Do Polish Universities value Geography in the 21 st Century

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1 Do Polish Universities value Geography in the 21 st Century Danuta Piróg Department of Didactics of Geography, Faculty of Geography Pedagogical University in Kraków Poland ul. Podchorozych 2; Krakow Abstract The fact that geography as the scientific discipline and as a school subject has a great meaning for all of us in everyday life is obvious for scientists representing this discipline, for students who have chosen geographical studies, and for many members of the society. We don't need to convince geographers, that the variety and diversity of problems, which geography undertakes, and the multi-pronged applying of research results in various domains of life is one of the most important advantages of modern geography. The question arises how much do scientists from different disciplines value the role of geography in preparing young people for their adult life? Do university authorities show their confidence in geography as the school subject, which favors the education of numerous skills and indispensable competences to studying at an academic level? These questions are important in Poland, where from 2001 to 2005 the system of enrolment for academic education has changed. This paper presents results of research on the enrolment of candidates in all national Polish universities. Analysis of numerous source materials shows both those majors, which require candidates passing a mature exam in geography and those that recommend it. The final result of this research is a ranking, portraying the value of geography as the subject preparing young people for studying at an academic level in Poland. Key words: enrolment, major subject, rank of geography, university Introduction The reason why geography as a scientific discipline and as an education subject has great meaning for many of us in our day-to-day lives is obvious for scientists representing this discipline, for people who have chosen geographical studies, and for many other people in society. Geographers do not have to be convinced that the variety of research problems taken by geography, and the multi-pronged applying of research results in various domains of life is one of the most important advantages of contemporary geography. In Poland, however, the importance of geography as a school subject is going down, for example, in 1999 within the framework of the educational system reform, geography was withdrawn from the curriculum of the primary school and replaced by natural science; with geography as a separate subject the student doesn t encounter it until the level of junior high school (at the age of years), with 4 hours per week for 3 years. In secondary school (high school) geography was placed among the subjects included in general education, obligatory for all students and was put aside for 3 hours per week in a 3-year educational cycle. Analyzing the place of geography in the educational framework curriculum, it is necessary to state that it has the same position as other natural subjects: chemistry, biology, and physics with astronomy, but considerably lower than history. From the point of view of the educational values that geography provides, playing a vital part, especially in understanding many phenomena and processes of the modern world, as well as in shaping the national consciousness, the current importance of this subject in the scheme of teaching arouses anxiety in the circle of geographers (Groenwald et al., 2008). Hence there

2 are strenuous efforts to strengthen the place of geography in schools, for instance, by introducing it as the final high school subject, that is the external examination now in Poland, and its results are the foundation for higher studies enrolment. These efforts resulted in success. The high school finals, in such a representation, were first conducted among the students declaring the desire to take it in the new formula in 2001, and since 2005 it has become obligatory for all students. Thereby geography became a subject, which could influence students chances of being admitted to the university and was selected by them in large numbers. It is necessary to emphasize that geography as a separate subject continues to be enjoyed by a large number of students in Poland. Nowadays Polish students may study geography in 14 large academic cities including Cracow, Warsaw, Poznan, Lodz, Lublin, Torun, Wroclaw, Opole, Gdansk, Sosnowiec, Szczecin, Slupsk, Kielce and Bydgoszcz. Since , geography has ranked in first thirty of the most popular majors, with 12,745 students (from an total of 1,941,445 students studying in Poland). At every university, which offers geography, this subject is an obligatory condition of the applicants recruitment. The position of the applicant in the ranking, was created on the basis of the results of the high school finals of geography, determines the admission. The applicant very often receives an additional 10 points for his/her taking high school finals on an extended level, if he/she received 50% points as the minimum from this examination. Therefore the question arises, whether geography is currently an important element of the enrolment process for the other higher studies in Poland, and what follows it, to what extent the scholars from other disciplines value the role of geography in the preparation of young people for adult life? Do university authorities give expression of their trust to geography as the school subject, which is conductive to development of numerous abilities and competences in a student, indispensable for studying at third level? Methodology and Results In this research, document analysis was used, i.e. information for the applicants for all state higher full-time studies. Collected materials were subjected to grouping, taking into consideration, the type, location of school and kinds of majors taken. As a result of analysis, numerous source materials were selected concerning the majors, which strictly require passing the high school finals for the applicants, as well as those ones, which recommend passing the high school finals and taking their results into account in the enrolment process. The geography major was passed over, where presentation of the results of the high school finals from geography by the student as the fundamental condition for admission to studies is obvious, as well as those majors, which allowed the student to select the final high school subject of his/her choice in the enrolment process. Geography as a subject of enrolment in the selected schools Analysis of source material revealed that there is no reputable higher state school in Poland, which would not have in its educational offer at least one major taking geography into consideration in the enrolment. The most majors with geography taken into account in the enrolment are at the universities it allowed for 156 majors at all universities in total. Analysis showed a few examples of universities, which value geography in the enrolment process, on the selected majors. The following example illustrates this.

3 Gdansk University offers oceanography, environmental protection and archaeology as those majors, in which geography plays a part in the enrolment process as the subject accompanied by biology and a foreign language. The Jagiellonian University in Cracow, accepts geography in enrolment for the following majors: geology, international economics and applied economics (as the option to select mathematics with history or mathematics with geography, marketing and management (as the option to select along with history and mathematics). UMCS in Lublin (Maria Curie-Skłodowska University) considers the results from geography in the high school finals in the enrolment for archaeology and environmental protection. Lodz University has four majors valuing geography; they include archeology, environmental protection, tourism and recreation (geography is the optional subject together with biology, social studies, and history). Even broader interest in geography in the enrolment process can be observed at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, where aside from the majors of geology and environmental protection; the spatial economy, economics and management, marketing and management take geography into account in the enrolment process as the subject to select among history, mathematics, and foreign language as well. Other majors (apart from archaeology, and environmental protection) are ethnology and European studies at the University of Wroclaw. For these majors, geography appears in the register with Polish language, history, history of art, social studies and foreign language. The second and third entries to the academies of technology show that geography was allowed in the entry process in 77 majors; and for agriculture, geography was allowed for 27 majors. The other example is the Warsaw School of Economics, where geography is the enrolment subject on the major: economics, European studies, finances and banking, spatial economy, public economy, qualitative methods in economics, international relations, marketing and management. The University of Science and Technology in Cracow takes geography into account as the optional subject almost on every major starting with these majors, which are related to geography, that is environmental engineering, geodesy and cartography, and geology to metallurgy and petroleum engineering. In turn the University of Agriculture in Cracow requires a high school diploma in geography for applicants (optionally with biology, mathematics, chemistry, information technology) on the major in agriculture, marketing and management, environmental protection. The University of Agriculture in Lublin or University of Life Sciences in Lublin, allows for geography in the enrolment process on the major in landscape architecture. The last group concerns the academies of physical education, where geography is taken into consideration on 4 majors, of which all require the submission of a high school diploma in enrolment on the major in tourism and recreation. Spatial diversity Analysing the importance of geography in high schools according to provinces, we can remark that the result of the high school finals were most often taken into account in schools of the Mazowieckie province; then Slaskie and Lubelskie. The basic reason for the spatial diversity of the number of majors, in which geography is taken into consideration in the enrolment process, is the size of the academic centre, diversity of the types of higher schools and academic traditions. Those provinces mentioned are the areas, in which many of the universities with a rich educational tradition offer the largest option. These institutions are the largest and oldest, and are regarded as the best universities with an established status in Poland and internationally. (See Figure 1)

4 Figure 1: The number of majors, in which geography is taken into consideration in the enrolment process by province The importance of Geography in different majors Based on source materials, all majors in Poland were compiled and ranked in 10 majors, in which geography most often plays a vital part in the enrolment process (See Table1). Analysis of the importance of geography to different majors showed that it is the largest in the majors relating to economics and social studies broadly understood. The major, in which geography is the most often taken into account in the enrolment process is management, which offers 38 schools and in each of them geography is the optional subject. The next majors are economics, environmental protection, tourism and recreation. Geography is also valued in the majors: administration, finances and accountancy, and international relations. Somewhat lesser, but of vital importance was geography in the enrolment process on the majors of European studies as well as pedagogy. Analysis of the role of geography in the enrolment process on different majors at third level doesn t really due to the linkages between subjects such as tourism, environmental protection and European Studies. This is understandable since geography may prepare the students well for comprehension of economic, social, and political transformations of the modern world; for analyzing, prognostication and searching for ways of resolving multifaceted problems, what are essential competencies while studying on these types of majors. More significantly the research of Polish institutions revealed was also an appreciation of geography on the majors in economic and educational sciences. Allowing for geography in the enrolment process on these majors may prove that specialists from the domain of economics, more and more intensely take notice of the role of geographical competences in spatial management, marketing analysis and international cooperation. Scholars and pedagogues perceive the major role of geography in the educational process is in building bonds with place, pro-ecological attitudes and in creating desirable patterns of spending leisure time with trips and field activities. However, what is of concern is the relatively low interest in geography by political scientists. We know that historical background is essential to understanding many aspects of this discipline, but social transformations, which are the

5 topic of deliberations during the classes of geography would also be significant in preparation for political science studies. Table 1: The role of geography in the enrolment for selected majors in Poland No. Types of majors Number of universities Participation of geography in the enrolment (%) 1 Management Economics Environmental protection Tourism and recreation Administration Finances and accountancy International relations Political science European studies Pedagogy All of the majors mentioned are important and popular majors in Poland. Therefore we may draw the conclusion that geography is a valued subject in preparing for studying these specialties. It s also important to ask to what degree geography may influence whether the applicant is admitted to studies, if geography is one of the subjects considered by the authorities of the academy in the enrolment process. Analysing Table 1, with majors such as economics, tourism and recreation, finances and accountancy, the influence of the result of the high school finals in geography may be decisive for the success of the student (78% - 90%). Similarly geography may also play a vital part on the major: European Studies and management, where the result of the high school finals in geography influences the admission of the student to higher studies in more than 70% of cases. It is necessary to add that the students see the usefulness of geography in their further education, as illustrated in the poll carried out by Piróg et al. (2007) among high school students from Malopolskie province, who suggested different reasons for the selection of geography as the final high school subject. The answer most often given was geographical information and skills are easy for me to master with 26%. The next place in the ranking was geographical interests (17%) and in third place came usefulness in the enrolment for higher studies (13%). The high percentage of students taking geography in their high school finals is significant in highlighting the importance of geography in schools. (see: Conclusion To sum up, it is necessary to note that research conducted indicates the highly significant place of geography in the enrolment process for higher education studies in Poland. Geography is recognized and appreciated by experts not only in geography, but also in other scientific disciplines, especially management, economics, tourism and recreation as the school subject effectively preparing pupils for education at third level. Competences gained by students in geography lessons, such as analysing, comparing, synthesis, information search, group work, problem solving and so forth, serve both the future students and their academic teachers in the process of specialist training. Unfortunately, while there is a high appreciation

6 of the usefulness of geography at third level - in the preparation of young people for further education in diverse schools and majors, and training, this is not matched with a commensurate profile and resources at secondary level, and as a school subject. The number of teaching hours in geography in junior high school, as well as in higher education, remains at an unsatisfactorily low level, which will probably see a further reduction within the framework of the next planned educational reform in Poland. Disappointing to many geography teachers and scholars alike is the depreciation of the importance of geography by parents and students, and in consequence the general public, which manifests itself in granting geography the function of being interesting, but not a core actor on the educational scene. Usually from such a perspective, the time and attention in Polish schools should be directed to foreign language learning, the core sciences, and alternatively to biology and history, which clear the way for taking up studies on the majors with high prestige such as medicine and law. Geography, from such a standpoint, should give a break; entertain with the interesting description of exotic sites and not to absorb their kids unduly, immersed in other pursuits. Nonetheless, the author has illustrated with the research results presented above, that geography is taken for granted and while being central to education in Poland, this is not always evident in public opinion, nor state planning in education. References Groenwald M., Plit F., Rodzoś J., Szkurłat E., Tracz M. (2008) Raport o stanie geografii szkolnej w nowym systemie oświaty w Polsce, in: Wiśniewski R., W. Gierańczyk (ed.) Geografia we współczesnym systemie kształcenia, PAN, Dokumentacja Geograficzna nr 38, Warszawa Piróg D., Tracz M., Gurgul B. 2007, Motywy wyboru geografii na maturze a wyniki egzaminu maturalnego, in: XIII Konferencja diagnostyki edukacyjnej. Uczenie się i egzamin w oczach uczniów, Łomża (Accessed: )