Student Teachers’ Knowledge of Multiperspectivity and Its Implementation in Geography Lesson Plans: Results from an Exploratory Qualitative Study with German and Dutch Student Teachers

Abstract

This exploratory qualitative study reports student teachers’ knowledge of multiperspectivity as well as how student teachers consider multiperspectivity in lesson planning. The study was embedded in a project in which German and Dutch student teachers dealt with multiperspectivity for one semester. Based on the theoretical literature and the empirical results, we identified a set of criteria for multiperspectivity in geography lessons. These criteria were then applied to analyse the student teachers’ lesson plans and teaching materials as well as the student teachers’ answers in the qualitative questionnaires, which the student teachers answered at the beginning and at the end of the semester. The results of this study showed that the professional knowledge of student teachers in terms of multiperspectivity was not extensively represented or apparent from the answers to either the pre- or the postquestionnaire. The analysis of the lesson plans and the teaching materials showed that the student teacher groups were able to form a multiperspective topic didactically. However, not all groups had considered promoting evaluation competence in lesson planning, and the reflection competence was hardly considered. Therefore, our developed criteria for multiperspectivity in geography lessons could help student teachers to better understand and consider multiperspectivity when planning lessons.