Mental map as a tool and an object of research in geographical education

Abstract

Mental maps are an object of interest on the part of a number of academic disciplines, including geography education. The aim of this article is to discuss different concepts of mental maps in geography and pedagogical disciplines and to describe the possibilities of their use as an object and tool of geographical education. All of this is subsequently applied in a case study. From the methodological point of view, cartographic and statistical methods (aggregated mental map and geographical names frequency map) were used in order to assess the pupils’ knowledge (object) and to evaluate textbooks (tool). They enable a visual, spatial comparison of topographical terms pupils know and which appear in a textbook itself. As a result, we discuss how to use mental maps in geographical education theoretically and also practically. However, the conclusions of the case study have a limited validity (due to the limited sample), while they indicate important contexts for further development of the research.

A Systematic Review into Factors Influencing Sketch Map Quality

“…Studies focussing on positional accuracy focussed more often on individual differences (85 cases) than on external factors (49). The predominant individual characteristics studied were sociocultural factors (41), followed by biological (26) and psychological (18) factors. For external factors, the majority of studies focussed on secondary sources (45), with only four such studies focussing on primary sources.…”

“…Studies concerned with content frequency again focussed more on individual differences (100 cases) than on external factors (45). Within individual differences, the predominant interest was in sociocultural factors (43), followed by biological (36) and psychological factors (18). Within external factors, most studies (46) focussed on secondary sources, and only two on primary sources.…”

“…Maps in the geographical sense help us form the mental map of regions we have never been to, or (in the case of maps of well-known areas) enrich the mental map with new information that cannot be surmised from observing the landscape and develop the mental map in a qualitative way. Cartographers could benefit from the knowledge of factors when designing user-friendly maps that should be easier to read, and geography educators could use it to equip pupils with a sufficiently rich and exact mental map they could work with [18] and use when making spatial decisions [17].…”