My PhD has developed quite significantly from my research proposal which you can read below. Here is the abstract to give you an idea about the focus of my research.
Abstract
This paper reports on the progress of a small-scale research project investigating how curricula, textbooks and geography teachers influence the selection, construction and representation of place and how students conceive and experience learning about place. Place replaced population dynamics as the substantive human geography theme by the Department of Education (DfE) for all new geography A Levels, for first teaching in September 2016. The study draws on an in-depth interpretive phenomenological analysis of A Level students from three secondary schools that are learning to make sense of place, as well as their teachers and the authors of the endorsed A Level textbooks that are being used to support this process. A survey, card-sort activity, drawing exercise and interviews were used to generate a variety of forms of data. Initial findings reveal that the conceptions held by A Level geography students about place are diverse, plural and contested due to differences in students’ lived experiences, backgrounds and identities. Some conceptions are rich and nuanced and show high levels of abstract thinking, much of which is negotiated through talk, travel and everyday experiences such as watching the news, learning at school, connecting with others and going on holiday. This paper highlights that both teachers and textbook writers are aware that a range of places should be selected for in-depth study across multiple themes. However, due to issues such as time and resources the world is not always fairly represented to students in the classroom.
September 2016
Abstract
This paper reports on the progress of a small-scale research project investigating how curricula, textbooks and geography teachers influence the selection, construction and representation of place and how students conceive and experience learning about place. Place replaced population dynamics as the substantive human geography theme by the Department of Education (DfE) for all new geography A Levels, for first teaching in September 2016. The study draws on an in-depth interpretive phenomenological analysis of A Level students from three secondary schools that are learning to make sense of place, as well as their teachers and the authors of the endorsed A Level textbooks that are being used to support this process. A survey, card-sort activity, drawing exercise and interviews were used to generate a variety of forms of data. Initial findings reveal that the conceptions held by A Level geography students about place are diverse, plural and contested due to differences in students’ lived experiences, backgrounds and identities. Some conceptions are rich and nuanced and show high levels of abstract thinking, much of which is negotiated through talk, travel and everyday experiences such as watching the news, learning at school, connecting with others and going on holiday. This paper highlights that both teachers and textbook writers are aware that a range of places should be selected for in-depth study across multiple themes. However, due to issues such as time and resources the world is not always fairly represented to students in the classroom.
September 2016