Hungarian survey on the use of cartograms in school cartography

Abstract

The use of cartograms can be dated to the second half of the nineteenth century, but they became more popular in the first half of the twentieth century. An interesting characteristic is that the first cartograms (or cartogram-like representations) were published in journals or newspapers for the public in general, as well as in textbooks or school atlases. Their popularity decreased during the second half of the twentieth century until the first half of the 1990s. At present we can observe a revival of the cartograms as a method of representation empowered with new graphic solutions for the geovisualization of data on the Web. This situation motivated us to formulate a question: can cartograms recover their original place within cartography in general and specifically in school cartography? After theoretical research and in the interest of finding an answer to the question above, a survey was organized on this topic in two secondary schools in Budapest. Geographic and geometric area cartograms were tested with 118 pupils. The results reflect a duality in the reading and understanding of this method of representation, constituting a starting point for future empirical research related to the use of cartograms by children and young people.