Geography, the study of the world as a natural system, provides a foundation for environmental education. Past research has suggested three factors influence student attitudes toward a school subject: the student's personal interest in the subject, their expected value of a career in the subject, and their personal aptitude and success in the subject. However, there has been little research on student attitudes toward geography. This paper set out to assess student attitudes toward the school subject of geography in Ghana.
During the 2017-2018 academic year, the researchers identified over 2,000 students taking geography as an elective course at 3 public high schools in the Asante Region of Ghana. The researchers selected a random sample of 116 students, equally distributed across years 1-4. Of the sample students, 61 were male, 55 were female, and their ages ranged from 14 to 19 years old. Each student was asked over the course of a 30-minute interview whether geography was one of their preferred school subjects, why or why not, and what suggestions for improvement they had. The researchers recorded the interviews and used a model to derive themes from the students' answers.
The researchers found that 85 of 116 students expressed positive attitudes toward geography. Students liked that geography was a multidisciplinary subject with a broad spatial scale, providing holistic knowledge for addressing relevant problems, particularly in weather and agriculture. Geography was seen as a qualification for other classes (specifically architecture and land economy) and a wide variety of jobs. For example, a US Labor Department survey found 145 types of jobs that required geography knowledge, including weather forecasters, surveyors, and seismologists. Students also cited their personal interest and the influence of parents and teachers as contributors to studying geography. In contrast, 31 of 116 students expressed negative attitudes toward geography. These students disliked the subject because of their poor performance in the subject and its perceived difficulty. For example, many of these students mentioned the physical processes that form desert and coastal features were difficult concepts to grasp, contributing to their negative attitudes about geography. Students complained about poor teaching methods such as rushed lessons, excess memorization, and a lack of field trips. The researchers implied that these poor pedagogies were caused by a lack of funding and teachers feeling urgency to cover subjects. These students also saw geography as a less prestigious or lucrative subject than other science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects.
This study had limitations. The researchers only sampled 5% of their sample, although the researchers argued that between 5% and 20% of a population can be equally representative samples. The study is also based in just one region of one country, the Asante Region of Ghana; therefore, the biases and pressures affecting its population make the study not generalizable to other communities. For example, the Ghanaian students may have struggled with coastal and desert landforms because they resided in a forested region without those features present. Students from areas with those features may have responded differently.
Past research showed that students enjoy geography more when they get to learn through activities during field work and through computer simulations, and the results of this study echoed that finding. The researchers concluded that while geography is enjoyed by many students, some students were averse to the subject because of avoidable pitfalls. They suggested mandating outdoor field trips and practical lessons in geography education so students can apply the concepts they learn to the real world. To fund these excursions, they suggested securing funding from the government or other grant-making organizations. Finally, the researchers suggested schools provide a clearer explanation of the wide variety of jobs (from surveying to weather forecasting) made available by an education in geography.
The Bottom Line
Geography plays a role in many other subjects such as environmental education and sociology. The researchers assessed high school student attitudes toward geography in Ghana. The researchers interviewed 116 students taking geography at three public high schools in the Asante Region of Ghana. Each student was asked whether geography was one of their preferred school subjects, why or why not, and what suggestions for improvement they had for teachers and the curriculum. The researchers found 85 of 116 students expressed positive attitudes towards geography, due to its relevant knowledge and career opportunities. The 31 students who disliked geography cited perceived difficulty of the subject matter, poor teaching methods, and less prestigious jobs as contributors to their negative attitude toward geography. The researchers suggested incorporating outdoor field trips and clearer explanations of the jobs afforded to those with geography knowledge for students to feel more connected with the subject.
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