Where in the World? The Status of Place-Name Geography Instruction

Abstract

Numerous surveys and national reports regarding knowledge of place-name geography have been reported in the popular press and have captured the attention of the public. This study examined the status of student knowledge of place-name geography in one Georgia school system which systematically includes geography education at all grade levels in the curriculum. Subjects completed a 12-item multiple choice test developed by the researchers and modeled after a portion of the 1988 Gallup Organization survey. Findings indicate that, on the majority of items, students in the Georgia sample were more frequently able to identify correct locations than adults in any of the nine nations in the Gallup Organization sample. Respondents in the Gallup subgroup 18 to 24 year-olds in the United States scored significantly lower than other adult population subgroups. This finding is especially significant since the Georgia high school sample consisted of respondents of approximately the same age (17-year-olds) who scored favorably when compared to the adult respondents at all age levels included in the Gallup nine nation study.