World-mindedness of young people during the rise in migration in Europe : A case study of Czechia, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands

During the 2015 sudden rise in migration movements in Europe, approximately 2.4 million refugees arrived in Europe and 1.2 million asylum applications were received in the European Union countries. We were interested in finding out whether these rapid changes and the polarised attitudes represented in the media affected young people's attitudes towards people with different cultural backgrounds. This study, therefore, examined young people's global understanding in four European countries: Czechia, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands. The aim was to identify the level of world-mindedness of young people and compare the results with an earlier study (conducted in 2010) with the same research design. The research was targeted at a group of upper-secondary students in these countries. In total, 962 students participated in the study in 2017. Although the context in the observed countries varied, the findings revealed a stable state, or rather a slightly positive change of world-mindedness, to 2010 in all the countries. The results stress the need to remain sensitive to students' opinions and attitudes towards other people and cultures in geography lessons in general and especially when teaching and learning about current societal issues, inequality, exclusion and solidarity.Peer reviewe

Learning with Geographic Information (Systems) from the Point of View of Geography Teachers in Germany

Given Germany’s low frequency of GI(S) use in its secondary schools’ geography classrooms, we surveyed 410 teachers on their point of view of main impediments to wider implementation of GI-applications and the chances they see in the usage of GI(S) in the geography classroom. We did this in the framework of a larger cumulative mixed methods study which aims at improving the implementation of GI(S) in the classroom by developing well-founded implementation strategies and concrete measures for implementation. In this paper we present the results from the quantitative part of the study (impediments and chances from the point of view of the teachers) and later offer an overview of similar studies in other countries, followed by some concluding thoughts.Peer Reviewe

Criteria Regarding Software and Data for a Successful Implementation of GI(S) in the Geography Classroom. GI_Forum 2014 – Geospatial Innovation for Society|

Given the low implementation of GI(S) in the geography classroom at German schools, it was examined which support geography teachers need from their perspective, in order to implement GI(S) in their teaching. The results illustrate that there are eight main criteria which are important for the implementation of GI(S) from the teachers’ perspective: adequate teaching examples, integration of GI(S) in teacher training at university, sustainable further training activities for teachers, didactical conditions, GI(S)-promoting conditions at the school, access and availability of geodata, adequate software solutions, and cooperation and exchange of the participating GI(S) actors. Two main criteria and their sub-criteria are discussed more deeply in this paper: software solutions and geodata availability

Criteria Regarding Software and Data for a Successful Implementation of GI(S) in the Geography Classroom. GI_Forum 2014 – Geospatial Innovation for Society|

Given the low implementation of GI(S) in the geography classroom at German schools, it was examined which support geography teachers need from their perspective, in order to implement GI(S) in their teaching. The results illustrate that there are eight main criteria which are important for the implementation of GI(S) from the teachers’ perspective: adequate teaching examples, integration of GI(S) in teacher training at university, sustainable further training activities for teachers, didactical conditions, GI(S)-promoting conditions at the school, access and availability of geodata, adequate software solutions, and cooperation and exchange of the participating GI(S) actors. Two main criteria and their sub-criteria are discussed more deeply in this paper: software solutions and geodata availability

Hindernisse für den Einsatz naturwissenschaftlicher Arbeitsweisen im Geographieunterricht aus Studierendenperspektive – Ausgewählte Ergebnisse einer empirischen Studie mit Lehramtsstudierenden. GW-Unterricht|GW-Unterricht 142/143|

Trotz der in Publikationen vielfach festgestellten großen Bedeutung naturwissenschaftlicher Arbeitsweisen für den Geographieunterricht, scheinen diese im Geographieunterricht nicht sehr häufig verwendet zu werden. Eingebettet in einen größeren Forschungsansatz wurden in der vorgestellten Studie Lehramtsstudierende befragt, was sie als Hindernis für den Einsatz naturwissenschaftlicher Arbeitsweisen im Unterricht wahrnehmen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die universitäre Ausbildung in diesem Kontext auf vielfältige Weise gefordert ist, nehmen die Studierenden doch die eigene Qualifikation in diesem Kontext als nicht optimal wahr, sei es in Bezug auf die konkrete Qualität der Ausbildung oder auch bezogen auf den Umgang mit Lehrplan oder anderen organisatorisch-formalen Rahmenbedingungen

Teachers’ Perspectives on Teacher Training for Better Implementation of GIS in the Geography Classroom. GI_Forum|GI_Forum 2015 – Geospatial Minds for Society|

The perspective of German geography teachers was examined regarding their view on what university teacher training has to provide in order to improve the implementation of GIS in the classroom. This was based on the finding that there is only low implementation of GIS in geography classrooms at German schools, despite teachers seeing enormous potential in GIS usage in general. The results show that one of the eight main criteria that is important for the implementation of GIS from teachers’ perspectives on the integration of GIS in teacher training is especially challenging in the university context; however, concrete measures for the design of university and practical courses in teacher training can be derived easily

Educational uses of Geomedia

International audienceToday, many teachers have, on one hand, the opportunity to benefit from powerful geomedia technologies to improve their lessons, but on the other hand they have to deal with problems and difficulties handling and making sense of them. Nevertheless, remaining in ignorance is not a realistic option at all as today geomedia technologies pervade everyday life. This introductory chapter to a book dedicated to the use of geomedia in secondary education presents the Challenges and opportunities emerging with the societal impact of geomedia need to be addressed through educatio