What is the level of the geographical knowledge of Slovaks? A Contribution to the Discussion on the Effectiveness of Geographical Education in Slovakia
Scholarly understanding of educational effectiveness as a relationship between desired (expected) goals and achieved results is an extremely complex matter. If we start from the assumption that striving for the effectiveness of education is a correct and socially justified intention, we need to know the tools with which we can measure the effects of education and the result we want to get closer to. But what is the real point of geographic education? Who decides what is considered a desirable outcome? And is the effort to achieve the performances defined in educational standards the meaning of education? In Slovakia, there has been no national-level research dealing with determining the effectiveness of geographical education. In our article, we examine more thoroughly only one of the possible indicators of the effectiveness of geographical education, which is the level of conceptual (fundamental from the point of view of geography) knowledge achieved. This required crea- ting a non-standardized didactic test tool and its application to a set of adult Slovak populations. The testing results showed a relatively high average success rate of solving the tasks by the respondents (72.48%). However, it should be emphasized that the questions mapped the most important topics and curriculum from the 5th year of elementary school. Of the individual thematic units, the respondents achieved the worst results in Cartography (61.78%) and Planetary Geography (68.22%).
educational effectiveness, geographical education, knowledge
Aikaterini, K. (2014). Geography teacher quality and effectiveness: Lower Secondary School Students' points of view. Dostupné na: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237537714_Geography_teacher_quality_and_effectiveness_Lower_Secondary_School_Students'_points_of_view [cit: 18-04-2019].
Adeyemi, T.O. (2008). Effective teaching of geography in Secondary schools in Ondo State, Nigeria, The Social Science 3 (2): 200 – 206, 2008. Medwell Journals. https://doi.org/10.4314/ajesms.v3i1.38607
Darling Hammond, L. (2000). Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: A Review of State Policy Evidence. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 2000,8(1). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v8n1.2000
EFFECTIVENESS noun (2022, apríl 24). In Oxford Learner´s Dictionaries | Find definitions, translations and... Dostupné na: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (1998). Multivariate data analysis. Vol. 5, No. 3, 209-219. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Hanushek EA, Ruhose J & Woessmann L (2015). Economic gains for U.S. states from educational reform.’ CESifo Working Papers 5662 Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute. https://doi.org/10.3386/w21770
Hanushek, E.A. & Woessmann, L. (2010). The economics of international differences in educational achievement. In: Hanushek, E.A., Machin, S.J. & Woesmann, L. (eds). Handbook of the Economics of Education, Volume 3. Elsevier: Amsterdam, pp 89–200. https://doi.org/10.3386/w15949
Hanushek, E.A., & Woessmann, L. (2012). The economic benefit of educational reform in the European Union. CESifo Economic Studies 58(1):73–109. https://doi.org/10.1093/cesifo/ifr032
Likavský, P. (2005). Odpovedajú poznatky žiakov 8. ročníka základných škôl požiadavkám vzdelávacieho štandardu? Geografia, 13(3), s. 116-120.
Likavský, P., & Ružeková, M. (2004a). Vedomostná úroveň žiakov 6. a 7. ročníka ZŠ vo vzťahu k vzdelávaciemu štandardu: 1. časť. Geografia, 12(3):128-131.
Likavský, P., & Ružeková, M. (2004b). Vedomostná úroveň žiakov 6. a 7. ročníka ZŠ vo vzťahu k vzdelávaciemu štandardu: 2. časť. Geografia, 12(4):163-166.
McBer, H. (2000). Research into Teacher Effectiveness. A Model of Teacher Effectiveness. London: DfEE (Department for Education and Employment), ISBN 1 84185 311 9.
Ružeková, M. & Englmanová, Z., 2005: Vedomostná úroveň žiakov 5. ročníka ZŠ vo vzťahu k vzdelávaciemu štandardu: 1.časť. In: Geografia, 13( 2): 77-79.
Starý, K., & Chvál, M. (2006). Kvalita a efektivita výuky: metodologické přístupy. In: Janíková, M., Vlčková, K. a kol. Výzkum výuky: Tematické oblasti, výskumné přístupy, a metody. Brno: Paido 2009.
Wang, M. C., Haertel, G. D., & Walberg, H. J. (1993). Toward a knowledge base for school learning. Review of Educational Research, 1993, 63(3):249 – 294. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543063003249