Reading assignments in geography instruction: a (non-)functional part of a teacher’s approach

Abstract

This article presents results of the research focused on reading assignments in geography teaching. The approaches of Czech geography teachers to reading assignments are explored by using the method of grounded theory. Altogether 22 teachers from secondary school participated in the research. The typology of teacher approaches and the identification of factors that influence the teacher’s inclusion of reading assignments in the disciplines was developed. The teachers’ attitudes show that their preferences in the general notion of (not only) geography are reflected, and that the constructs of their beliefs or personal theory play an important role. These factors can take on both supportive and limiting forms, depending on the context that is shown in the article with the aid of a paradigmatic model. The results are situated in relation to the teacher’s professional learning.