Determination of High School Students’ Awareness of Geographical Elements with Fieldwork: A Qualitative Research

Abstract

In this study, it was aimed to determine the awareness levels of the students who took the compulsory geography course in the 9th and 10th grades of high school about the geographical elements they learned in geography courses through a fieldwork. The research was shaped according to the phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods. For the research, a geographical fieldwork was conducted and data were collected through interviews after the study. The study was conducted with 40 10th grade students in a high school in Kayseri during the 2021-2022 academic year. Participants were identified on a voluntary basis. Criterion sample selection strategies were utilized to identify the participants. The criterion for the selection of the students participating in the fieldwork was to have taken the compulsory geography course in the 9th and 10th grades. On June 16, 2022, the answers given by the participants to the open-ended question form applied after the fieldwork were analyzed by descriptive analysis method. While performing descriptive analysis, categories were formed from the findings and percentage distributions were given in tables. In the tables created, direct quotations were made from the views of the participants. In the excerpts, participants were identified by code names such as P.1, P.2. In the formula applied to test the analysis performed by the researchers and the analysis performed by the other expert, 87% agreement was observed. According to the findings obtained in the study, it was concluded that high school students were able to recognize the geographical elements they saw in the 9th and 10th grades during fieldwork. According to the results obtained, it is recommended that fieldworks should be carried out in order to reinforce the subjects learned within the scope of geography lessons at high school level.