Campus Location
Abilene Campus
Date of Award
Spring 5-6-2022
Document Type
Manuscript
Department
Teacher Education
Degree Name
Master of Education in Teaching and Learning
First Advisor
Dana Mayhall
Second Advisor
Andrew Huddleston
Abstract
Geography is often viewed as a subject that breeds a variety of perceptions by those who take it as a classroom subject. Understanding factors that influence these perceptions is a paramount aspect that many classroom teachers fail to consider. At the time of this study, the researcher was a graduate student completing a year-long clinical teaching placement. The researcher sought to understand what factors influence how students view the subject of geography. The aim of the study was to examine how students perceive their life experiences influencing their view of geography as an academic subject. For this study, the researcher collected data through the use of a survey, focus group interviews, document collections, and observations alongside field notes. Qualitative data was analyzed using the constant comparative method. The author found that common influences behind student perceptions of geography included travel, relationship to a geographic location, relevancy, worldview, and student interest.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Valadez, Kenzi, "High School Students’ Perceptions of Geography: A Study on the Influences of Life Experiences" (2022). Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning. 47.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/metl/47