Theoretical approach of teaching lithosphere in junior high school: A critical review of the content and objectives defined by the curriculum of the Ministry of Education

PDF
Published: Jan 24, 2013
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/bgsg.11141
Keywords:
Geoscience education Curriculum secondary education
G. Leontakianakos
Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, Department of Hist. Geology and Paleontology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis
C. Vrachas
Faculty of Psychology, Pedagogy and Philosophy, Programme of Psychology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
G. Baziotis
Faculty of Physics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, University Campus Department of Earth Sciences, University of Perugia
G. Soultati
Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, Department of Hist. Geology and Paleontology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis
G. Fermeli
Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, Department of Hist. Geology and Paleontology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis
Abstract
The purpose of this study is an attempt to define the lithosphere concept, as described in the textbook “Geology-Geography” of the 1st Grade of junior highschool. Further we investigate whether the objectives of the corresponding chapter are being implemented according to the curriculum of the Ministry of Education. The main research hypothesis concentrates on the very limited cognitive background of the students regarding the lithosphere. It is based on the absence of a wellorganized framework of proportional and gradually increased and specialized flow of knowledge, as suggest the few generalised concepts on the subject of Geography taught on the 5th and 6th grade of the Primary School. According to the Curriculum of the “Geology–Geography” of the Ministry of Education, the lithosphere chapter requires fifteen didactic hours for a sum of nine complexes, mostly cognitive objectives. However, the textbook contains only five didactic hours, an indicator of an asymmetric state of the Curriculum. Our opinion about curriculum content itself, which describes the lithosphere, compared to the strictly scientific definition, is that it represents a simplistic approach and consequently the materialization of the cognitive goals is doubtful.
Article Details
  • Section
  • Geosciences in Education and Geosites
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (preferably in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.

Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Most read articles by the same author(s)