Exploring learners' perceptions on learning Geography through fieldwork approach

Abstract

Fieldwork approach is regarded as being central to the teaching and learning of Geography worldwide. It was adopted in the discipline of Geography because of its direct experience and exposure to learners. Despite widespread support for this approach in Geography teaching and learning in Lesotho and around the world, research has shown that it may not provide epistemological access to all learners; that factors such as teachers' competency, parental support, and learner attitudes determine whether the approach is favourable to the learners or not. Most importantly, it is argued that the effectiveness of fieldwork depends on how learners perceive it. For example, it has been discovered that learners who have unfavourable attitudes towards fieldwork and do not recognise its worth for their education and development do not gain anything from its use. On the contrary, it has been discovered that the approach makes the learning process easy for learners who have positive perceptions towards it. Of major concern is that little has been heard about learners‘ perceptions on fieldwork, or about the reasons for their liking or disliking fieldwork approach in Geography teaching and learning in Lesotho. As a result, the researcher thought it would be interesting to explore learners' perceptions on learning Geography through fieldwork approach in Lesotho secondary schools. This is a qualitative case study which employed open-ended questionnaires and interviews to generate data. It was affirmed by learners that fieldwork is essential for developing observation abilities and other generic skills in Geography. Also, it was revealed that fieldwork develops learners' cognitive understanding of the subject matter of Geography. The findings, however, indicate that some Geography teachers place a high value on information and communication technology (ICT) and textbooks. Furthermore, learners suggested that challenges that include time constraints and insufficient monitoring limit the effectiveness of fieldwork. From the results, it is recommended that Geography teachers should not use ICT to replace fieldwork but should be included as an instructional technique to improve safety and easy preparation of fieldwork. It is also suggested that class sizes should be limited to enable easier monitoring and accessing of learners during fieldwork