Does specialization in geography teaching determine teachers’ conceptions of geography teaching?

Abstract

Many countries worldwide consider the demand for lowering the qualification level of teachers as a possible solution to the long-term lack of qualified teachers, aging teaching staff, and high teacher drop-out rate. In Czechia, geography is increasingly being taught by non-specialist teachers; therefore, we compared specialized and non-specialized geography teachers’ teaching conceptions. Drawing on previous robust qualitative research, we developed a questionnaire measuring teachers’ conceptions of geography teaching and surveyed Czech lower secondary in-service geography teachers (n = 530). Path analysis revealed that specialized geography teachers report longer and stronger relationships between the conceptions that may represent a wider range of geographies available to students. Non-specialized teachers demonstrated only a narrow and limited epistemological awareness of the subject. Our research serves as evidence supporting the inevitability of teachers’ specialization in the discipline.