Learning powerful knowledge successfully: Perspectives from sixth form geography students

Michael Young’s concept of powerful knowledge is central in considering the function of a school curriculum. Young argues that ‘powerful knowledge is inescapably specialized knowledge’ (Young, 2014a, p. 3). If a successful learning culture is one in which powerful knowledge is acquired, then it is important for teachers to understand the key components of powerful knowledge, and to learn more about students’ perspectives on what they consider to be the most powerful knowledge. Successful learning cultures and powerful knowledge Young states that powerful knowledge ‘provides reliable explanations or new ways of thinking about the world’ (Young, 2008, p. 150), and that knowledge is powerful when it ‘helps us go beyond our original experiences’ (Young, 2013, p. 196) and ‘enables you to envisage alternatives’ (Young, 2014b, p. 74). Young’s definitions arguably provide the foundations for a successful learning culture - one in which: Students are taught reliable