Attainment in the teaching of geography (general syllabus) through the concrete, pictorial and symbolic dimensions

Abstract

This study investigated why the subject of Geography is losing its importance in the school curriculum as time is passing by. Indeed, it is of vital importance that Geography teachers present their lessons in an attractive way in order to motivate and attract students' attention. However, there are still many negative factors which hinder teachers from planning appealing and exciting lessons, such as an out-dated school curriculum and the difficulty teachers are faced with when adopting different teaching strategies. The aim of this dissertation was to analyse the pictorial, concrete and symbolic dimension in regards to the teaching of Geography (general syllabus). The authors endavoured to study the opinions of those directly involved in this issue i.e. teachers and students. This was done through questionnaires distributed in four different secondary schools. This dissertation attempted to analyse which learning dimensions students prefer to have during their learning process. Moreover, this study investigated which learning strategies teachers adopt to promote positive attitudes amongst their students towards the subject of Geography. The purpose of this study was to build some awareness, at least at the planning stage, of a more balanced teaching approach by expanding the learning objectives also towards skills and attitudes and applying with more emphasis these objectives in the concrete educational dimensions.