Vývoj didaktiky geografie a nové trendy výuky zeměpisu v Česku

Abstract

This paper deals with the issue of the didactics of the Czech lands geography process and the position of geography as a scientific branch in its system. It describes new trends and styles in teaching geography in the Czech Republic. At the same time, it mentions some current teaching difficulties at Czech primary and secondary schools. The first stage of teaching developing theory, the period from 1948 to 1965, is tagged “applied period” (Hajek, 2003). The theory of teaching geography (nowadays called the didactics of geography) was at that time only a pedagogical discipline. It has been focused on searching and working out in detail the middle ground for the methods, the organization forms and materials specified for geography teaching. The period after the year 1990 is called “the period of the transformation of the didactics of geography”. The attention in teaching geography has been focused on new topics, for example the upbringing for the human rights and democracy, multiculturalism, international understanding and peace, informational or worldwide education, etc. The didactics of geography is already a border science, penetrating two systems –geography and pedagogy (Wahla, 1991). Primarily, the task of the scholars in the field of the didactics of geography was searching for an answer to the question: “What type of knowledge should the students be provided with and what are the reasons and methods for that transfer of knowledge?”. The explanation of the influence of the way geography was taught on the student´s development of imagination, thinking and positive relation to their environment was, to some extent, already provided. Similarly, this influence was also observed in the attention to the quality of the teacher, teaching methods and organization of the forms of teaching, teaching environment, and some specific geography tools (maps, books of maps, etc.). The contemporary concept of the didactics of geography comes from the International Geography Union, which declares not only the value of educational geography importance for individual education, but primarily its application in international and environmental nation education context. The determination of basic questions directed at students is also inconsistent. It is crucial that students are able to react to questions like: “Where is it? What is it like? Why is it there? How did it come into existence? What is the influence of it? How should it be adapted to be beneficial for the people and nature at the same time?”. Contemporary geography education should take aim at students´ knowledge and their skills and phrasing progress, creating the basic attitudes and life values, and also the sense of responsibility. The interdisciplinary and broad multidisciplinary of the thematic range guarantees a strong integrating role of geography education in schools. It is essential for the progress and the formation of all cross-sectional topics (Matouskova, 2005). There is more interests in the way the science subjects, including geography, are taught. It is realized primarily through familiarization of the content – relating to students´ daily life and solving actual questions and topics. In geography teaching the emphasis is put both on practice, fieldwork and working in geo-laboratories, and on class-work. Therefore, the basic principles of researchable orientating education as well as the progress of geographical informational systems and their application in geography teaching at primary and secondary schools are fulfilled. Geography as a subject at Czech schools is considered by students to be of mediocre or even low prestige. There are many reasons for that, but the main one is the unqualified and poorly qualified geography teachers. Geography is seen as a subject concerned with toponymic terms. The prestige of geography can be improved by ensuring that teachers are properly qualified and are specialists in their field. Those teachers should be interested in the subject and teach not only the necessary quota (“general knowledge”), but also a notion of “the intertwined aspects of the world”. A geography teacher should help the students understand the global connections, be able to get students interested in traveling and learning about different cultures and occurring differences, as well as teach the students how to be tolerant of something that is foreign to them (Karas, Kuhnlova, 2011). Additional training for teachers is crucial for improving the quality of geography teaching and it should become an integral part of their pedagogical experience.