Formative experiences of primary geography educators

Abstract

This paper reports the initial findings of a study in the UK and the Republic of Ireland of teacher educators and teachers who are involved in promoting geography education in primary schooling. Following research by Buttimer, Chawla, McPartland, Palmer and others, it sought to investigate the connections between early formative life experiences and adult engagement in geographical studies and education. The research asked respondents to record those “autobiographical memories” they considered had “turned them on” to geography. A grounded theory approach was used to analyse the 37 responses received. It emerged that informal/personal experiences and formal educational experiences were influential. Several significant features emerged, including experience of “freedom to roam” locally, family holidays, outings and trips abroad, access to and using maps, fieldwork activities at primary or secondary school and with other organisations and the impact of a good teacher. While the outdoor findings echo Chawla's reviews of environmental educators, the love of maps is an additional finding. Traffic and other factors have inhibited children's outdoor experience in recent decades, and school fieldwork has declined. This study re-emphasises the essential impact of such experience in stimulating people's geographical engagement and encourages the need to foster learning outside the classroom for all children.