Cartographical Knowledge and Training of Geography Teachers

Abstract. This article raises a few discussion topics concerning the cartographical learning for children and young adults as well as the training of Geography teachers in Brazil. It's necessary to clarify that one can't assing to teachers the full responsibility for the problems that the school and the cartography teaching are facing. We agree with Souza and Katuta (2001), who affirm there is a relevant and complex group of political, social and economic elements that can help explaining the educational situation Brazil is facing, especially in public schools. However, these elements end up being concealed along the education process. Therefore, we will present only the part of the scenario that includes the practices of Geography teachers, since they are responsible for forming the future generation of map-readers and producers. When dealing with the subject of teaching the teachers, we researched the literature that covers the teaching of Geography and Cartography at school and we applied it to national scope and to our own experience as teachers and researchers.