| dc.description.abstract | Summary
This thesis focuses on the European Union in the subject of geography. The study aims to give an insight into different points of view within the field of geography education in the Netherlands regarding the EU. To answer the research question, two different kinds of research methods were used, namely a content analysis and interviews.
The research question: How, and to what extent do geography teachers bring attention to the European Union in geography lessons?
Firstly, a theoretical framework is explored. This outlines the existing knowledge of ‘the European Union in geography education’ and ‘the education setting’. These theories are used as a framework for the content analysis of the digital learning materials (for age 12-15 years) produced by the European Union. They are also used in compiling the questionnaire list for the interviews conducted with the ‘Nationaal Expertisecentrum Leerplanontwikkeling’ (SLO), Koninklijk Aardrijkskundig Genootschap (KNAG), ‘de Onderwijsraad’, geography method writers and publishers, geography teacher educators, and geography teachers.
The different parties in this study are aware of the importance of the role of the European Union in the subject of geography. As students growing up in a European context, pupils must be aware of the role of the EU. The SLO and geography teachers question the reason for the subject being removed from school exams, as they believe the EU should be addressed in the curriculum. These different parties see new opportunities for the European Union to be a part of geography education in addressing themes such as critical citizenship, debate, ‘the culture of Europe’ and ‘the future of the European Union’.
The learning materials produced by the European Union contain geographical elements, such as, ‘human-nature’, ‘relations between areas’ and ‘genesis and development’, and therefore could be used in geography lessons. However, the quality of the materials is very poor. The materials are a set of unstructured lessons; no didactical advice is provided for teachers, they contain a lot of different materials, and are not written for pupils aged 12-15. The material is also very positive about the EU and provides no critical insight for students or teachers. In addition, the materials don’t address current and interesting themes such as migration policy, bureaucratic policy of the EU. According to the interviews conducted with geography teachers, these themes are interesting to teach.
Geography teachers were found to give importance to the European Union during their lessons. At lower levels of secondary education, more attention is given to the subject, whereas less is given at upper levels. Teachers have more opportunities to discuss current EU topics at lower levels than at upper levels of secondary education. At upper secondary level, teachers are bound to the exam curriculum. In the havo, the EU’s agriculture policy is addressed. Teachers found this an uninteresting subject regarding the EU, citing other themes such as migration and ‘the future of the European Union’ as much more interesting items to discuss in class.
Interviews revealed that geography teachers strictly follow set subject methods, and use these as lesson plans throughout the school year. Method writers, however, are given much more freedom, and are only bound by rules from the publishers based on didactical and prize principles.
Teachers are aware of the importance of the European Union and discussed the pros and cons of the EU during their lessons. They reported detecting a negative image of the EU in the Netherlands. Therefore, their task is to present pupils with the positive aspects of the EU in order to give their students a balanced and nuanced viewpoint. | |
