Kunskapens landskap – En djupdykning i geografilärarnas undervisningsvärld : En komparativ studie av behöriga och obehöriga geografilärare i årskurs 7–9

The purpose of the study is to carry out a comparative study of geography teachers with and without subject qualification who teach pupils in grades 7–9. The focus is on evaluating their subjective perception of the geography subject and the level of subject knowledge. In addition, the intention of the study is to investigate how these teachers plan teaching in terms of teaching content, teaching methods and subject didactic strategies in accordance with the prescribed curriculum. Geography in school is a subject that has a relatively high proportion of untrained teachers. Gabriel Bladh (2014) presented in a study that a third of all teaching teachers at upper secondary school in geography lack formal training in the subject. By highlighting similarities and differences in the view of the subject and teaching methods between qualified and non-qualified teachers in geography, this study intends to contribute to a deeper understanding of how teacher training and pedagogical experiences can affect teaching in this subject. The study has been carried out with a qualitative method, where six geography teachers at junior high school have volunteered for interviews. The interviews were transcribed, analyzed and categorized. The developed categories were later combined into five overarching themes linked to the study's questions; Teachers' perception of the geography subject, Curriculum based tutoring, Teaching methods and strategies, Subject knowledge and finally Challenges. These themes form the basis of the study's results and further discussion. The conclusions point to the teachers' level of education and personal experiences influencing their outlook, self-confidence and approach when teaching geography. The study also shows that there are factors other than educational background that influence the outcome, for example teaching experience, interests or other experiences throughout life.