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The aim of the research is to examine the postgraduate theses about the problems encountered in social studies teaching with meta-synthesis study. The study was prepared with meta-synthesis design including thematic content analysis based on qualitative research methodology. The data of the master's and doctorate theses were collected from the National Thesis Center of the Council of Higher Education (YOK) via internet connection. The data were searched under the title of problems encountered in social studies teaching. The researches in this study were 28 master and 2 doctoral theses conducted between 2004-2018. The studies included in the research were determined primarily by reviewing the literature. Each of the identified studies was coded as 'A' by shortening 'Research'. A1, A2, A3,…, A30 codes were given and a detailed grading process was passed. All theses examined were primarily coded. Then all the coded data were tabulated for the themes created. The coded theses were tabulated according to the objectives, years, university, thesis type, sample region, model, method, results and suggestions. The frequencies of the theses that were coded into tables were found. The frequencies were interpreted in accordance with the meta-synthesis study. The prominent problems in research are; problems of teaching of the course, problems of program and textbook, problems in teaching of geography subjects and problems encountered in teaching of history subjects. In the research theses, some suggestions are made such as in-service training, tools, equipment and resource support, arrangement of program and textbooks, appropriate course teaching and increasing the hours of the course.

Critical service learning is an approach that works toward social transformation and egalitarian partnerships. However, the ways in which space facilitates or undermines this approach has been largely unexplored. Drawing on a case study from an urban education course, we argue that a critical geography framework can develop students' understandings of structural inequalities and nurture egalitarian relationships between partners.

The refereed and periodical journals, which form the basis of scientific communication, have different functions such as quality control, archival creation, the promotion of authors, and information distribution. Journals that previously addressed wider audiences and disciplines are becoming increasingly thematic today and are beginning to address a particular area of focus. Therefore, this study aims to reveal the publication policies of academic journals in Turkey which are categorized under the theme of Geography. For this purpose, academic Geography journals published in Turkey have been analyzed using a content analysis method. Also, a bibliometric analysis process has been applied to academics who publish in these journals and use the keywords geography education in their work as revealed by an academic search in Higher Education Council (referred to as YÖK in Turkish). A Journal Review Form was used to analyze data from the study, which included seven journals. From this form, the aim, scope, index, frequency of publication, type of publication, and temporal change of journals can be determined and the general trends for these journals ascertained. As a result of the research, it is determined that six journals have been published over 20 years, albeit with interruptions, while one journal was in its 9th year of publication.

Three years ago, the Polish Geopolitical Society began an initiative focused on students, PHD candidates and interested academic societies, who wished to co-operate in popularizing the subject area of geopolitics. This initiative sought to serve as a forum for such groups and individuals to compete with other interested colleagues and groups from around the world. During the process, students strive to prove their level of professional knowledge, while their teachers assist them in preparing for their best presentations. All participants then meet during the final stages of the competition in order to exchange their experiences. This, in turn, benefits the development of general approaches and methods of study regarding the discipline of geopolitics. The question addressed in this paper then, is how such international competitions can improve the overall skills and knowledge of the subject area at hand among those participating. The importance of this question is underscored by various initiatives undertaken that attempt to measure the quality of higher education. The research presented in this article, then, is based upon interviews with both participants and organizing committee members, which attempt to gauge the experiences and results achieved during such competitions. The results show both the positive and negative aspects of organizing such gatherings. Most certainly, one could draw the conclusion that such events are the most attractive to the most ambitious of students and teachers, who consider education a privilege and as a process, which continues throughout one's lifetime. Adversely, for those who place education in the same category as a material good, to be bought and sold, such competitions have little appeal especially when focused upon a narrow field of study.

For early childhood educators, social studies help young children learn what it means to be contributing, productive members of their family, as well as of their classroom, school, neighborhood, community, and the world. In PreK-grade 3 classrooms, children learn about rules--at home, in school, and in the community. While the need for social studies in the primary grades is clear, the amount of time dedicated to social studies has clearly diminished over the past two decades (National Council for Social Studies, 2009; Heafner & Groce, 2007). Educators have found innovative ways to incorporate social studies into the curriculum by integrating social studies content through literacy and other subject areas. This article presents activities to promote quality social studies learning and knowledge while building essential early literacy skills. Not only do the activities in this article extend children's learning beyond the classroom, but they also promote purposefully partnering with families to enhance children's learning and development across learning domains. Along with promoting social studies competence and active literacy learning, intentional family engagement yields strong social-emotional benefits by supporting strong, reciprocal family partnerships with the school and positive caregiver/child relationships (Halgunseth, 2009; U.S. Department of Health and Social Services & U.S. Department of Education, 2016).

Antarctica has been an object of interest for a long. It is considered important to increase individuals awareness and knowledge about Antarctica. The accuracy of individuals' scientific knowledge plays an important role in creating the awareness. In this study, the 349 secondary school students' knowledge and awareness about Antarctica was determined quantitatively with a questionnaire. Nineteen questions, including current topics were prepared. that addressed from biological geographic and climatic perspectives. According to the findings, 40% of the students thought Antarctica is in the North Pole, 42.6% thought polar bears and penguins live together; 46.6% thought Antarctica is best visited during summer months, 70.5% thought most glaciers are located in the northern hemisphere. Based on these findings, it can be said that students have inadequate and alternative conceptions about Antarctica. Studies can be conducted to determine how best to increase students' awareness.

The urban education typology put forth by Milner (Urban Educ 47(3):556-561, 2012) offered a conceptual demarcation of three different, yet interconnected types of urban school districts (i.e., urban intensive, urban emergent, and urban characteristic). Nearly one decade after Milner's seminal urban education typology, few empirical or conceptual articles have operationalized this typology across multiple school districts in one region. We enter this scholarly space to reaffirm the typology and its utility in identifying the conditions that create varying educational inequities and transformative opportunities. Through a critical race spatial analysis, we attempt to capture, crystalize, and expand Milner's typology by examining a multitude of data points and intentionally drawing on geospatial data from five linked school districts in Harris County, Texas. Our findings, as viewed through lenses of Critical Race Theory and the Chicana Feminist conceptual framework known as borderlands, accentuate two major implications; (1) while there are physical spaces of restriction inside and around schools and school districts, regularly school districts contend with identical challenges despite their urban education typology categorical classification; and (2) when employing the urban education typology, it is imperative that researchers deeply contextualize the physical, temporal, historical, social, and racialized spaces that schools and school districts exist in.

The primary role of NTC (Nikola Tesla Center) is to use new discoveries in the field of neurology in classrooms and in everyday life. This learning program consists of various activities and games for children. This experimental research was carried out in one government primary school in Canakkale, Turkey. 27 students from the third grade (17 males and 10 females) were included, and in the pre and post-testing, they responded to 16 questions related to the knowledge they gained during the implementation of the experimental factor, as a part of the NTC learning system, related with knowledge of flags from 20 countries. The results showed that many of the students did not have enough knowledge about flags, capital cities and landmarks from other countries in the pre-testing. After the application of eight activities on the topic of flags created from the NTS program, we noticed more success in the responses of students in the post-test. Prior to the realization of the experiment, one basic and two auxiliary hypotheses were put forward. After the implementation of the research, it was concluded that the activities based on the NTS system of learning have an impact on the students' success.

This study aims to determine the level of map literacy of social studies prospective teachers. The research was carried out using the correlational survey model. "Developing Valid and Reliable Map Literacy Scale" was the data collection tool. The research was conducted on 221 social studies undergraduate students in the 2016-2017 academic year. Multiple linear regression analysis technique was applied for the sub-problems of the research. The findings of the research regarding the correlations between the predictive variables and the dependent variable showed a positive and moderate correlation between the students' levels of map literacy and variables such as competence in the frequency of using map, the frequency of activity by maps, and the level of interest in Geography. On the other hand, a positive and weak correlation was explored between the students' levels of map literacy and variables such as the frequency of activity with maps. The results of the partial correlations between the predictive variables and the dependent variable indicated that the students' levels of map literacy had a positive and weak relationship with the frequency of using map and the frequency of activity with maps variables. Together with that students' levels of map literacy were determined to have a positive and moderate relationship with the level of interest in Geography variable. In addition, students' levels of map literacy were found out to have a moderate and significant relationship with the frequency of using map, the frequency of activity with maps, and the level of interest in Geography variables. The results of the research demonstrated that the map activities were a moderate predictor of map literacy. For this reason, it is suggested that importance should be given to the courses and practices that will develop the students' map skills in the social studies undergraduate curriculum.

In order to increase students' participation in learning activities, a significant role is played by the use of the computer in Geography lessons. The efficiency of computer-assisted learning involves correlation between several essential factors: the quality of online platforms and educational software, the use of appropriate teaching strategies and the creation of learning situations that enable students to learn actively. In this context, the aim of the paper is to observe and evaluate students' involvement in learning activities and their interest when various web applications are integrated in the teaching-learning process through which students discover information themselves and solve work tasks. We have chosen as a case study a Geography lesson for the eleventh grade students. In this lesson, we proposed to the students several learning activities based on two web applications, created in ArcGIS Online. In order to highlight the efficiency of these applications and cartographic support, a questionnaire was applied to the students, where they evaluated the degree of interactivity of these applications, their accessibility, usefulness, as well as their interest towards this type of learning activities.

Large-scale spatial representations are rarely a perfect replication of the corresponding environment. Factors such as age, experience and environmental association play a significant role in each person's cognitive map. Yet, traditional spatial tasks remove these contextual elements in determining a person's spatial orientation skill, which has contributed to the apparent widening gap in spatial skills for children in non-urban areas. In this study we examined children's sketch maps of their route between home and school from four geographically diverse sites (urban, regional, rural, and remote Indigenous communities). Our findings suggest children from rural and remote communities possess highly detailed and sophisticated mental representations of their local environment, outside of traditional developmental frameworks. This work provides insights into these representations through student work samples. We suggest future work consider the contextual nature of spatial skills when comparing students.

This study examines the perceived changes in the geography of student support for racial/ethnic minoritized students after pursuing federal Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) designation and grants. Specifically, this qualitative multiple-case study examines the decision-making related to, and perceived changes in, space and place aimed at supporting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students at three AAPI-serving community colleges. The three themes related to changes in the geography of student support for AAPI students as a result of the MSI grant that emerged from the study were: (a) from symbolic to physical space; (b) supporting AAPIs helped support other minoritized student populations; (c) the last theme demonstrates that, as a result of creating these spaces, students were more integrated into the campus community. A common thread across each of these themes is the saliency of race in the design, creation, and resulting impact of creating space in the geography of student support for AAPI students at each of the campuses. The study concludes with implications regarding the role of postsecondary institutions in (re)creating physical and symbolic spaces. Institutional agents must be mindful of the targeted groups that exist within their campus when considering these implications to create a welcoming campus environment.

The purpose of this research is to examine the prevalence of racially diverse high schools in order to understand the conditions that create or inhibit the existence of diverse and equitable schools. We analyzed Texas state demographic data for schools in order to understand the scarcity of racially diverse campuses. We then utilized mapping and Critical Race Spatial Analysis (CRSA) to better understand the context, geography, and history that creates or eliminates space for diverse high schools. This work highlights the need for race-conscious policies around attendance, zoning, and choice programs that promote diversity and equitable practices.

This paper analyses the tasks allotted to students, featuring two thematic units in the 6th grade Geography textbook published in 2018 by the Didactic and Pedagogic Publishing House Ltd., Bucharest and used in the schools in Romania during the 2018-2019 school year. After a brief analysis of the textbook and its lesson structure, we studied the tasks on Regional Geography in the following thematic units: "Europegeographic identity" and "Europe in the contemporary world". These tasks are associated with some visual materials (e.g. illustrations, books, charts, sketchy drawings and the like), with some texts and web sources. The studied assignments are included in the lesson sections Discover and Apply. Most of the tasks demand recognition and identification of some geographic aspects. Less importance have the tasks that require the systematization of information based on some criteria. To improve thorough information processing, it is advisable to include certain activities of identifying geographic relationships of hierarchy, comparison, explanation and ordering of data, synthesizing it in texts, problem solving and problem-situations.

Learning progression research has the capability to connect thinking in the education sciences and geography. Learning progressions provide a map of the various pathways that students take to master a topic. The aim of this paper is to illustrate significant conceptual ties between learning progressions and disciplinary geography. Two construct paradigms overlap to form an entryway between educational and geographic thought: constructivism from education and possibilism within geography. The learning progression method can form a bridge between the two paradigms. Learning progression research in geography depends on being able to answer two questions. First, which geographic concepts should be tracked? Given the ongoing changes in global human-environmental systems, priority could be dedicated to the topics that stimulate synthesis thinking about the human-environment relationship in the Anthropocene, or "Age of Humans." Second, how should geographers track advancement in learning about human-environment concepts? Learning progression research provides a method to document multiple aspects of advancement in student learning. But, geographic learning does not exist solely in the confines of the classroom. Furthermore, school districts vary in the amount and quality of geography that they allow. New understandings would come from a mixed-methods approach that addresses geographic understandings by the lifelong learner in the context of both formal and informal geography education. [This paper was delivered in Washington, DC during the National Center for Research in Geography Education's (NCRGE) 2019 AAG Annual Meeting Symposium on Transformative Research.]

Understanding of other cultures and countries is widely regarded as an important aspect of world citizenship and geography is argued to make a valid contribution to the development of this. The aim of this study is to explore the understandings of Japanese and Irish students of other areas of the world, both nearby and more distant. Students at the end of junior secondary school and in their final year in school were asked to locate countries, and to record knowledge of them. They were also asked to identify the country (apart from their own) in which they would most like and least like to live. As there is currently much focus on the impact of media on understanding, they were also asked to identify the main source of their knowledge. Analysis of the data revealed common understandings, misconceptions and stereotypes, but also significant differences between the various groups. Evidence was found that study of geography to a higher level did appear to affect the depth of understanding. While this study focused on only two very different nations, the commonality of perceptions suggests that these are likely to be widespread and, therefore, of relevance to all of those concerned with global citizenship.

Social studies promotes civic competence by equipping students with the knowledge, values, beliefs, attitudes, and skills needed in a democratic society (Allen & Stevens, 1998; National Council for the Social Studies [NCSS], 1994). However, the multidisciplinary characteristics of civic issues entail an integrated curriculum covering different aspects of human social behavior (Naylor & Diem, 1987; NCSS, 1994). Therefore, social studies draws its content mostly from various social sciences such as anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, sociology, and so forth (Martorellla, 1998; NCSS, 1994; Turkish Ministry of National Education [MoNE/MEB], 2018; Turner, 2004), which makes it "the most inclusive of all school subjects" (Ross, 2001, p. 19). This study investigated the interest of preservice teachers in the core social science disciplines covered in the social studies curriculum; namely, economics, geography, history, political science, and sociology (Maxim, 2006; MoNE/MEB, 2018; Turner, 2004) and preservice teachers' planned teaching efforts for social studies topics associated with these disciplines.

This study draws on narratives submitted between summer 2008 -- summer 2018 by 78 student teachers across all grade bands [K-12] and content areas (Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Mathematics) who completed three months of student teaching in an overseas country through the Consortium for Overseas Student Teaching (COST) during their final undergraduate senior year. All student teachers were in their early 20s. Upon completing their student teaching each student submitted a written reflection in response to the following prompt: Now that you have finished your student teaching abroad experience, what did you learn about yourself as an American? What did you learn about others' perspectives of what it is that makes someone American? In other words, how do you answer Crevecoeur's question, "What is an American?" Our findings include 12 major themes categorized into three major categories, i.e. socialization, hegemony and individuation.

Dyslexia is a specific form of learning disability which comes along with diverse difficulties, both in learning, social and emotional fields. It obstructs the development of the individual at all levels of education. This research investigates students' spatial and geographical thinking and whether there is a differentiation of these abilities between dyslexic and non-dyslexic ones. For this purpose, 50 questionnaires were distributed to 25 dyslexic and 25 non-dyslexic students aged 14 using opportunity sampling from different areas (rural, urban). The questionnaire included spatial thinking exercises like mental rotation, plan views, shapes folding -- unfolding and mental manipulation of shapes and exercises by which geographical thinking is examined, according to the Greek geography curriculum. The results indicated that the non-dyslexic students had better performance than the dyslexic ones in all cases, except one, this of 2D--3D exercise. The most significant difference was in the section of plan views, mental rotation and folding - unfolding, whereas in the shapes mental manipulation, both children's groups faced difficulties. Although the research sample was limited, the results supported our hypothesis that non-dyslexic students would perform better on spatial and geographical thinking assessments.

The aim of the article is to assess the quality of visualisation of geomorphology, hydrology and agriculture of Czechia through maps, schemes and photographs in geography textbooks for ISCED 1 and ISCED 2 levels of education. A total of 15 geography textbooks were selected and a total of 90 visuals from these textbooks were analysed. The scaling method according to defined criteria relating to the concept of usability was applied; the result of scaling was the usability coefficient. The data obtained through scaling was subsequently statistically analysed. The outcomes of the statistical analysis show that the usability coefficient of visuals in textbooks for the older cohort is higher than in textbooks for younger students. The usability coefficient as an indicator of quality of the assessed visuals is linked especially to the tradition of publishing houses, as visuals in textbooks published by publishers with relatively long tradition are of a higher quality than those by publishers with shorter tradition and therefore less experience with publishing textbooks. Differences in the quality between individual types of visuals or themes are not statistically significant.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the content of social studies textbooks, which are written and taught based upon the social studies curriculum adopted between 1968-2018, in terms of the curriculum and content designs, and some general educational principles. For this purpose, document analysis, one of the qualitative research methodology, was used in this study. Accordingly, 12 social studies textbooks for different levels of class written based upon the social studies curriculum adopted in 1968, are the primary document resources of the research. The curriculum, upon which the textbooks are based, was also used as resource. For data analysis, content analysis technique was used. The results obtained from the study show that the generally-adopted approach to develop the content of social studies textbooks was single-disciplinary approach before 2005; however it was replaced by interdisciplinary approach then, with the impact of changing curriculum. Another study result shows that the content of social studies textbooks was developed based upon the disciplines of history and geography in general, and also citizenship to a limited extent before 2005. However, as it is determined, many other disciplines such as psychology, sociology, economics, science and technology in addition to those specified above, have a major impact on the content of textbooks since this date. Also, the relevant results indicate that the knowledge content was much richer in textbooks before 2005; however, in the current social studies textbooks, the knowledge intensity has decreased as the knowledge variety has increased in time. It has been determined that the social studies textbooks are developed by considering the chronology and from near-to-far principles in general so far.

Despite the strong relationship between geography and education policy, educational research tends to draw from other fields of inquiry such as economics, political science, and history. This special topics collection centers the usefulness of geography and place in educational policy research. The introduction explains the rationale for the collection and discusses the themes and articles in the collection. We conclude with a call for researchers, policy makers, and colleges of education to enhance their capacity in incorporating geographic thinking into educational policy research.

The use of causal diagrams to externalize the mental representation of a problem is recognized to be an important step in solving complex problems. In geography education several global challenges taught about in class are highly complex due to the interconnectedness of many causes and consequences. A systems thinking approach might be helpful to better understand these global challenges. Former studies have shown the effectiveness of concept maps and causal diagrams to foster students' systems thinking. However, it is not always obvious for students to construct proper causal diagrams. In order to optimize teaching strategies concerning these complex systems in geography education, this study analyzes students' cognitive strategies while constructing a causal diagram. We used task-based think-aloud interviews to study their cognitive strategies. Four different cognitive strategies were observed. The different types of cognitive strategies all resulted in an acceptable constructed causal diagram by the students. The presented insights are explorative, but it reveals the thinking processes that are mostly tacit and therefore has the potential to contribute to better teaching strategies. After all, if we know what processes novices go through while carrying out a complex skill, which are often taken for granted by experts, in this case geography teachers, we can raise awareness among teachers to explicitly take those processes into account while designing lessons.

This study was carried out with the aim to determine the level of sufficiency of the geography teachers' education, which they received during their undergraduate education, in terms of their professional performance in the official secondary education institutions under the Ministry of National Education in Turkey. This study adopted the survey model and the relevant data was collected by using a descriptive approach. THESE data were collected from the actively-working geography teachers by using a data collection tool developed by the researcher with the modeling technique to be analyzed and interpreted. According to the results obtained from the collected data; it has been observed that the geography teachers did not consider the undergraduate education they received while carrying out their education activities and they did not have sufficient level in acquiring some of the fields that have to be given to the students. Undergraduate geography teacher programs need to be updated on a need-based basis by taking the opinions of all stakeholders, to be able to apply the geography curriculum effectively and effectively and to provide the geographic skills required by the 21st century to students. In addition, some suggestions can be made to the geography teachers who are currently working in the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) by developing application-based activities to meet the professional development needs in the areas they need.

The aim of this study is to find out the contributions of geography courses to the spatial belonging development and identity construction of Turkish-origin students from different types of schools located in North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen) state in Germany. In this study, one of the qualitative research designs, namely phenomenology, will be employed. Phenomenology is the most suitable methodological tool for this study, as it enables us to focus on experiences, livings, thoughts, sense, and feelings of individuals. The study group was determined in accordance with purposive sampling. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed with the "MAXQDA 11" qualitative data analysis software and categories were formed. According to the research results, Turkish-origin students are aware of the important role that geography courses take firstly in familiarizing with Germany, the country they live in. It was revealed that geography courses provide students with the sense of spatial belonging and help them to embrace the place they live in by creating a certain perception of place. In other words, Turkish-origin students feel that they are part of Germany because they feel that they belong to the place. The fact that they see Germany as their home country is one of the indicators of interiorizing the geography. For them, Germany is their home country whereas Turkey is their motherland. As their families' motherland concept is related to Turkey, they transmit the concept of motherland from their families to their social realities.

The aim of this study is to identify the perspectives of parents on the "Social Studies" course. The case study design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in accordance with the nature of the study. Data related to the study were obtained through a semi-structured interview form prepared by the researchers. The data of the study were obtained from the parents of students attending 5th, 6th and 7th grade of a state secondary school located in the Istanbul-Sultanbeyli district in the spring semester of 2017 and 2018 academic year. The data obtained were analyzed by content analysis. According to the data obtained from the research, the following results were obtained: The majority of the parents apparently linked the concept of Social Studies to the concepts of History, Geography, Citizenship and Socialization. Parents thought that the subjects related to History, Geography, Citizenship Rights, Culture, Democracy, Human Rights and the life of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk were taught in the Social Studies course. Nevertheless, it was seen that the parents wished to see the concepts such as Love of Motherland, Nation, Community and National Flag, Etiquette, Cultural Values, Freedom, Democracy, Equality to be taught in the Social Studies courses. While the parents mostly compared the Social Studies courses with such organs as the Brain, Kidney, Heart, Eye, Stomach and Intestine, they considered it as appropriate to place this course in the last places in terms of importance. In addition, it was found that majority of the parents did not want their children to become social studies teachers in the future.

This study explored international students' motivation toward learning the Chinese culture course. Specifically, the study focused on investigating what interest the students towards the Chinese culture course. The study also looked into the challenges of international students faced while studying the Chinese culture course. To meet these objectives, the study used a descriptive survey design with a mixed method. Questionnaire and interviews were used to collect data from a sample of 38 international students from 7 colleges in Northeast Normal University (NENU). Finally, the finding indicated that international students at NENU are curious to learn the Chinese culture course. The respondents are keen to learn the culture they live in during their study period. Therefore, the study concluded that international students are studying the Chinese culture course not only because the course is compulsory, but also they are also keen to learn the Chinese culture course.

Turkish world geography is a vast geography. In its broadest sense, it expands from Balkans in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east; from the Arctic Ocean in the North to Tibet in the South. The subject of our study is Azerbaijan which is one of the independent states in this geography. In the study, similarities and differences of Turkish and Azerbaijan education system, language-literature education, curriculum, course books were analysed. Azerbaijan was chosen for the study since it is akin to Turkey in the sense of language and geography and it also takes the head in Turkish world in education and culture. In the collection of data, document review method was used and in the light of information acquired, positive aspects of both countries were used.

The number of graduates from universities or higher education institutions increased in the last 30 years in Europe, but not in the same pace as their absorption rates on the labor market in their fields of study. Understanding the paradigms in which higher institutions' work is important in relation to their structure, teaching staff, curriculum and opportunities for students. Our analysis focuses on the reasons why students choose a faculty of Geography and assesses their perception regarding the educational process and employability. The results emphasize as main motivation the passion for Geography, while the location in Bucharest plays an important role also. The results underlined that students felt that they should have been more involved in research activities or they should have been given the opportunity to work in part-time jobs during their studies. The findings of our paper correspond with the social and economic context as the youth who arrive in a big city, such as Bucharest, are more interested to find a job and produce an income, putting their studies on the second place. These aspects emphasize the need for creating a stronger connection between the higher education institution and the labour market actors and the need to adjust the curricula according to employers' requirements.

How, when and what kind of learning takes place are key questions in all educational environments. School graduates are expected to have reached a development level whereby they have, among many fundamental skills, the ability to think critically, to plan their studies and their future, and to integrate knowledge across disciplines. However, it is challenging to develop these skills in schools. Following existing curricula, disciplines are often taught separately and by different teachers, making it difficult for students to connect knowledge studied and learned from one discipline to that of another discipline. The Next Generation Science Standards on teaching and learning natural science in the United States point out important crosscutting concepts in science education (NGSS, 2013). In Estonia, similar trends are leading to an emphasis on the need to further develop scientific literacy skills and interdisciplinary learning in students. The changing environment around us must be reflected in changes in our school system. In this paper, we report on research that intends to answer the questions: (a) "How much do Estonian students develop an interdisciplinary understanding of science throughout their high school education?", and (b) "Is their thinking more interdisciplinary after two years of studies in an Estonian high school?" Additionally, we analyzed the results based on the type of school the students attended, and we examined the use concept mapping to assess interdisciplinary learning. This research is part of an overall study that involved students from 44 Estonian high schools taking a science test similar to the three-dimensional Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test (hereafter called PISA-like multidimensional test) as well as constructing concept maps, while in 10th and 12th grade. In this paper, we report on the analysis of the results for 182 of the students, concentrating on the analysis of the concept maps they constructed. The results suggest that there were changes in the students' interdisciplinary knowledge, but these were small and varied depending on the students' school type. They also suggest that changes may be needed in the Estonian educational system to increase the students' level of interdisciplinary understanding of science.

Critical literacy-focused messaging is already propelling place-based meaning-making in communities and streets. Literacy researchers must be part of this public development and revelation. Authors share learning from two longitudinal, publicly-engaged ethnographic projects in different Midwestern United States communities to offer waypoints key to understanding communities' social and spatial processes in highly segregated (by social class and race) locales. Building on key understandings around precarity and responsibility, place in research, and community-based critical equity literacy, these studies reinforce relentlessly examining places people live, grow up, and attend schools bound by values-laden and material geographic touchpoints that mobilize and produce inequities. These acts of placemaking position literacy research and researchers' role as imperative in informing future policy decisions and advocacy for equity with a "precariat" public and offer the layered approaches and multiple perspectives necessary for justice-based work where findings produced will resonate and matter for the publics we serve.

This study was set out to establish if adopting problem-based learning (PBL) techniques would effectively address the teaching and learning challenges at the University of Kisubi (Unik). Using Faculty of Education as a study sample, the quasi-experimental pretest-posttest nonequivalent group design was utilized where a class of 39 students was assigned to control group (19) and experimental group (20). The pretest results revealed that the performance of the two groups did not statistically differ (p-value = 0.409 > 0.05). However, the mean scores indicate that students in the experimental group performed slightly better than their counterparts in the control group ([X-bar][subscript TMI] = 53 < [X-bar][subscript PBL] = 57.10). Although improvement was observed in both streams at the posttest level (p-value 0.0384 < 0.05) for control and experimental (p-value = 0.0329 < 0.05), respectively, their mean scores did not statistically differ ([X-bar][subscript TMI] = 53 < [X-bar][subscript PBL] = 57.10). But there was a consistent improvement in learning effectiveness with a consistent corresponding reduction in cognitive overload in PBL stream, although on average, PBL was as effective as the traditional mode of instruction (TMI). This therefore stands to reason that replacing TMI with PBL method is not the ultimate solution to the teaching-learning challenges faced by the Faculty of Education at the moment, rather, understanding how learning takes place in a particular academic culture and how those learning activities mutually shape each other to influence the acquisition of knowledge, desirable attitude, and skills should be the cornerstone to creating an enabling learning environment at the faculty.

Space is the product of spatial and social relations (Massey 2005). Educators are constantly moving in and out of physical or virtual spaces in classrooms. In geography education particularly, space is integral to teaching and learning. For example, students situate spatial knowledge within social contexts to make sense of geographical concepts (Wee et al. 2013). Classrooms are also spaces where knowledge production and meaning-making occur. The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered these spaces and, in doing so, dramatically shifted how geography is taught and learned. This paper discusses how the Department of Geography & Environmental Sciences (GES) at the University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) adapted to this new instructional landscape while validating the diverse realities that are faced in (and out of) online/remote classrooms.

This article describes a data-driven approach to contextualize geography subject matter using student aspirations and workforce data. To test this teaching strategy, undergraduate students in two world geography courses taught at Texas State University were surveyed and interviewed about their career and life aspirations. Using this information, the course instructor selected relevant geography resources and applications using workforce data obtained from a sample of geographers employed in private and public sectors. Over the semester, students encountered those applications through class presentations, videos, and individual advising sessions. At the end, students completed a post-test survey. Resulting datasets offered the instructor a means to reflect upon and select geographic content that is accessible and applicable to what students aspire to be and do in the future. Analysis of the pre- and post-test survey data indicate positive gains in student attitudes but suggest additional culturally relevant pedagogical enhancements are needed to account for student diversity and context. The article concludes with a critical assessment of how future instructors might leverage aspirations and workforce data to address the underrepresentation of women and minorities in the discipline and workforce.

This study is a content analysis of the K to 12 Junior High School Geography curriculum of the Department of Education in the Philippines. The First Quarter competencies of Grade 7-10 were categorized and coded to determine the orientation of the curriculum in terms of curricular approaches. Then, themes from evidence of curricular approaches were used to align approaches with sub-disciplines and allied disciplines of geography. Findings show that Grade 7 and 8 have traditional orientation due to the domination of anthropocentric, factual, and determinist approaches into the curriculum. Grade 9 and 10, on the other hand, have contemporary orientation as these are dominated by the issues-based approach. This means that students have low-level thinking skills and have probably developed negative attitudes toward human, physical, and environmental geography in Grade 7 and 8. Students are then ill-prepared to appreciate complex concepts in political ecology when they proceed to Grade 9 and 10. This implies the need to have a stand-alone geography subject in the Junior High School that employs an issues-based approach, which emphasizes concepts and processes in political ecology. This is to provide students with extensive knowledge and critical understanding on the dynamics of human-environment relations.

Comparative studies on science curricula provide insights into educational standards worldwide. Accordingly, in this study, we analysed the intended curricula of mathematics and science subjects of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland and Slovenia by comparing their lower secondary (ISCED 2) National Curriculum Documents on mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geography and geology from the perspective of learning outcomes. By document analysis, we extracted obligatory learning outcomes from the national curricula, assessing their level of detail and structure. A team of seven coders also measured cognitive demands of the learning outcomes using the revised Bloom's taxonomy. Our results showed considerable differences in the number of learning outcomes across countries and in the structure of these outcomes across subjects, even within national documents. Cognitive demands determined by learning outcomes were similar across the countries, but metacognitive knowledge and cognitive processes of higher level (Evaluate and Create) were mostly overlooked. We also found a lack of learning outcomes explicitly requiring the use of ICT, experimental or field work or data analysis. Although these requirements are usually formulated in general sections of curriculum documents, we recommend explicitly incorporating them into these documents as individual learning outcomes.

This study aimed to develop an assessment tool for determining the geographic inquiry process skills of 9th-12th grade high school students. A 36-item questionnaire was prepared to achieve this goal. The questionnaire was administered to 599 10th and 11th-grade students from five different school types in Ankara province of Turkey in 2019. In consequence of the exploratory and confirmatory analyses, the scale consisted of 22 items and 5 factors. These factors were named Posing Geographic Questions, Acquiring Geographic Information, Organising and Analysing Geographic Information, Answering Geographic Questions, and Communicating Geographic Information. The findings show that the scale is valid, reliable, and discriminative.

This article outlines how Virtual Reality (VR) technologies, software and content can be used as a resource for teaching and learning in Geography. Drawing on the authors' first-hand experiences of using VR for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, we explore firstly how VR can enhance the development of fieldwork observational techniques, knowledge and understanding of place, prior to entering the field. Secondly, we show how VR can be used to enable students to develop critical analytical skills in relation to emergent visual technologies and the wider implications VR has for the representation of people, places and landscapes. Finally, the article will attend to the ways VR and Augmented Reality (AR) -- due to its growing industrial application -- can offer important opportunities for the development of unique practical employability skills which can be applied to the geovisualization of data and environments enhancing graduate career prospects.

The paper investigates how teacher trainees in higher education geography and external, non-scientific partners perceive and experience collaborations in an active teaching and learning approach. Such formats are recommended in education for sustainable development (ESD) but are likely to be challenging experiences for all actors involved. The study analysed two transdisciplinary-oriented courses, where future teachers in geography and primary social and science education collaborated with civil society partners. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 students and partners; course evaluations complemented the database. The analysis identified several approaches to collaboration and aspects that either led to intensive collaboration or challenged its transdisciplinary character. Furthermore, the study revealed the interdependencies between the external partners' expectations, their motives and the perceived effects of the collaborations. The partners anticipated a wide range of expectations, some of which went beyond what the students could reasonably deliver. Our analysis also showed that the collaborations enabled students to learn, experience and reflect on an active teaching and learning approach to ESD. We conclude that transdisciplinary-oriented courses can oscillate along the spectrum between "nice try" and "valuable initiative". The paper ends with recommendations for shaping and delivering transdisciplinary-oriented courses effectively.

The notion of learning context has been central in the research related to the socio-cultural turn that has been carried out in the field of Education during the last decades. Context is a fundamental element in the learning process-aprocess that must be understood in relation to the context in which it occurs. In this article we show areconceptualization of the notion of learning context through our teaching practice, which is based in the methodology of learning through contemporary art. This takes place within the framework of two Initial Teacher Education courses: Geography and Pedagogy-Processes and Educational Contexts, Faculty of Education, Psychology and Social Work, University of Lleida, Spain. Our starting point is the notion of the learning context as theorized by Vygotsky and the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, which has taken us to the notions of situation proposed by Dewey and constructed situation by Situationists and Letterists. We conclude by showing the possibilities that understanding learning contexts from the notion of atmosphere offers. This permits us to suggest the term "learning atmospheres" to overcome some of the limitations and contradictions of Situationist and Letterist discourses and practices, and to put them in tune with the contemporary educational needs.

Geographic technologies and perspectives are important for understanding health issues because places and locations influence human health and diseases. Despite the increasing use of a geographic information system (GIS) in health research, and the explosion of new and emerging technologies, little is known about their potential as educational tools for health geography and the effectiveness for student learning. Focusing on air-sensing and web GIS technologies, this article presents an innovative pedagogical strategy to integrate these technologies as tools for field-based learning in health geography and discusses the effectiveness and challenges of this teaching method. A class project, undertaken in a university health geography course, was developed to offer students hands-on training and real-world experience with state-of-the-art technologies. It consisted of: (1) a lecture and pre-fieldwork training; (2) field data collection using a low-cost, GPS-enabled portable air-pollution sensor; (3) data visualization using web GIS; and (4) sharing the findings through a web-based story map application. The successful implementation of the teaching method, as indicated by students' positive comments, demonstrated that such class projects can reinforce students' knowledge of air pollution and health risks; improve their technical, critical thinking, and research skills; and prepare students for entering a technology-driven society.

The article presents the authors' experiences in designing a storytelling map guide for the botanical gardens of Palacký University, Czech Republic, from a pedagogical point of view. The authors introduce a three-pillared original concept. The overall educational contribution is a combination of educational, thematic and technological knowledge which supports successful engagement in the storytelling process. In the Storytelling Map Guide for the Botanical Gardens and Greenhouse Collections, the first pillar represents the educational aspect. Botanical knowledge and familiarity with the study area, i.e. the Palacký University Botanical Gardens, represent the thematic pillar. The technological pillar is covered by knowledge of software, cartography and application design skills, including an overview of contemporary storytelling applications. Finally, the educational impact and benefits to students of geoinformatics are discussed.

South Africa's first national democratic elections in 1994 marked a turning point in the history of the country. Since democracy much of the focus of African National Congress (ANC)-led government has been on redress and transformation across all spheres of society, including higher education. This paper examines one important aspect inherent in transforming higher education; that is, changing the academic staffing profile of its institutions to more accurately reflect the demographics of the country. Specifically, we examine the academic staffing profiles (gender, race, and rank) of Geographers employed at higher education institutions (HEIs) in South Africa and compare these statistics to national academic staffing trends. Results indicate that Geographers in South Africa are most often white and male although these findings mirror national percentages. We also found a paucity of black African Geographers at more senior academic positions as well as a lack of black African female Geographers. Racial inequities in the distribution of academic staff were noted with white male Geographers disproportionately located at historically white institutions while black African Geographers are disproportionately located at historically black institutions. We discuss these, and other results, in the broader context of the transformation of the discipline of Geography in South Africa.

When the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) program releases its reports on student achievement in various subjects, the data are added to the NAEP Data Explorer (NDE) website. The NDE has been shown to support reflective educational practices in the social studies. Working with assessment data can stimulate ideas for how teachers can critique and evaluate curriculum making and instructional practices. However, there are no published accounts of geography teachers using the NDE for such purposes. To illustrate how NAEP data can address questions of concern to geography educators, this article reports the results of a study that investigated these questions. A discussion of the NDE analysis and how the results highlight the potential of using NAEP data to support reflective educational practices in geography is also provided.

In the context of rapidly growing numbers of university students reporting that they have experienced mental health problems, this paper argues that doing research as an undergraduate can contribute to student well-being. Although the benefits of undergraduate research are well documented, underlying reasons for its efficacy on positive student outcomes require investigation. This paper uses Self-Determination theory, which has empirically shown that fulfilling one's need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness fosters well-being. Using authenticity as a conceptual lens to understand undergraduate research experiences, and a novel connection to Self-Determination theory, the theoretical proposition that authenticity within undergraduate research contributes to well-being is elaborated. The paper suggests that authenticity within undergraduate research experiences offers a way to stimulate well-being among our students, which hinges on effective curriculum design and mentoring. Two case studies, drawn from Medicine and Geography, explore the way in which curriculum design coupled with mentoring pedagogy can enhance authenticity in research, student motivation, and, therefore, well-being. The paper reveals how authentic research-based learning can form an entitlement for all students through an embedded curriculum-based approach. The paper advocates for research-based learning to begin early in the undergraduate curriculum, in order to establish a sense of belonging for students and healthy learner-centred pedagogy. In addition to the framework for authenticity adopted, this paper reveals the importance of attention to the quality of learning spaces (novelty, professionalism, inclusivity) and the practice-based elements of mentoring for effective relationships between learners and teachers to ensure the well-being of all involved.

GeoCapabilities is a distinctive approach to teacher professional development which foregrounds the educational potential of geographical knowledge. This paper examines the effect of GeoCapabilities on geography teachers' expertise. First, the paper explores a problem of teacher training which privileges technique for classroom effectiveness over geographical thinking. We then introduce the GeoCapabilities 3 project, presenting and discussing findings through teachers' reflections. We argue that GeoCapabilities 3 offers a model of teacher development, which supports teachers as leaders of curriculum change in an 'activist profession'. This is needed if geography education is to equip young people with knowledge capabilities for their future.