How Geography Textbook Tasks Promote Comparison Competency—An International Analysis
Abstract
Comparison is an important competency for gaining and linking knowledge. It can be
learned in geography classes to help students understand complex concepts and develop autonomous
geographical thinking. However, we do not currently have any model to assess comparison as a
competency in geography classes. In addition, little is known about how textbook tasks promote
comparison competency. Therefore, in this study, a competency model for comparison in geography
education was developed. It consists of four dimensions of comparison competency, which relate
either to the mastering of comparison processes or to content-related elements of comparisons. Then,
via a qualitative content analysis and descriptive statistics, the competency model was used to assess
which dimensions of comparison competency were featured in 981 tasks from 20 German, English
and French textbooks. Results showed that comparison tasks largely failed to promote autonomous
and argumentative comparison process planning. However, numerous tasks performed better on
the content-related aspects of comparison. Thus, the competency model presented in this study is a
valuable tool to assess and enhance comparison competency in geography education and to promote
students’ autonomous geographical thinking.
Bibliography
Simon, M.; Budke, A. How Geography Textbook Tasks Promote Comparison Competency—An International Analysis. Sustainability 2020, 12, 8344.
| author | Simon, Marine and Budke, Alexandra |
|---|---|
| citation | Simon, M.; Budke, A. How Geography Textbook Tasks Promote Comparison Competency—An International Analysis. Sustainability 2020, 12, 8344. |
| doi | https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208344 |
| journal | Sustainability |
| key | MarineSimon2020 |
| month | 10 |
| number | 20 |
| pages | 8344 |
| publisher | MDPI |
| school | University of Cologne |
| type | article |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/20/8344 |
| volume | 12 |
| year | 2020 |