Hogyan látjuk Európát? Egy berlini középiskola diákjainak mentális térképei Európáról és annak határairól

Abstract

Nowadays, the experience related to migration is leading to a series of social and economic debates about the borders of nation states, and this is leaving a noticeable imprint on students' thinking even in formal education. Students may have very different experiences regarding borders in Hungary, but even more so in a super-diverse urban environment like Berlin. Despite this, research into students' knowledge about European borders is relatively scarce. This study explores Berlin secondary school students' perceptions of Europe. Using the method of mental mapping, we investigated how Berlin secondary school students (n=45) perceive Europe and its borders. The results indicate that students' spatial and cartographic knowledge of Europe is rather limited. Furthermore, it appears that students predominantly interpret Europe as groups of nation states, resulting in a predominance of representations of the borders of nation states in their maps. Drawing on the diagnostic significance of mental maps, the study presents thought-provoking results on students' spatial cognition, spatial orientation and map skills.

The use of mental maps in the assessment of geographic knowledge: Form and content of map sketches drawn by last year Primary Education students in the Balearic Islands (Spain)

“…In this light, attention should be drawn to the article by Rédep et al (2011), exploiting the partial results of the project Eurobroadmap -Visions of Europe and the World-, where Hungarian university students analyze their perception of Europe and the world. Mention should also be made of the study by Sudas and Gotken (2012), based on the survey replies of Turkish students, and of the most recent work by Bagoly et al (2023), where the maps of Europe drawn by 43 secondary students of Berlin are studied. The local context perceived by students, using Lynch's method, continues to be used as a research tool, as evidenced in recent studies focused on cities such as Szczecin (Poland) (Osóch & Czaplinsa, 2019), and Albacete (Spain) (García, 2018).…”