The mediating effect of geospatial thinking on the relationship between family capital and sense of place

Abstract

Few studies have examined how family capital affects the sense of place, and the effect of spatial thinking on the relationship between the two is unclear. This study constructs a mediation model to examine the impact of family capital on sense of place and the mediation effect of geospatial thinking. A total of 1,004 upper-secondary-school students were surveyed using the Family Capital Questionnaire, the Geospatial Thinking Test, and the Sense of Place Scale. The correlation analysis showed that family capital has a positive effect on both sense of place and geospatial thinking. Moreover, there is also a significant positive correlation between geospatial thinking and sense of place. The results of mediation analysis indicated that geospatial thinking plays mediating and buffering roles in the relationship between family capital and sense of place after controlling for gender and residential address. The direct and indirect effects accounted for 73.31 and 26.69% of the total effect, respectively. Specifically, family capital is a significant positive predictor of both sense of place and geospatial thinking, and geospatial thinking partially mediates the relationship between family capital and sense of place. Students from better family backgrounds are more likely to have a better geospatial thinking and sense of place, as well as geospatial thinking promotes the development of a sense of place. Therefore, both family capital and geospatial thinking should be considered when we want to examine and develop individuals’ level of sense of place.

The mediating effect of geospatial thinking on the relationship between family capital and academic achievement in geography

“…While children with better family capital are more likely to engage in outdoor activities with nature, which is conducive to their spatial awareness and academic achievement in geographic (Brookfield, 2022;Mason et al, 2022;Pastor et al, 2022). Similar research has shown that higher levels of family capital are associated with academic achievement in geography (Zhang et al, 2022). In addition, the educational level of parents and the socioeconomic status of the family also significantly predict academic achievement in geography (An et al, 2019).…”

“…Second, the findings are consistent with Hypothesis 2 and other studies indicating that family capital plays a positive predictive role in geospatial thinking. This finding suggests that higher levels of family capital are more conducive to the development of individual thinking (Goudeau et al, 2017), particularly geospatial thinking (Zhang et al, 2022). Studies have shown that there are significant differences in children's spatial performance even before they enter formal school, and such differences are closely related to parental spatial language and spatial gestures (Clingan-Siverly et al, 2021).…”

“…Some studies have shown that males achieve higher scores on geospatial tests than females (Shin et al, 2016). There is also evidence that no significant differences were revealed (Zhang et al, 2022). Collins (2018) stated that students' academic achievement in geography is related to their level of geospatial thinking.…”

“…For example, Potter et al (2013) found that cultural capital in the family (e.g., parents' educational expectations) influences children's spatial thinking and the development of related neural networks. As a part of spatial thinking, geospatial thinking is characterized by spatial thinking (Huynh and Sharpe, 2013) and can also be influenced by family (Zhang et al, 2022). Also, family is considered to be a critical factor influencing the academic achievement in geography (An et al, 2019).…”

The Relationship between Geographical Self-Efficacy and Academic Achievements in Geography: A Moderated Mediating Model

“…The influence of gender on spatial thinking ability can be divided into direct and indirect aspects. Some researchers believe that gender indirectly affects geospatial thinking ability by influencing the sense of place [48]. Other scholars elaborate the direct effect of gender differences on geospatial thinking ability through specific examples [49].…”