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National Council for Geographic Education

Non-profit scientific and educational society

  • 7 min read
  • 3 chapters

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History

George J. Miller, a professor at the Mankato Normal School, announced his interest in forming a national organization for geography education at a meeting of the National Education Association in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1914. His goal was to bridge the gap between the subject expertise of college professors and the pedagogical training and insights of K-12 teachers. The purpose was to “increase the effectiveness of geography teaching in America”. The organization's establishment was approved at a meeting of the American Association of Geographers (AAG) in 1915, and the constitution adopted in 1916 called for a national board of directors and the establishment of state councils. The organization was called the National Council of Geography Teachers until its name was changed to the National Council for Geographic Education in 1956.

Since its founding, NCGE has held an annual conference to connect members and create opportunities for learning in workshops and through explorations of a wide variety of host cities. The first conference with saved records happened in December 1917 at the University of Chicago, one day prior to the annual meeting of the AAG. The practice of holding meetings during the holiday week and in conjunction with the AAG continued until 1948, though no meetings were held in war years of 1918 and 1942-45. Conferences have been held in conjunction with the International Geographical Union (1952 in Washington, DC and 2018 in Quebec City), the National Council for the Social Studies (Austin, 2019), and the Rocky Mountains/Great Plains Division of the AAG (Omaha, 2025). Since 1979, the conference has held its conference in a new North American city each year: Mexico City, Mexico (1979); Des Moines, IA (1980); Pittsburgh (1981); San Diego (1982); Ocho Rios, Jamaica (1983); Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1984); Breckenridge, CO (1985); Chicago (1986); Springfield, MI (1987); Snowbird, UT (1988); Hershey, PA (1989); Williamsburg, VA (1990); St. Paul, MN (1991); Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (1992); Halifax, Nova Scotia (1993); Lexington, KY (1994); San Antonio, TX (1995); Santa Barbara, CA (1996); Orlando, FL (1997); Indianapolis, IN (1998); Boston (1999); Chicago, IL (2000); Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (2001); Philadelphia (2002); Salt Lake City, UT (2003); Kansas City, MO (2004); Birmingham, AL (2005); Lake Tahoe, NV (2006); Oklahoma City, OK (2007); Dearborn, MI (2008); San Juan, Puerto Rico (2009); Savannah, GA (2010); Portland, OR (2011); San Marcos, TX (2012); Denver (2013); Memphis, TN (2014); Washington D.C. (2015); Tampa, FL (2016); Albuquerque, NM (2017); Quebec City, Quebec, Canada (2018); Austin, TX (2019); Minneapolis, MN (2022); Columbia, SC (2023); Tempe, AZ (2024); Omaha, NE (2025); Richmond, VA (2026). Field trips organized by the conference host committees include local and regional places of geographic and historical significance. An exhibit hall is staffed by government, industry, nonprofit, and academic organizations and offers the latest in books, journals, projects, curriculum, software, hardware, and more to support geography teaching. Each conference is highlighted by an annual keynote address.

Today, NCGE continues its mission in an evolving education landscape. It supports its members with regular communications about available resources, networking opportunities, geographic perspectives on world events, and more. NCGE organizes webinars and workshops featuring new teaching methods, geospatial and educational technologies, and content knowledge. Teachers of the increasingly popular AP Human Geography course get focused support through bell-ringer activities and other information sent out throughout the school year.

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