Objectives and Constraints in Geographical Fieldwork: Teachers’ Attitudes and Perspectives in Senior High Schools in Taiwan

Abstract

This paper considers the objectives for geographical fieldwork within senior high schools in Taiwan, and the constraints on the implementation and development of fieldwork. It introduces briefly the position of fieldwork in geography education in Taiwan, then uses a model adapted from the work of Boardman in 1974 and Smith in 1996 in England to examine teachers’ perspectives on the objectives and constraints in geographical fieldwork. The paper concludes that teachers in Taiwan have a balanced range of objectives for fieldwork across cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains, while they see safety, the impact of lessons missed by teachers supervising fieldwork, and large classes as the main constraints to developing fieldwork. Whereas the detailed prioritisation of objectives and constraints shows some differences between Taiwan and England, the broad pattern shows strong similarities between the two educational settings.