Teachers' passion for geography influences their pedagogy

The combination of an educator's academic background and interests play into their professional identity. The relationship between an educator and the subject they teach is often significant enough that their academic identity, also known as subject-identity, is fused with their overall teacher identity- known as a fused identity. This study observed a sample of five primary school teachers teaching geography in England. The researchers investigated each participant's personal story through interviews to uncover how their relationship to geography effected their classroom teaching and how this contributed to their professional identity.

In England, the national curriculum on geography is taught in all government run schools for children ages 5 to 11 years. The national curriculum has standards to observe and assess teacher performance and level of subject knowledge. Primary school teachers receive generalist training rather than receiving subject-specific training. Knowing that teachers often strongly identify with one subject despite their general training, researchers desire to understand the connection between general academic training and subject identity training of primary school teachers.

Of the five teachers involved in the study, four were current primary teachers, and one was a researcher and former teacher with ten years of experience. They all considered themselves geographers. The participants were interviewed a total of four times over one year, with three semi-structured interviews and one open-ended interview. In the final interview, each participant was asked to reflect on their prior interviews and provide further detail. In all interviews, the teachers were asked about their experiences with geography, the geography constructs they used in their teachers, and how those constructs relate to their overall identity. After the interviews, the researcher performed a reduction analysis, in which the audible answers are transcribed verbatim and then refined to reveal the foundation of what the interviewee experienced. This data was then analyzed to produce a description of the interviewee's experience as a whole.

The research confirmed the fused identities of the teachers; they had a personal and professional interest in geography which integrates with their general teacher identity and primary pedagogy. The study found that teachers articulated their knowledge of geography well and displayed a significant commitment to the subject in their classrooms and their personal lives. They found that their special interest in geography provided them with confidence when they were unenthused by other subjects in the curriculum. Outside of the classroom, the teachers' commitment to geography shows in their vacation destination choices and wonder of the world. The researcher also found that the participants' knowledge and commitment to geography were often rooted in their experiences during childhood.

There are some limitations to this study. The sample size is small, so while there is much to be learned from this study the results are not generalizable to all geography teachers. The teachers also had at least ten years of experience, so it is unclear if these results would apply to newer teachers.

This study showed that having enthusiasm for one subject area in teaching, like geography, can enhance an educator's teaching in area subject areas. Recommendations for this study lie in the questions researchers are left with at the conclusion of the study and apply mostly to future research. The researcher wondered if teacher identities may provide a path towards improving teaching overall. If the opportunity presents itself again, researchers should observe the identities of primary, secondary, and high school teachers. When evaluating how and what teachers teach, it is important to consider how teachers identify with a subject.