‘I hate when we learn off the mountains and rivers because I don’t need to know where they all are on a blank map?!’ Irish Pupils’ Attitudes Towards, and Preferred Methods of Learning, Primary Geography Education

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigates 152 Irish primary pupils’ attitudes towards geography and their most preferred and least preferred methods of learning and experiencing geography at primary level. The findings indicate that Irish pupils have a neutral attitude towards geography with no significant difference between male and female pupils nor between class levels. Findings clearly show a direct link between teaching approaches and pupil attitudes with Irish pupils preferring hands-on, child-centred, experiential methods of teaching and learning and least preferring rote-learning and didactic and textbook-dominated approaches. Learning about physical features and distant places dominates with few references to the local area.