The local geography education in guangzhou high school

Education Research Frontier December 2014, Volume 4, Issue 4, PP.110-116

The Local Geography Education in Guangzhou High School Yunzh Huang 1, Anding Pan 2, # 1. Waihai secondary school, Jiangmen 529080, PR China 2. School of geographical Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, PR China

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Abstract Local geography education reflected the education idea in the new period had been an important change. Local geography pedagogic is an important part of secondary school geography pedagogic. In this paper, we focus on the effectiveness of local geography by comprehensive pedagogic in Guangzhou secondary schools.

This paper provides an overview and information useful for approaching that comprehensive pedagogic methods is the direction of the local geography pedagogic reformation, combining theory with practice is the core of the comprehensive pedagogic methods. This paper outlines the situation of the local geography pedagogic in this stage carried out by the survey on 36 secondary schools in Guangzhou; SPSS software was used for the statistical analysis of survey data on teachers and students questionnaires.

Over-reliance on classroom, neglect of practice teaching, perfunctory to carry out the local geography research study and practice activities made the students’ approbation to local geography courses was not high, which is not conducive to the improvement of teachers' scientific research ability, and difficult to realize the significance of the teaching of the local geography, so it is necessary to reform the local geography sidedness pedagogic methods, exert the significance of the local geography pedagogic.

The teacher may choose different pedagogic methods according to actual situation. The pedagogic methods focus on the combination of theory and practice, emphasis in practice to develop students' comprehensive practical ability. A higher request was put forward for the teachers' teaching and scientific research ability; teachers improve scientific research ability and promote the development of their professional quality through continuous exploration of practice.

Keywords: Local Geography; Pedagogic Methods; Comprehensive Pedagogic Methods; Practice Teaching

1 INTRODUCTION The local geography pedagogic is advantageous to the practical and innovation ability of students, train a student love homeland and patriotic of mind and set up the sustainable development concept. To the teacher's profession growth, the local geography pedagogic research level have to be raised, help the geography teachers to be gradually changed from the simple teaching type become the compound type teacher of teaching and research.

2 THE SURVEY OF PRESENT CONDITION OF LOCAL GEOGRAPHY Revised in 2011, China "national compulsory education geography curriculum standards" definitely stipulated: "the local geography is the contents that necessary learn"(Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 2012).

The local geography teaching in Guangzhou City mainly concentrates in the second semester of grade eight, Geography in Guangzhou (Teaching Research office of Education Bureau of Guangzhou City,2012) is the main teaching material, while the senior secondary school have not a required local geography course.

According to economy and education development, circumstances condition and student community difference in each area of Guangzhou City, three major types of Guangzhou secondary schools were divided: The key school in - 110 www.erfrontier.org

old town area, the common school and the village school in suburban area, and 36 schools from the different area and category were selected. The author carried on exchanges with the different students and geography teachers by interview and questionnaires of the on-the-spot investigation, tried hard for the maximum scope ground collections and understand local geography teaching in each kind of school to develop present condition and the expectation and request to the local geography teaching of the teachers and students each school, then investigated comprehensive local geography pedagogic method.

This survey gained a data although incompletely delegated all present conditions of the local geography teaching in Guangzhou City, yet there was certain coverage in the schools selected by examinations, therefore it could be the proof of this thesis. The teacher's questionnaire mainly investigated the basic circumstance of the basic viewpoint of the teachers to the local geography courses and teaching, which were issued to geography teachers and spot recalled after teachers independently completed by the investigation set. (Table 1 and Fig.1) TABLE 1 BASIC INFORMATION OF LOCAL GEOGRAPHY TEACHING SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (TEACHER) Issued amount 100

Recalled amount 90

Efficient amount 86

Recalled ratio (%) 90

Efficient ratio (%) 95.6

FIG.1 TEACHERS’ SENIORITY DISTRIBUTION TO COMPLETE THE QUESTIONNAIRE

Based on the difference in the region and category of the secondary schools, student's questionnaires optionally sampled all grade levels in each type of schools and random selected one or several classes. The amount information of students’ questionnaires as table.2: TABLE.2 BASIC INFORMATION OF LOCAL GEOGRAPHY TEACHING SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (STUDENTS) Issued amount 11685

Recalled amount 1598

Efficient amount 1514

Recalled ratio (%) 94.8

Efficient ratio (%) 94.7

In which, the questionnaires were issued 835 in the senior secondary schools, the effective questionnaires were 758, efficient was 95.7%.The basic information as table 3: TABLE 3 BASIC INFORMATION OF LOCAL GEOGRAPHY TEACHING SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE IN THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS classifica tion Freshman Sophomore junior National level demonstrative school high schools level Provincial level schools City level schools Downtown (Tianhe,Liwan) Newly developed Location (Panyu,Baiyun) Suburban and rural (Zengcheng, Nansha) grade

Issued amount 420 375 40

409 349 34

396 329 33

Recalled ratio (%) 97.3 93.1 85

360 315 160

343 299 176

331 284 176

95.3 94.9 93.7

96.5 94.9 95.3

415 160 260

402 150 240

392 141 225

96.9 93.7 92.3

97.5 94.0 93.7

Recalled amount Efficient amount

Efficient ratio (%) 96.8 94.3 97.1

Questionnaires were issued 850 in the junior secondary schools, the effective questionnaires were 756, efficient was - 111 www.erfrontier.org

93.8%. The basic information as Table 4: TABLE 4 BASIC INFORMATION OF LOCAL GEOGRAPHY TEACHING SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE IN THE JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS classifica tion Seven(first year) Eight(second year) Nine(third year) National level demonstrative school high schools level Provincial level schools City level schools Downtown (Tianhe,Liwan) Newly developed Location (Panyu,Baiyun) Suburban and rural (Nansha) grade

Issued amount 180 370 300

170 352 284

157 320 279

Recalled ratio (%) 94.4 95.1 94.7

350 300 200

337 287 182

319 261 176

96.3 95.7 91

94.6 90.9 96.7

470 180 200

447 177 182

420 160 176

95.1 98.3 91

93.9 90.4 96.7

Recalled amount Efficient amount

Efficient ratio (%) 92.3 90.9 98.2

All the valid data of the questionnaire were analyzed statistically by SPSS software.

3 SHORTAGES WERE REFLECTED BY THE INVESTIGATE Researched the investigation result of 36 secondary schools and analyzed teacher's and student's questionnaires, it was discovered that the local geography pedagogic neglects to practice training , the classroom teaching carries on for coping with to examine in brief, and mainly express as for fulfillment activity currently in the secondary schools of Guangzhou City that become formalistic at:

3.1 Entrust Classroom Teaching, Pedagogic Means and Contents Universal According to the result analysis of the teacher questionnaire from 36 secondary schools, although most of grade eight students owned Geography In Guangzhou as teaching material, geography teachers widespread reflected a very low utilization rate, combine with the first question in the teacher questionnaire, meant that the teachers who had never taught Geography In Guangzhou were up to 52%; and the fifth question, thinking Geography In Guangzhou was suitable for hometown education only had of body 23%, not say and thinking wasn't suitable for of have 56% and 21% respectively. The teacher's understanding to the teaching material not deep, also not expels impact factor that may be writing problem of Geography in Guangzhou as teaching material.

For 10% of the knowledge in the semester examination was occupied by the local geography ordinarily, the local geography course of majority of schools were established at the later half the second semester in grade eight period, generally 1-10 lessons, or didn't establish lesson. This phenomenon was more universal in the worse foundation school. Mostly the teachers summarized some general geography situations of Guangzhou and hardly used local teaching materials on the classroom.

Students in some schools were requested to carry on an investigation activity concerning home town and complete investigation reports by team or individual in winter and summer vacation. According to an inquiry, that this activities stayed around more formality, the rare teachers guided fulfillment, as long as handing over report, it was unimportant in the final result. For the schools didn't take it seriously, the students were rare to take seriously. The local geography teaching and study cannot get away from practice, but the circumstance now was majority of fulfillment that the schools launched to just become formalistic.

3.2 General “Research Study” Became Formalistic The use of research study and special local geography emotion in local geography subject undoubtedly are effective means. By viewing the research outline of geographical teaching groups in some schools, the percentage of local geography research topic was high. But the processes of perfunctorily with the “research study” were indicated not in the minority. In the survey process, the author found that teachers in different schools reflected a common situation: a mobilization meeting was held at the beginning of semester, and then had not any substantive process or - 112 www.erfrontier.org

research activities. Until the end of the semester, students coped with a report could be finished or simply leaving it unsettled.

The statistics of the teacher's questionnaire (as fig. 2) suggested that the local geography course was not ideal developed.

FIG.2 THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LOCAL GEOGRAPHY COURSES

3.3 The Low Approbation of the Students to Local Geography Pedagogic Significance The student's questionnaire investigated the understanding degree, approbation degree and the tendencies of learning method to the local geography course. For understanding the difference in above-mentioned three aspects of the student's from different regions, schools types and grades, the author carried on a t test to the senior and the junior secondary schools in the county town and city respectively for each independent sample under the premise that data match the normal distributes.

The two-sample t-test (Snedecor and Cochran, 1989) is used to determine if two population means are equal. We mean that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the values in the two samples. That is, if X1, X2,…, Xn and Y1, Y2, ..., Yn are the two samples, then Xi corresponds to Yi. For paired samples, the difference Xi - Yi is usually calculated. For unpaired samples, the sample sizes for the two samples may or may not be equal. The variances of the two samples may be assumed to be equal or unequal.

The two-sample t-test for unpaired data is defined as: H0: μ1=μ2 Ha: μ1≠μ2 Test Statistic:

T=Y1¯−Y2¯s21/N1+s22/N2√

Where N1 and N2 are the sample sizes, Y1¯and Y2¯are the sample means, and s21 and s22 are the sample variances.

If equal variances are assumed, then the formula reduces to:

where

T=Y1¯−Y2¯sp1/N1+1/N2√ s2p=(N1−1)s21+(N2−1)s22N1+N2−2

Critical Region: Reject the null hypothesis that the two means are equal if

|T| > t1-α/2,ν

where t1-α/2,ν is the critical value of the t distribution with ν degrees of freedom where υ=(s21/N1+s22/N2)2(s21/N1)2/(N1−1)+(s22/N2)2/(N2−1) If equal variances are assumed, then ν = N1 + N2 - 2 For determine the probability, to make a judgment on the degrees of freedom υ check the critical value of t and get P (sig.) values. Statistically significant results is the result of the true extent (to be able to represent the overall) an estimation method. Professionally, P values for a decline index results are believable degree, P value is greater, the - 113 www.erfrontier.org

more we cannot think of related variables in the sample is a reliable indicator of each variable. P value is the observation that error probability effectively with general representative. Such as the p=0.05 prompt variable association in 5% of the samples may be due to accidental causes. In many fields of research, a p value of 0.05 is usually considered acceptable error boundary level. SPSS software was used for the statistical analysis and the results are as follows: TABLE 5 TWO INDEPENDENT SAMPLES T-TEST RESULTS OF THE SENIOR AND JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS grade senior high Understand-ing schools degree to the local junior high geography course schools senior high approbation degree schools to the local junior high geography course schools

N

mean

Std. Deviation

Std. Error mean

hypothesis the two means are

F

Sig.

t

df

3

1401.67

538.294

310.758

equal

1.228

.330

2.403

4

3

508.33

353.442

204.060

unequal

2.403

3.454

3

1423.33

722.316

417.029

equal

.752

4

3

1004.00

641.414

370.321

unequal

.752

3.954

1820.67

890.358

514.048

equal

.920

4

1243.33

622.892

359.627

unequal

.920

3.579

tendencies of senior high 3 learning method to schools the local geographyjunior high 3 course schools

.000

.712

.998

.446

TABLE 6 TWO INDEPENDENT SAMPLES T-TEST RESULTS OF THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN DOWNTOWN AND COUNTY hypothesis the two means are

F

Sig.

t

df

149.107

equal

2.689

.176

1.193

4

95.521

55.149

unequal

1.193

2.537

698.67

458.023

264.440

equal

1.369

4

305.33

194.343

112.204

unequal

1.369

2.698

863.33

450.231

259.941

equal

1.718

4

380.00

186.309

107.565

unequal

1.718

2.665

Location N

mean

Understand-ing city proper 3 degree to the local geography course county 3

349.00

258.261

159.33

approbation degree city proper 3 to the local 3 geography course county tendencies of city proper 3 learning method to the local geography county 3 course

Std. DeviationStd. Error mean

2.371

1.186

.198

.337

As a conclusion, the local geography curriculum awareness P =0.050 in the senior secondary schools, the understanding degree of city school students higher than that of county town school students; While the local geography curriculum approbation degree and the tendencies of learning methods of students in the city and the county town of schools, the difference were not significant, city school students were slightly higher than the county town one. In junior grade, the P value > 0.05 in three aspects, the difference was not significant.

On the approbation survey, 34% senior secondary school students thought that the study of local geography connected with the other disciplines of learning. 32% senior school students thought local geography are helpful currently to their other studies. Which reflected that student's approbation for local geography contact and helpful to other academics study was general. Only 25% senior secondary school students deemed that the local geography teaching were the window way that they known hometown, 46% chose not to say, 29% said no. 31% of senior school students, 32% students in grade nine and 29% eight and seven grades students deemed to learn local geography in order to practice and service hometown; whom said it was not sure had the largest proportion, accounted for 53%, 49% and 43%. The above reflected most students were not clear of the local geography teaching purpose.

Comprehensive above analytical, to whether the local geography contributed to the study of other courses, as well as to an important instructional significance: let students knowing the hometown and service its construction, student's attitudes were not explicit, the approbation was not high, and this also let some students did not pay attention to local - 114 www.erfrontier.org

geography study in certain extent.

3.4 The Low Research Ability of Teachers From the teacher's point of view, that ignoring the practice teaching is not conducive to enhance the ability of scientific research. Teacher should not only impart book knowledge, and should be a researcher, an educator. It is clear that the research importance for teachers' development.

A survey on the mainly difficult in the local geography pedagogic suggested, 52% of the teachers thought that was due to their own knowledge limited; 57% of the teachers thought that the main difficulty to practice of local geography activities or guide students to engage in research studies lied in themselves research ability shortage, and those thought to develop local geography teaching could help their professional quality development accounted for 62%. It is clear that, although most teachers approved that the local geography teaching was helpful for their professional accomplishment, but limited by their own knowledge and scientific research ability were not enough.

3.5 The Teaching Mode against the Significance of the Local Geography The questionnaires showed that 54% teachers thought the local geography teaching helped for students' moral education, thought had had not help accounted for only 7%. For the purpose of local geography teaching, the choice that strengthen practice and innovation ability of students were 81% and 76%, the option to expand knowledge and understanding of their homeland are 61% and 48% separately, and chose to cope with exams was only 32%.

It can be seen that the local geography teaching helps to cultivate students' practice and innovation ability, enhance Patriotic emotion.

4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS The present pedagogic mode made the local geography been placed in an edge position, let the student’s recognition on the significance of the teaching were not high and did not value on its concept, therefore the local geography pedagogic effect were greatly reduced. As a comprehensive course, local geography needs to synthesize the teaching method of making use of the diversification and synthesizes kit several pedagogic links, and make the students obtain knowledge in the fulfillment, to improve students' awareness, promote students' acceptance to the local geography pedagogic, value the study of hometown geography. Implementation of local geography teaching significance must be combined with practice teaching, simple theory teaching is hard for students to improve the ability of practice and innovation.

A main feature of the local geography pedagogic is to come out of the classroom and pay attention to practice. Its implementation must design a variety of pedagogic methods, initiate to inquiry learning and develop practice activities, such as geography observation, geography experiment, survey and special subject research etc; Encourage the students synthesizes the knowledge to solve actual problems and learning in practice and innovation; Integrated use of related tools for data collection, statistics, analysis, and create pedagogic environment for conducive to students' awareness and ability to form geographic information.

Local geography pedagogic need to around the core that the theory combining together with practice and abide by the cognitive regularity of students, comprehensive use diversifies of pedagogic means, embody the construction of the student to the knowledge ability, to the cognition of the scenario and with social interaction. For example, take the classroom teaching and field practice or social investigation etc., synthesize multiple pedagogic links, and pay attention to the cultivation of students' comprehensive practical ability. Under the premise of comprehensive pedagogic mode, draw lessons from a related pedagogy theory, carry on a pedagogic method experiment, inquire into concrete of comprehensive pedagogic method, diversified comprehensive local geography teaching practice means, and strengthen teaching effect.

Based on comprehensive pedagogic method, the local geography teaching should gather theory, practice and technique teaching at integration. The objective of local geography pedagogic research in secondary school is to discuss approaches and strategies for structuring: A. Learning knowledge and skills. Combine with the native place - 115 www.erfrontier.org

features learning basic geographic knowledge, understand the main problems facing the region sustainable development and solutions, study geographical observation, experiment and survey, master reading, analysis, the use of geographic charts and data; B. Control the process and methods. Learn through a variety of ways and means to collect and analyze geographic information of hometown, try to find the problem in geography, design the research plan, carry out investigation and study, and propose the solution counter plan. Through the appropriate process and methods, cultivate to the geographic comprehension ability; C. Foster emotion attitude and value. Stimulate students’ interest and motivation to explore nearby geography, develop scientific and realistic attitude, concern and love for the hometown, understand the value of regional cooperation, and gradually formed a correct global consciousness, enhance the social responsibility of caring for the environment, to develop a good behavior habit. Through the contrast analysis more effective pedagogic methods, and constantly improve the comprehensive local geography pedagogic mode and to explore more effective local geography pedagogic method, make these pedagogic methods are suitable for the Guangzhou city even extended to wider area.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work was supported by the Education Science Project of Guangzhou (grant number 11A118) and the Basic Education Curriculum Program with Guangdong Characteristics (grant number J13-009).

REFERENCES [1]

Snedecor, George W. and Cochran, William G., Statistical Methods, Eighth Edition, Ames: Iowa State University Press,1989

[2]

Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. Geography curriculum standard of compulsory education. Beijing: Beijing Normal University press, 2012

[3]

Teaching Research office of Education Bureau of Guangzhou City, geography in Guangzhou. Beijing: Starmap press,2012

AUTHOURS Yunzhi Huang, femail, (1988- ), teacher in Waihai secondary

Anding Pan, male, (1953- ), Prof. of Guangzhou University, Dr.

school, Jiangmen, Mraster of geography education from

of Geography, Main research field in Geography education.

Guangzhou University in 2013.

Email: pad_88@126.com

Email: 845232043@qq.com

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