Influence of fieldwork in geo-education

Abstract

Abstract Fieldwork is an indispensable method in geo-education which provides young people with a fundamental understanding of how the human and natural world work. However, fieldwork in the curriculum is gradually being reduced due to a few reasons such as risks, sickness, expense, and effectiveness. Therefore, a study was conducted to clarify the influence of fieldwork on three aspects of students: knowledge, skills, and attitudes through a survey of 112 students from 2 groups that participated in different number of field trips: a one-trip group and a more-than-two-trip group. Hierarchical cluster analysis also classified five clusters of attitudes about field trips: Addict, Explorer, Acceptor, Non-fan, and Skeptic. However, Mann-Whitney test found that there was not significantly different between the two groups of student experienced different numbers of field trips and cluster of attitudes. The analysis results show that there are statistically significant differences between the two groups of students in several aspects of knowledge and skills. To make fieldwork more effective, the study proposes to have more informative surveys, more research subjects such as field teachers, staff; thereby making appropriate adjustments to meet the outcome of the course and the development of geo-education in modern world.