The Perception of Geography as Science and as a School Subject

Anketnim istraživanjem na uzorku od 1078 ispitanika iz svih županija Hrvatske, odabranih metodom snježne grude, ispitani su stavovi hrvatske javnosti o položaju geografije u sustavu znanosti i njezinoj povezanosti s drugim znanostima, važnosti geografije kao školskog predmeta, stečenim znanjima i vještinama na nastavi geografije te razumijevanju geografskog područja istraživanja. Dobiveni su odgovori analizirani s obzirom na dob ispitanika i vrstu završene srednje škole. Rezultati su pokazali da većina ispitanika geografiju smješta u interdisciplinarne znanosti, no u najvećem broju slučajeva ipak je povezuje s prirodnim znanostima. Pokazalo se i da se geografija pozitivno poima kao školski predmet s važnim ishodima učenja. Osim općenito pozitivnih stavova o geografiji kao školskom predmetu, pozitivna je i percepcija geografije kao znanosti, mada se pokazalo da je razumijevanje samog područja istraživanja geografije manjkavo te se u velikoj mjeri temelji na sadržajima koji se uče na satovima geografije.Using survey research based on a sample of 1 078 examinees from every Croatian county, chosen by the snowball method, the attitudes of the Croatian public have been studied concerning the relation of geography to other scientific disciplines and major branches of science (physical, social, interdisciplinary), the importance of geography as a school subject, knowledge and skills acquired in geography classes and understanding of the geographical area of research. The given answers have been analyzed in regard to the age of examinees and their various finished high school education. The results have shown that most of the examinees place geography in the interdisciplinary sciences, although in most cases it was also considered to be related to the natural sciences. It was also shown that geography was regarded positively as a school subject with important learning outcomes. The perception of geography as a science was also proven positive, although the understanding of the areas of research in geography was found lacking and was mostly based on the material taught in geography classes