The role teachers and family members play in secondary-level school learners’ geographical lived experiences in Namibia, Africa

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ABSTRACT The aim of the project was to analyse the reported geographical lived experiences of secondary school learners from Namibia. Twenty-eight Grade 11 learners were asked to reflect on their lived experiences during a semi-structured interview. The data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Four superordinate themes were identified, one of which is explored in this paper. It was found that teachers, family members, friends and community members play indirect and direct roles in the learners’ perceptions of geographical phenomena and landscapes. These role players contribute significantly to participants’ ability to make sense of lived experiences and to recall lived experiences relevant to Geography as a school subject. Family members predominantly influence participants’ thinking and understanding of the world indirectly as opposed to the role of teachers (and what happens in the Geography classroom) that is more direct and explicit. The engagement of learners with the role players often leads to the exchange of ideas, experiences and memories, as well as the sharing of stories and photographs. These influences do not necessarily operate in isolation but often in conjunction with the participants’ own lived experiences that are relevant to Geography.