Markus Hilander
Ph.D. Markus Hilander is University Lecturer in Environmental Education at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland. Hilander's research interests are geography education, interpretation of photographs, visual methodology, and urban environmental education.
Address: Faculty of Educational Sciences
P.O. Box 9 (Siltavuorenpenger 3)
FI-00014 University of Helsinki
Finland
Address: Faculty of Educational Sciences
P.O. Box 9 (Siltavuorenpenger 3)
FI-00014 University of Helsinki
Finland
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The role of textbooks has traditionally been – and still very often is – very important in the Finnish education system: the content of textbooks and the emphasis put on them strongly influence the progress of teaching. Nonetheless, relatively little research has been conducted about the content of Finnish textbooks and especially about how climate change is presented in textbooks. In recent years, the seriousness of climate change has been recognized internationally and this concern has also been transmitted to the field of education. Questions such as what is needed to know about climate change and who is responsible for teaching the topics of climate change have already been asked. In this article, we therefore examine how climate change is presented in two Finnish upper secondary school geography textbooks (GEOS and Manner). According to the results, the textbooks clearly differ in the types of information they contain on climate change, the ways that are used to illustrate climate change, and the importance they place on individuals and society in mitigating and adapting to climate change. One of the major shortcomings of the textbooks is that they do not provide enough easy-to-implement ways of mitigating climate change. On the other hand, climate change is mentioned six times more in the forthcoming upper secondary school curriculum (2019) compared to the previous curriculum (2015). This may affect the content of textbooks for the mandatory upper secondary school geography in the near future.
This article introduces the main ideas of ‘powerful knowledge’, which have recently been applied to geography education, for example, by Lambert (2011), Maude (2015), and Béneker and Palings (2017). Lambert et al. (2015) have described three levels of geographical knowledge that would enhance young people’s access to powerful geographical knowledge. The first level consists of deep and descriptive world knowledge, the second of relational understanding and geographical thinking, while the third level consists of the propensity to think through alternative social, economic, and environmental futures in specific locations and the ability to think critically. These three levels of knowledge are applied in the analysis of powerful geographical knowledge in the context of Finnish matriculation examinations. The empirical data set consists of 28 geography exams from 2006 to 2019, including 273 questions in total, 63 of which have been published in the form of the digital exams offered since the autumn of 2016. Digital exams have increased the amount of background material included in the questions, but they have also lead to the disappearance of tasks in which students should draw maps. The analysis shows how all three levels of powerful geographical knowledge are present in the matriculation questions. The number of simple first-level questions has been reduced, and the number of questions requesting relational understanding and geographical thinking has increased. However, value-based issues as well as questions requiring the student’s personal reasoning and ability to evaluate certain controversial themes are non-existent in the exams, even though they are described in the framework curriculum.
First, the thesis introduces the concept of geographical vigilance. Together with road signs, guide signs and familiar buildings, it is possible to locate the photograph in question on the globe. These geographical hints can be used to anchor the meanings of the photograph, to study the “blind field”—that is, the empty space surrounding the photograph’s frames—and to utilize the geographical knowledge that the student possesses in the interpretation processes. Second, the thesis introduces the concept of geographical media literacy skills. Through these skills, the geographical content of media images is studied using semiotic procedures. In addition, geographical media literacy skills highlight the role of the interpretation of photographs as part of geo-media tools and resources, which are being introduced in the Finnish comprehensive and upper secondary school curricula.
In the thesis, semiotic concepts such as “commutation test,” “transfer of meanings,” and the “blind field” are applied to practice in the context of geography education. These concepts are seen as semiotic acts with which the paradigmatic choices of the photographer can be challenged. With existential semiotics, a new meta-language for visual methodologies is suggested; this meta-language concentrates on the aspects of making visual re-presentations, rather than conducting a content analysis of them.
The main visual data-set consists of digital photographs taken in South Africa and in New York City, and of ready-made media images. The digital photographs are interpreted by Finnish high school students, and the media images by Finnish and international experts in geography education as well as Finnish geography teachers. In both cases, photo-elicited questionnaires are used.
http://www.iass-ais.org/proceedings2014/view_lesson.php?id=177
The role of textbooks has traditionally been – and still very often is – very important in the Finnish education system: the content of textbooks and the emphasis put on them strongly influence the progress of teaching. Nonetheless, relatively little research has been conducted about the content of Finnish textbooks and especially about how climate change is presented in textbooks. In recent years, the seriousness of climate change has been recognized internationally and this concern has also been transmitted to the field of education. Questions such as what is needed to know about climate change and who is responsible for teaching the topics of climate change have already been asked. In this article, we therefore examine how climate change is presented in two Finnish upper secondary school geography textbooks (GEOS and Manner). According to the results, the textbooks clearly differ in the types of information they contain on climate change, the ways that are used to illustrate climate change, and the importance they place on individuals and society in mitigating and adapting to climate change. One of the major shortcomings of the textbooks is that they do not provide enough easy-to-implement ways of mitigating climate change. On the other hand, climate change is mentioned six times more in the forthcoming upper secondary school curriculum (2019) compared to the previous curriculum (2015). This may affect the content of textbooks for the mandatory upper secondary school geography in the near future.
This article introduces the main ideas of ‘powerful knowledge’, which have recently been applied to geography education, for example, by Lambert (2011), Maude (2015), and Béneker and Palings (2017). Lambert et al. (2015) have described three levels of geographical knowledge that would enhance young people’s access to powerful geographical knowledge. The first level consists of deep and descriptive world knowledge, the second of relational understanding and geographical thinking, while the third level consists of the propensity to think through alternative social, economic, and environmental futures in specific locations and the ability to think critically. These three levels of knowledge are applied in the analysis of powerful geographical knowledge in the context of Finnish matriculation examinations. The empirical data set consists of 28 geography exams from 2006 to 2019, including 273 questions in total, 63 of which have been published in the form of the digital exams offered since the autumn of 2016. Digital exams have increased the amount of background material included in the questions, but they have also lead to the disappearance of tasks in which students should draw maps. The analysis shows how all three levels of powerful geographical knowledge are present in the matriculation questions. The number of simple first-level questions has been reduced, and the number of questions requesting relational understanding and geographical thinking has increased. However, value-based issues as well as questions requiring the student’s personal reasoning and ability to evaluate certain controversial themes are non-existent in the exams, even though they are described in the framework curriculum.
First, the thesis introduces the concept of geographical vigilance. Together with road signs, guide signs and familiar buildings, it is possible to locate the photograph in question on the globe. These geographical hints can be used to anchor the meanings of the photograph, to study the “blind field”—that is, the empty space surrounding the photograph’s frames—and to utilize the geographical knowledge that the student possesses in the interpretation processes. Second, the thesis introduces the concept of geographical media literacy skills. Through these skills, the geographical content of media images is studied using semiotic procedures. In addition, geographical media literacy skills highlight the role of the interpretation of photographs as part of geo-media tools and resources, which are being introduced in the Finnish comprehensive and upper secondary school curricula.
In the thesis, semiotic concepts such as “commutation test,” “transfer of meanings,” and the “blind field” are applied to practice in the context of geography education. These concepts are seen as semiotic acts with which the paradigmatic choices of the photographer can be challenged. With existential semiotics, a new meta-language for visual methodologies is suggested; this meta-language concentrates on the aspects of making visual re-presentations, rather than conducting a content analysis of them.
The main visual data-set consists of digital photographs taken in South Africa and in New York City, and of ready-made media images. The digital photographs are interpreted by Finnish high school students, and the media images by Finnish and international experts in geography education as well as Finnish geography teachers. In both cases, photo-elicited questionnaires are used.
http://www.iass-ais.org/proceedings2014/view_lesson.php?id=177