand Patrick Wiegand, Chair Jacqueline Anderson Jacqueline Anderson, past Chair
Jesús Reyes Jesús Reyes, vice Chair