The geography of geographical education in Scotland, Part 2
Why do pupils choose to study geography
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21722585 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ian Selmes (RSGS, corresponding author), Alastair McConnell (FRSGS, RSGS), Jim Bruce (FRSGS) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 139 |
| Issue | 3-4 |
| Pages | 520-537 |
| Publication date | 2023-10-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Scottish Geographical Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1470-2541 • E-ISSN: 1751-665X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14702541.2023.2236065 |
| OpenAlex | W4385075440 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 5 |
In Scotland, there is ongoing concern about the status of geography in education. Numbers of pupils studying geography have been falling at a time when the relevance and importance of geography should be high, given the significance of issues like climate and biodiversity change. Why people choose to study geography is crucial knowledge for a vibrant discipline seeking to grow the subject and perceptions of its value. This paper is a companion paper to Selmes et al. (2022 Selmes, I., McConnell, A., & Bruce, J. (2022). The geography of geographical education in Scotland: Who studies geography and why. Scottish Geographical Journal, 138(3-4), 347–368. https://doi.org/10.1080/14702541.2022.2146174[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) which reported on quantitative data about geographers in the Scottish secondary and tertiary education sectors. This paper confirms that the tide is turning for geography study in Scotland, with entries now rising at all levels. Furthermore, an online survey of 93 pupils found that they choose to study geography because they enjoy the lessons and are interested in the content, feeling able in the subject and that it will be useful in paid work. Conversely, pupils say they choose not to study geography when they do not perceive it will be useful in their career or because they have not found it interesting or an enjoyable experience. The question for all professional geographers is how we might together improve on the current situation
Development geography · Economic geography · Feeling · Five themes of geography · Geography · Historical geography · Human geography · Language geography · Library science · Political science · Regional geography · Social science · Sociology · Strategic geography · Time geography · Geography Education and Pedagogy · Psychology
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |