Teacher students’ conceptions of geography and their sources

Abstract

Teachers’ conceptions of geography play a key role in teacher identity. They also impact students’ learning. This paper aims to describe teacher students’ conceptions of geography and their sources. Our data comes from two online questionnaires. Participants came from Switzerland (nQ1 = 20, nQ3 = 98). In contrast to previous research, participants in our studies could not be assigned to only one conception. Eight of 11 statements about what geography is and five of eight statements about the main purpose of geography education were endorsed by 90% or more of participants in both studies. This includes those about understanding sustainability and the system earth. Some items showed significant differences by migration background and by the grade level the students want to teach. While the results are mostly positive, teacher educators need to find ways to reach those students who do not yet have a current view of geography, e.g. regarding the role of sustainability. Participants saw diverse sources as shaping their conceptions. Most participants saw specialist literature as an influential and often-used source. Yet, many knew few empirical studies about teaching/learning the subject. Teacher educators and researchers thus need to find ways to make research literature more memorable for teacher students.