Geographical Association

At the GA's 2012 Annual Conference we will again be including a series of sessions focusing on and reporting recent research into geographical education.

Detailed information about all 'Reporting Research' sessions is available below. These short sessions include action research into a teacher's own practice, ethnographic classroom research and research into particular aspects of curriculum or assessment.

FRIDAY 13 APRIL

11.40-12.05
The residential fieldtrip experience: a sensory ethnography
Nick Gee, Associate Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of East Anglia
This doctoral research employs an ethnographic methodology to examine social learning on a particular residential geography fieldtrip. A conceptual framework based around notions of 'community' is constructed to focus upon the evolving processes that occur during the trip.

12.05-12.30
An exploration of how young people relate to the cultural landscape of London
Lauren Hammond, MPhil/PhD Student, Institute of Education, London
This session will present the work that I have completed so far on my PhD, which explores how and why young people relate to the cultural landscape of London and how this can be explored through the geography curriculum at key stage 3.

13.50-14.15
Studying student perceptions of a subject at key stage 3 and their influence on option choices: geography at a rural 11–16 village college
Katie Niven, MA Student, University of Cambridge
This study considers student perceptions of geography, focusing on Year 9 students. My rationale was to better understand students' views of geography and how this affects their options choices. The research has become more topical with the introduction of the English Baccalaureate at Key Stage 4.

14.15-14.40
The uses of Twitter for geography teachers/students
Jennifer Watts, Postgraduate Researcher, University of Manchester
This session will explain a little about the basics of Twitter, provide a range of examples of how it can be used by educators: as a resource for finding information; for gaining feedback on ideas (inside and outside the classroom); and for linking with other geographers (and nongeographers).

14.55-15.10
Secondary school geography teachers' conceptions of knowledge in school geography
Steve Puttick, DPhil Student, University of Oxford
The relationship between school geography and the academic discipline is contested. Questions have been raised over the authenticity of educational knowledge in school geography. This study views teachers as the curriculum makers and argues their understandings of educational knowledge are vital.

15.10-15.25
Modernities and geography education: a comparative study of Romania, Sweden and England
Diana Larsson, MA Student, Institute of Education, London
This research study investigates, through a combination of theoretical and empirical methodology, the role of geography education in shaping modernity.

15.25-15.40
The factors which influence children's locational knowledge
Lucie Towse, MA Student, University of Sheffield
This research was prompted by the changing role of locational knowledge in geographical education and personal concerns regarding the limited locational knowledge of secondary school students.

16.30-16.55
Geospatial technology: acceptance and use in American high school geography classrooms
Mary D. Curtis, Doctoral Candidate, Texas State University-San Marcos
This presentation examines the current status of geospatial technologies in American high school geography and invites British secondary geography educators to engage in a discussion regarding teaching with GST in their classrooms.

16.55-17.20
Does a relationship exist between the teaching of required geography courses and advanced placement human geography test scores?
Matt Patton, Doctoral Student, Texas State University-San Marcos
This study analyses recent Advanced Placement Human Geography test scores from selected US states and seeks to discover if any conclusions can be drawn about the relationship between required geography courses and APHG test scores.

17.35-18.00
Geo-information and geomedia in primary school: bridging the gap between everyday life and education
Daniela Schmeinck, Professor in Geography, University of Cologne
This presentation shows the possibilities, limitations and risks of using social tools such as Facebook and Google Latitude, and proposes consequences for an appropriate didactic approach for the use of ICT, GI and GM in primary schools.

18.00-18.25
Using Google Earth to develop 'change' in the context of coasts
Xiang Xi, PhD student, Singapore
Secondary geography teaching in Singapore places emphasis on spatial and temporal changes in physical environments. Analysing change in a place is therefore an important geographic and spatial skill. As coasts are a continuously changing system, studying them provides a good context for developing a range of skills in spatial analysis, and Google Earth is an excellent tool for visualising the changes taking place.

SATURDAY 14 APRIL

11.45-12.10
The south-north educational linking process: comparing southern perspectives
Alison Leonard, Doctoral Research Student, Institute of Education, London
This research seeks to understand how the schools linking process affects those at the southern end of these relationships. This paper reports analysis of qualitative research in Ghanaian, Ugandan and Tanzanian schools.

12.10-12.35
The daring discourses of Teaching Geography?
Indra Persaud, Doctoral Research Student, Institute of Education, London
My presentation explores Teaching Geography’s discourse and is based on a study of over 100 editorials from across the journal's 35-year lifespan.

14.00-14.25
Developing the global dimension
Dr Stephen Scoffham, Principal Lecturer, Canterbury Christ Church University
Using the example of Fair Trade as a 'lens', this session explores some of the contradictions that permeate current approaches to teaching about the environment and international relations.

14.25-14.50
Children's atlases and geopolitical messages
Deborah G. Hann, PhD Instructional Assistant, Texas State University-San Marcos
A content analysis of the text, images and maps of children's atlases has been conducted; word choice, common themes, and tropes are analysed, quantified and compared in an effort to explore the messages being conveyed to their audience.