The international research of geographical misconceptions is enormous compared to its Hungarian counterpart. The abundance of the literature and also the different kinds of misconceptions encouraged us to start our project of revealing geographical misconceptions in Hungary. Our present study aims at identifying plate-tectonics-related misconceptions of three distinctive groups of students: Grade-9 secondary grammar school students, Geography BSc students, and BA students of different academic interests. We employed a cross-case-based approach, and multiple kinds of data were collected for triangulation. A three-part diagnostic test was administered to students, and results were evaluated by comparative content analysis. We found that while culturally induced misconceptions were not present, mistakes in textbooks, the linguistic characteristics of the Hungarian language, the extensive media coverage of certain topics, and informal learning are most likely to be responsible for the emergence of geographical misconceptions. We argue that primary, secondary, and tertiary education should move to a more practical, innovative, and inclusive pedagogy where geographical knowledge is organically anchored into everyday life in order to refute possible misconceptions. Keywords: geographical misconceptions, conceptual change, plate tectonics, problem-oriented teaching BevezetésEgyetemi oktatóként és középiskolai tanárként is egyaránt találkozunk azzal, hogy egy-egy földrajzi jelenséghez, fogalomhoz, folyamathoz kapcsolódóan olyan értelme-zéseket, magyarázatokat kaptunk egy-egy vizsga, dolgozat vagy felelet során, amelyek teljesen ellentmondanak mindannak, amit mi gondosan megtanítottunk. Többször előfordul, hogy a válaszok nem egyszerűen pontatlanok, hanem tudománytalanok, vagy éppen áltudományosak, a napi híreket emelik be tényanyagként, esetleg saját megfigyelésen alapulnak anélkül, hogy a már megtanult földrajzi ismeret gyakorlati alkalmazása jelenne meg bennük. Szakirodalmi kutatásaink alapján kijelenthetjük, hogy e hibák egyik lehetséges oka az, hogy diákjainknak egy-egy adott földrajzi jelenség kapcsán tévképzeteik vannak. Cikkünk első részében a tévképzetek jellemzőit, kialakulásuk lehetséges okait, nemzetközi és hazai szakirodalmi hátterét mutatjuk be. Ezt követően

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Nowadays, the experience related to migration is leading to a series of social and economic debates about the borders of nation states, and this is leaving a noticeable imprint on students' thinking even in formal education. Students may have very different experiences regarding borders in Hungary, but even more so in a super-diverse urban environment like Berlin. Despite this, research into students' knowledge about European borders is relatively scarce. This study explores Berlin secondary school students' perceptions of Europe. Using the method of mental mapping, we investigated how Berlin secondary school students (n=45) perceive Europe and its borders. The results indicate that students' spatial and cartographic knowledge of Europe is rather limited. Furthermore, it appears that students predominantly interpret Europe as groups of nation states, resulting in a predominance of representations of the borders of nation states in their maps. Drawing on the diagnostic significance of mental maps, the study presents thought-provoking results on students' spatial cognition, spatial orientation and map skills.