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Where on Earth is New York? Pedagogical
Lessons from Finnish Geography Students’
Knowledge of the United States
Pauliina Raento
University of Minnesota, Department of Geography, 414 Social Sciences
Building, 267 – 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis MN 55455, USA
Petri Hottola
Finnish University Network for Tourism Studies, Centre for Tourism Studies,
University of Joensuu, Box 78, 57101 Savonlinna, Finland
Behind this study are our (1) classroom observations suggesting a decline in the cartographic and general knowledge of Finnish geography students; (2) interest in
developing the content and method of geographical education; and (3) belief that intellectual challenge is not incompatible with entertainment. A total of 257 university and
high school geography students responded to a survey about US society and geography. The survey explored (1) the students’ interests and level of general geographic
and cartographic knowledge; and (2) how the findings could contribute to the teaching
of geography. What and how much the respondents knew varied substantially
according to educational background, age, and gender. Women were weaker in their
knowledge than men, and a strong link was found between television watching preferences and cartographic knowledge. Women’s poor performance suggests a problem
with geography education in Finnish schools, as many future teachers of geography are
female. The implications are that (1) geo-educators should seek fresh ways to engage
themes that connect with their students’ preferred everyday activities and (2) cartographic knowledge needs special attention in female-dominated geography teacher
education. We suggest that (1) there are several rather simple ways to begin this work
and (2) the idea of ‘graphicacy’ should be revisited to support them.
Keywords: geography education, cartographic knowledge, popular culture,
Finland, United States of America
Introduction
Finnish youngsters do well in international comparisons of geographic skills
(e.g. Saarinen, 1973; Saarinen & MacCabe, 1989; Terra, 2004). This draws from
geography’s strong status in the national schooling system as one of the ‘national
sciences’ in Finland (Rikkinen, H., 1982a, 1982b; Rikkinen, K., 1988). Finland’s
geopolitical positioning between the East and the West has added to the significance of geography. In the late 19th century, well before independence in 1917, the
Finns used cartography to promote their dreams of national sovereignty (Atlas
öfver Finland, 1899; Kosonen, 1999), and a strong emphasis was placed on learning
about Finland and the rest of the world (Tiitta, 1996; see Raivo, 2002). Geography is
a mandatory subject in today’s high schools, and university-level students of
1038-2046/05/01 0005-23 $20.00/0
© 2005 P. Raento & P. Hottola
International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education
Vol. 14, No. 1, 2005
5
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geography receive basic training in both human and physical geography. The
popularity of academic geography increased in the 1990s, judging by attendance
in the qualification examinations through which Finnish geography departments select their students. Being accepted into an undergraduate programme
requires a command of cartography as well as general geographic knowledge.
We have observed as academic geography teachers that (1) students’ general
geographic and cartographic knowledge (that is, their ability to locate places on a
map) is deteriorating despite the prominence of geography in Finnish schools.
Finnish school teachers also have for some time worried about the content of
cartographic education and pupils’ ability to comprehend the world cartographically (e.g. Kaivola, 1988). One reason behind these declining skills could
be that topical approaches and study of processes have become emphasised over
regional study in geography education in Finnish schools. Another reason may
lie in students’ increased study load and pressure to achieve, which takes time
away from independent adventuring in the world of information. The third
explanation may be the growth in the amount of information, especially entertainment. A contributing background factor is a general change of soci(et)al
value structures. In the context of Western consumer society, a journey may be
one commodity among others, an experiential product to be consumed and
enjoyed without in-depth exploration (Campbell, 1987; Raento & Flusty, 2005;
Ritzer & Liska, 1997). On the other hand, well-educated youth – including the
participants of our study – prefer independent exploration such as backpacking
and learn about their destinations in detail (Hottola, 1999: 66–74; Loker, 1995;
Richards & Wilson, 2004).
While teaching geographies of leisure, tourism, and popular culture, we have
observed also that (2) case studies that are contemporary, entertaining, and even
somewhat unusual stimulate students’ interest, lead to challenging conversation
and comparisons, and help them understand complex concepts. Intellectual
challenge and entertainment can share the same space and support one another
(Raento, 2000, 2002; see also Morgan, 2001; Tani, 1997).
Yet another observation is that (3) the creative use of visual materials in the
classroom results in positive learning experiences. PowerPoint shows, slides,
videos, current newspaper images and articles, and (whenever possible)
small-scale field trips offer variety, make things concrete, and create associative
links which support the understanding of complex entities (Biddulph & Adey,
2004; Fuller et al., 2003; Houtsonen, 1997: 164). This approach is particularly
important in geographical education, because the surrounding world cannot be
comprehended only through theory. Geographers have recently reached beyond
maps and landscapes in their exploration of visual methodologies (Gilbert, 1998;
Goin, 2001; Raento et al., 2004; Rose, 1996, 2001; Schwartz & Ryan, 2003; Sidaway,
2002; Unwin & Hewitt, 2001; see also Lutz & Collins, 1993).
Our three observations seem to be related to broader changes in geography
and in the world we inhabit. Today’s children are more visually oriented
than their parents. In postmodern societies the significance of visuality has
increased as digitalisation has eased the production and consumption of imageries (Featherstone, 1995; Jenks, 1995; Ritzer, 1996; see also Postman, 1985).
Geography has simultaneously shifted towards postmodern emphases on
complexity, turning away from modernist cartographic simplifications of reality
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(Bowen, 1985; Featherstone, 1995; Gregory, 1994; Raento & Flusty, 2005; Soja,
1996). Photographic and other images as deliverers of geographic information
have surpassed the map in importance, which is already apparent in geography
textbooks and debates over the content, methods, and goals of geographical
education (Biddulph & Adey, 2004; Cloke et al., 1999; Rose, 2001; Sidaway, 2002).
This does not mean that maps are not important, but we believe that new ways to
deliver cartographic knowledge and skills need to be assessed (see May, 1999).
Encouraged – and concerned – by our observations, we proceeded to examine
how students’ geographic and cartographic knowledge and critical observation
skills could be improved by using sources they are familiar with and find interesting. As professional geographers, we take the value of these skills and knowledge for granted. We see them not only as essential to our profession, but also as
valuable resources in daily life and as important contributors to the process of
producing responsible citizens (see Carter, 2000; Ibrahim & Saarinen, 2000: 50;
Lambert & Machon, 2001; van Dijk et al., 1994). The argument may have universal
value, but is particularly important in a country such as Finland, where geography, cartography, and environmental education play a central role in school
curricula and in social and educational values (Eerola & Öhrberg, 1995; HilliTammilehto & Tani, 1999; Houtsonen, 1996; Rikkinen, H., 1982a, 1982b, 1998;
Tiitta, 1996; Tani, 2004a, 2004b; cf. Edwards, 2002; Ferreira, 2003). The professional
capacity of the graduates of geography departments is directly linked to the skills
of ordinary citizens, as many of these graduates will teach geography at schools.
Complex geographical processes all take place somewhere and are difficult to
comprehend without knowing where this somewhere is and what it is like.
We surveyed the general knowledge and cartographic skills of Finnish geography students (university majors and minors and high schoolers) in two
university towns, Helsinki (the national capital) and Joensuu (a provincial
centre). We chose the United States of America as our case study, because this
country exercises considerable economic, political, and cultural power in the
world, makes the headlines frequently, and is perceived as the mecca of entertainment and popular culture. The influence of the USA is global and it is
prominent in Finnish society, media, and youth culture. The USA is a country of
which the Finns have strong perceptions and opinions. In this paper we report
the execution and results of our survey in the light of the described observations.
What Did We Do and How?
The survey sought to find out how familiar Finnish high school geography
students and university-level geography freshmen are with the USA, what the
results tell us about the contemporary level of ‘country knowledge’, and how this
could be utilised in the classroom. Two high schools and one geography department in both Helsinki and Joensuu (that is, six institutions in all) participated in
the study from September 2001 to September 2002. All four high schools attract
competitive, competent students from a broad area and do well in national
comparisons. The university freshmen (who began their studies in geography in
2001) are among the 10–15% of applicants who pass the departmental entrance
exam and are thus accepted into an undergraduate course as geography majors.
For example, in Helsinki the top 50–55 individuals are selected each year from a
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Table 1 The 24 questions in the survey’s Part One and the share of correct answers (%)
among geography majors, geography minors, and high school students in Helsinki
and Joensuu
Questions and Correct Answers
G Majors G Minors
H
1 The centre of the US American movie
industry is Hollywood
2 Graceland was the residence of Elvis
J
H
J
3 The biggest and best-known gambling 100
town in the USA is Las Vegas
All
H
J
H
J
97
97
98
97
64
64
47
67
53
92 100 100
92
92
95
93
100 100 100 100
72
High S
83
67
4 Middle-East peace negotiations have
taken place in Camp David, the
vacation home of the American
presidents
17
42
17
27
22
14
20
15
5 The largest waterfall in the USA is the
Niagara Falls
56
83
72
55
72
57
67
59
6 The largest shopping mall in the USA
is called Mall of America
8
0
0
0
1
2
3
2
7 Alien bodies have been allegedly
found in a town called Roswell
31
75
22
64
60
77
48
76
8 The 1996 Summer Olympic Games
were held in Atlanta
78
83
78
82
49
51
60
57
9 Mardi Gras festival is held in New
Orleans, known for jazz music
39
50
39
45
38
11
38
19
10 Teemu Selänne plays for the San Jose
Sharks in the NHL
14
50
11
27
29
37
23
37
11 The famous Wall Street stock market is
located in New York
81 100
72
73
79
77
79
79
12 The anti-WTO riots criticising
globalisation began in the USA in a
city called Seattle
25
17
33
9
6
4
14
6
13 Wyatt Earp was the sheriff of a small
town called Tombstone
11
25
33
9
9
14
11
14
14 Japan attacked the naval base of Pearl
Harbor in 1941
78
92
78
82
83
83
81
84
15 The forthcoming Winter Olympic
Games are held in the Mormon city
Salt Lake City
86
83
72
55
69
63
74
66
16 Site of the first atomic bomb explosion
test was Los Alamos
6
8
0
0
0
0
1
1
17 The city of San Francisco is known for
the 1960s’ and the 1970s’ hippie
movement and the Alcatraz Prison
59
58
61
45
45
37
50
41
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Table 1 (cont.) The 24 questions in the survey’s Part One and the share of correct
answers (%) among geography majors, geography minors, and high school students in
Helsinki and Joensuu
Questions and Correct Answers
G Majors G Minors
High S
All
H
J
H
J
H
J
H
J
18 The oldest and best-known national
park in the USA Yellowstone
53
75
78
64
30
14
42
24
19 Timothy McVeigh blew up a federal
office building in Oklahoma City
17
25
17
18
15
2
14
6
20 The leading marshland preservation
area in the USA is the Everglades
11
25
22
0
2
1
7
3
21 The US President shot in Dallas in
1963 was John F. Kennedy
97 100
94
91
91
91
93
92
22 A religious fundamentalist group
known for its dark 19th-century
clothing and horse-powered
agriculture is called the Amish
25
25
33
18
28
17
28
18
23 The popular television series featuring 100 100
beach landscapes, Pamela Anderson
and David Hasselhoff is called
Baywatch
89
91
90
94
92
94
33
45
62
59
46
59
24 Ponderosa and the Cartwrights are
known for the western series called
Bonanza
14
67
group of roughly 500 applicants. Those who minor in geography are typically
biology (or sometimes history) majors who wish to become school teachers. In
both Helsinki and Joensuu, they are admitted to the Department of Geography
through a separate qualifying examination.
Each of the two parts of our survey consisted of 24 questions. The assignment
in Part One was to fill out missing words. For example, ‘Hollywood’ (or ‘Los
Angeles’, where Hollywood is located) had to be added to the phrase, ‘The
centre of the US American movie industry is . . . ’ (Table 1). Once respondents
completed Part One, they were given the answers to Part One, some additional
information about each destination, and were then asked to locate the places on
a map – ‘Where is Hollywood?’ (Table 2). The A4-size map, illustrated in Figure
1, included state boundaries, parts of Canada and Mexico, and the largest lakes.
Background information was gathered about each respondent’s age, gender,
travel experience in the USA, and favourite television programmes. The
respondents were asked where in the USA they had travelled and when. They
then placed the provided six television programme types (Table 3) in the order
of their personal preference. About 30 minutes were needed to complete the
survey.
The 24 destinations, grouped under eight themes (Figure 1), share international name recognition through news, entertainment, popular culture, and
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Table 2 Destinations to be located on the map in the survey’s Part Two and
the accuracy with which the respondent groups managed to do so (% of the
maximum score)
Where is
?
G Majors
G Minors
H
J
H
J
H
J
H
J
Hollywood
64
75
70
61
38
35
49
41
Memphis TN
23
28
22
21
13
14
17
16
Las Vegas
30
31
28
39
24
16
27
20
Camp David MD
19
22
11
18
9
11
12
13
Niagara Falls
38
33
43
27
23
25
29
26
Minneapolis
21
28
9
21
11
16
13
18
Roswell
19
28
13
18
25
26
22
26
Atlanta
23
31
15
36
13
15
16
19
New Orleans
24
39
32
36
19
15
22
19
San Jose
17
22
17
12
11
14
13
15
New York
44
56
39
42
37
32
39
35
Seattle
44
50
50
18
19
14
30
18
Tombstone
12
14
20
9
11
12
12
12
Pearl Harbor
32
61
35
36
35
36
34
41
Salt Lake City
35
58
46
30
19
14
27
20
Los Alamos
17
22
28
6
8
13
13
14
San Francisco
56
81
65
48
44
32
49
39
Yellowstone
18
25
24
36
12
15
15
18
Oklahoma City
26
17
22
24
15
14
18
15
Everglades
38
44
54
33
17
17
27
21
Dallas TX
52
58
50
42
45
31
48
35
9
8
13
6
8
6
9
6
Santa Monica Beach
53
58
39
39
17
22
29
22
Ponderosa Lake Tahoe
10
8
22
6
11
12
12
11
Lancaster County PA
High S
All
textbooks. Several destinations were featured in the Finnish media just before or
during our survey. Camp David (MD), New York (Wall Street) and Seattle (WA)
of the ‘World Politics’ category appear frequently in the news, in television
series, and in cinema. ‘World History’ consisted of historical ‘news bombs’ – the
Japanese attack against Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the first atomic explosion in Los
Alamos (NM), and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas (TX)
are all important events in global, US-related history. ‘Lifestyle and Values’
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Table 3 Television viewing preferences of the survey respondents
Geography Majors
Helsinki
Programme theme
Top 3
Geography Minors
Joensuu
Helsinki
High School Students
Joensuu
Helsinki
Joensuu
Nr 1 Top 3 Nr 1 Top 3 Nr 1 Top 3 Nr 1 Top 3 Nr 1 Top 3 Nr 1
Entertainment
78
56
100
67
67
39
91
55
92
80
97
84
News, current affairs
61
25
58
0
50
11
100
27
62
6
45
0
Nature
31
3
50
17
50
17
45
18
29
6
42
5
Travel
53
8
42
0
39
0
9
0
36
1
37
0
Culture, history, society
42
3
33
8
39
11
27
0
26
0
40
3
Sports
31
6
33
8
22
11
27
0
33
6
35
8
‘Top 3’ indicates what percentage of the respondents placed the theme among their
favourite three programme types. ‘Nr 1’ refers to the share of those who marked the category as their first choice
consisted of consumer culture (Mall of America, the country’s largest shopping
mall near Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN); political extremism (Timothy McVeigh/
the Oklahoma City bombing); and religion (the Amish of Lancaster County, PA).
Three ‘institutions’ of the entertainment industry – Hollywood, Elvis (and
Graceland in Memphis, TN), and Wyatt Earp (Tombstone, AZ) formed the ‘Popular Culture’ category. In ‘Tourism and Recreation’, Las Vegas (NV), New
Orleans (LA), and San Francisco (CA) represented America’s best-known and
most popular travel destinations. These cities are routinely advertised to Finnish
travellers and depicted in cinema and television. Other well-known travel destinations with cinematic appeal are Niagara Falls (NY), Yellowstone (WY), and the
Everglades (FL) in the ‘Nature’ category. In ‘Sports’, the connection to Finland
Figure 1 The destinations and categories in the survey, and the accuracy with
which the destinations were located on a map in Part Two of the survey
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was constructed through Finnish athletes. Their participation in the Olympic
Games in Atlanta (GA) and Salt Lake City (UT) was followed in live broadcasts
across the Atlantic. San Jose (CA) was known as the home of the National Hockey
League (NHL) star Teemu Selänne’s San Jose Sharks.1 ‘Television Entertainment’
was based on three popular American television series and their locations:
Baywatch (beach life in Santa Monica, CA), Bonanza (Ponderosa/historic West on
the shores of Lake Tahoe, NV), and Roswell (aliens and teenagers in Roswell, NM).
Each correct answer yielded one point in Part One, so that the maximum score
for this part was 24 points. In Part Two, the respondents placed the locations onto
the above-described map (Figure 1). We graded the answers in the following
way: (1) three points for the exact placement of the destination on the map; (2)
two points for placing the destination in the correct state; (3) one point for placing
the destination in the correct (loosely defined) vernacular region (for definitions,
see Zelinsky, 1980); and (4) zero points for destinations located incorrectly (that
is, none of the above). The maximum score for Part Two was thus 72 points. We
considered finding the correct states (48 points) an excellent achievement,
because the assignment was designed to be fairly demanding. Placing individual
destinations on a map which contains only principal politico-administrative
boundaries and selected waterways needs some practice.
We used basic mathematics to compare the answers and processed the data
manually, because the sample was small and our goals were not statistically
ambitious. Priority was given to assessing broad trends in the light of our classroom experiences. We calculated the averages of the entire sample, then of each
group (geography majors, geography minors, and high school students in both
cities), and compared the averages between men and women in both parts. In
Part Two, we determined cartographic accuracy by comparing the score of each
destination with the 72-point maximum (Table 2 exemplifies). This accuracy was
calculated for the entire sample, for each group of respondents, for each city, and
for men and women. We also looked for differences between groups with
different educational background and their relationship with gender. The results
of those who had travelled in the USA were compared with the general average.
We also reviewed potential correlations between respondents’ televisionwatching preferences and level of knowledge. Because of the small sample, our
trend-emphasising goals, and our desire to avoid ‘pseudo-scientific’ statistical
precision, the results and our subsequent conclusions should be treated as
humble contributions to the discussion concerning the content and method of
geographical education.
The Respondents
Fifty-five percent of our 257 respondents were in Helsinki, the rest in Joensuu
(Table 4). They formed three groups: (1) university freshmen majoring in geography; (2) university students who took first-year geography classes as a minor
subject; and (3) first- and second-year high school students for whom geography
is a compulsory subject. The average age of the university students was just
under 22 years. The majority of these respondents were women (80% of all
majors, 64% of the minors in Joensuu and 78% in Helsinki), corresponding to the
general gender structure of Finnish universities since the 1990s. Furthermore,
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Table 4 Characteristics of the survey’s participants
N
Geography majors
Age
48
Women
in USA
39
11
Helsinki
36
21.7
29
11
Joensuu
12
20.3
10
0
21
5
Geography minors
29
Helsinki
18
21.7
14
4
Joensuu
11
23.1
7
1
101
19
High school students
180
Helsinki
87
16.3
56
16
Joensuu
93
16.7
45
3
161/63%
35/14%
Total
257
teacher education is popular among women, and those who minor in geography
will typically work as high school teachers of geography and biology (these
subjects usually go together in Finnish secondary schools and high schools).
Gender division among high school students was more balanced, as expected:
63% of the students in Helsinki and 48% in Joensuu were female. The average age
of the group was slightly over 17 years.2 The participating schools did not differ
from one another in the level of their students’ knowledge.
The favourite type of television programmes were entertainment programmes
among all respondent groups (over 90% of the high schoolers preferred entertainment) (Table 3). Entertainment was followed by news reports and television
news magazines. In each of the three respondent groups, the Helsinki respondents had travelled in the USA more extensively than those from Joensuu. For
example, almost one-third of the geography majors in Helsinki had visited the
USA, but nobody in Joensuu had done so (Table 4).
What Did They Know?
Part One: General knowledge
Each respondent group answered correctly about one half of the 24 questions
in Part One. The geography majors in Helsinki attained an average of 11.8 points;
the minors, 12.1 points; and the high school students, 11.3 points. In Joensuu, the
results were 14.5, 11.6, and 10.4 points, respectively. The highest scores among
majors were 22 (Helsinki) and 19 (Joensuu); among minors, 21 (H) and 16 (J); and
among high schoolers, 18 (H) and 19 (J).
Hollywood was known universally as the capital of the American film
industry (98% of all respondents) (Table 1). Nine out of 10 respondents knew that
Baywatch is a television series about beach life, that America’s gambling capital is
Las Vegas, and that Kennedy was the president shot dead in Dallas in 1963.
Roughly 80% knew that Pearl Harbor was the target of a Japanese attack in 1941
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and that the Wall Street Stock Exchange is located in New York (we accepted
‘Manhattan’ as well). In Joensuu, almost as many respondents knew New
Mexico’s Roswell and its alien sightings, in Helsinki Salt Lake City as the host city
of the Winter Olympic Games was well recognised.
In contrast, very few had heard about the Mall of America or Los Alamos as the
location of the first atomic explosion. The majority believed the latter to have
happened in Hiroshima, Japan (even though they knew the survey was about the
USA). At most, one-fifth of the respondents in both Helsinki and Joensuu recognised Camp David as the vacation resort of American presidents and as the site of
globally influential political negotiations; Seattle as the home of the World Trade
Organization (WTO) riots; Oklahoma City as Timothy McVeigh’s target; Tombstone as Wyatt Earp’s town; and the Everglades as America’s most important
marshland preservation area.
Educational background and age
Differences in average scores between high school and university students
were minuscule, but the respondent groups differed in what they knew. In
Helsinki, the clearest dividers between university and high school students were
Roswell (+19%-units in favour of high school students when compared to the
average of the entire sample) and Bonanza (+15), but this did not apply to
Joensuu. We were left to wonder whether it is the relatively broader selection of
extra-curricular activities and more active nightlife available in Helsinki, the
study load, or something else that distracts these freshmen away from television
series.
Differences in the timing and content of teaching may explain the differences
in how well the two national parks were recognised. Yellowstone and the
Everglades were generally more alien to high schoolers than to university
students, who learn about the world’s major physical-geographic regions during
their freshman year. Their reading assignments are typically English-language
textbooks, with North American examples, for they are primarily written for
North American audiences.3 The difference may also be due to more years of
exposure to media information and to the selection of geographically oriented
students in departmental qualification exams. The two destinations are commonly
depicted in television’s nature documentaries, which many of the future teachers
of geography and biology keenly follow. Indeed, the geography minors with
science background were relatively familiar with the two parks.
Age has an impact on how well the respondents remember specific events.
Although the high schoolers recognised Salt Lake City as the host city of the 2002
Winter Olympics (the media coverage of which was abundant already in
September 2001, when we surveyed the first group), they were less familiar (than
the average) with the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta – at that time, these youngsters were 10 years old, while our university respondents were as old as the high
schoolers now. The same is likely to apply to the WTO riots in Seattle, which were
relatively poorly known in the four high schools – in the life of a 16-year-old, 2–3
years is a long time from the perspective of social and political awareness. It is
also likely that university education attracts (and selects) youth who have a
higher than average interest in society – the departmental qualification exams
typically test the applicants (and reward them for) knowledge that reaches
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beyond the required textbooks. The surveyed high school students are perhaps
more typical representatives of the politically passive majority of Finnish youth.
Gender differences
Gender-related differences among the respondents were clearest in Joensuu,
where university-level men knew an average of 67% and women 45% of the
answers in Part One. The difference was similarly clear among the high school
students (51%–35%). In Helsinki, the difference was considerable among geography minors (64%–45%). Among the geography majors of Joensuu and the
minors in Helsinki, the small number of men complicated the comparison.
Men knew more about sports, politics, and contemporary history, women
about popular culture and entertainment. In retrospect, the desired gender
equality in the survey failed: the ‘Sports’ category seemed to favour men, even if
ice hockey is increasingly popular among Finnish women and the athletes
named in the survey represented both sexes (about international football broadcasting’s positive impact on geographic knowledge, see Ibrahim & Saarinen,
2000; Pinheiro, 1996). The particularly notable difference between men and
women in this category in Joensuu may reflect differences in local sports and
youth cultures. Our results shed no light on whether the size of the city or its
contact with rural areas has an impact on gender-related values and topics of
interest.
The clearest difference between men and women was found in ‘World Politics’,
both in high schools and universities. Especially Seattle’s WTO riots were recognised notably poorly among women. Our results suggest that young Finnish men
follow political and social affairs much more closely than women, who have
largely turned their back on the world. Knowing that Finnish women have for the
past two decades voted more actively than men, it seems that young Finnish
women have limited interest in politics outside their own life sphere and that they
favour conventional, relatively passive channels of political participation.
Other factors
The differences between the respondent groups were smaller in regard to
travel experience and television watching preferences. In Helsinki, travel experience in the USA had a positive impact on the score among geography majors and
high schoolers (the number of those who had visited the USA in Joensuu was not
sufficient for analysis). Those high schoolers and geography minors who favour
news programmes scored slightly higher than the average in both Helsinki and
Joensuu.
Part Two: Cartography
The cartographic assignment in Part Two turned out to be considerably more
difficult than Part One. The respondents scored an average of one-quarter of the
maximum 72 points. The difference between university and high school students
was clear. The highest average score, 26.8 points (37% of the maximum), was that
of the geography majors in Joensuu (Figure 2). The lowest average, 13.8 points
(19%), was among the city’s high school students. The trend was very similar in
Helsinki. Gender differences were again notable.
The highest score in the entire sample was 57 (79% of the maximum), by a
22-year-old male geography major from the University of Helsinki. He knew the
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Figure 2 The average scores of the respondent groups in cartographic Part Two of
the survey
exact location of over one half of the destinations (3 points each) and received
zero points only for Ponderosa (Lake Tahoe). In Joensuu, the highest score, 53,
was achieved by a 17-year-old male high school student, who scored zero points
only for Tombstone and Ponderosa. Only one of the groups’ top scorers had
visited the USA.
The easiest places to locate were California’s major cities San Francisco and Los
Angeles (where Hollywood is located), Dallas, and New York, all at an accuracy
level of 35%–50% (Table 2; Figure 3). This is not surprising, for big destinations
are generally better recognised than small ones (Ibrahim & Saarinen, 2000;
Saarinen, 1973). The location of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was known almost as
well. The most difficult destination to map was the core cultural area of the
Amish (below 10%). Ponderosa (Lake Tahoe), San Jose, Los Alamos, Tombstone,
and Camp David were also relatively unknown, none exceeding 15% (Table 2;
Figure 1). Somewhat surprising to us was that Minneapolis, a major metropolis
in the historical hearth of Finnish immigration to the USA, was mapped almost as
poorly. The interior of the USA was in general less accurately known than the
coastal areas. This result again conforms to the pioneering findings of Thomas
Saarinen (1973) – the shape of the coastline helps people memorise and find the
location (see Ibrahim & Saarinen, 2000; Pinheiro, 1998).
Quite a few respondents did not know where the USA ends and where Canada
and Mexico begin. One-third of the high school students placed at least one US
destination in Canada and almost as many in Mexico. Here, too, men were better:
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Figure 3 An example of the best cartographic accuracy in Part Two of the survey
Only the results of the geography majors at the University of Helsinki are included in this
map
almost one-third of female high schoolers in Helsinki and one half in Joensuu
crossed the US boundary, whereas for both cities less than one-fifth of their male
colleagues made the same mistake. The university respondents clearly did
better, although the results of the geography majors are not particularly flattering either: roughly one-sixth of all respondents in this group placed at least
one destination in Mexico. Every 10th academic student in Helsinki and every
sixth in Joensuu crossed the border into Canada. Particularly difficult in this
regard (and especially for women) was the location of Niagara Falls at the international border. Those who study geography as a minor subject were generally
more accurate, although their mistakes were greater – one male who believed
that the USA continues beyond the Rio Grande also believed that Cuba is part of
the USA. Those who had visited the USA were not free from such errors either.
Differences between general and cartographic knowledge
The relative differences between the results in Part One and Part Two were
considerable. Seven destinations were placed more accurately on the map than
they were recognised in Part One (Figure 1). The Everglades was not familiar by
name, but a reference to marshland conservation and alligators in Part Two
helped university students connect the destination to the South, probably
following their knowledge of the world’s basic physical geography. Seattle, Los
Alamos, Minneapolis, and San Francisco were also easier to map than to link to
the WTO riots, the A-bomb, shopping, and hippies. The connection between
Wyatt Earp and Tombstone was not recognised in Part One, but the reference to
the West in Part Two guided some respondents to the right region. It seemed,
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however, that the ‘Wild West’ is generally not associated with America’s settlement history, but with the whole of the USA – which is located west of Europe
(see Saarinen, 1988, 1999). It is also possible that because of American popular
culture (especially westerns), ‘West’ as a direction is secondary to the mythical,
strongly symbolic concept representing the nation’s shared identity and values
(Butler, 1994; Hausladen, 2003). Oklahoma City was another destination that
was relatively easier to map. Its location was either known exactly or not at all.
Mapping some destinations that were well recognised in Part One turned
out to be relatively difficult. The most notable differences (over 60%-units)
concerned Las Vegas and Santa Monica, although these two destinations were
still among those that were the easiest to locate. Many believed Las Vegas to be in
California, Santa Monica was placed in Florida or Baja California in Mexico, and
many had seemingly hesitated marking it in the same spot with Hollywood. Nor
was the location of Hollywood as clear as its role in the film industry – the difference between Part One and Part Two in this regard was over 48 percentage units.
The same applied to Graceland. The reference to ‘Memphis, Tennessee’ led the
respondents to the South, but selecting the state was a challenge. This was true in
the case of Atlanta as well.
Niagara Falls and New York were well recognised in Part One. However, few
respondents knew the exact location of the Falls between Lake Ontario and Lake
Erie, although the majority received points by placing them somewhere in the
Great Lakes area (some deep into Canada). The same applied to New York: the
famous metropolis found its way to the East Coast, but the shape of Long Island
was not recognised with the same confidence. Even some geography majors
placed New York at the latitude of the Carolinas and northern Florida (Figure 3).
Dallas, Pearl Harbor, and Salt Lake City were also rather difficult relatively
speaking, although in absolute terms they all were among the most accurately
mapped destinations (difference at least 40%-units). The assassination of President Kennedy had left a clear imprint from history books and the visual media,
but the location of Dallas was not as clear. There were a few who believed that
Japan attacked the coterminous USA – across the Atlantic Ocean (Figure 3). The
relative difficulty of locating Salt Lake City was somewhat surprising, because
the Great Salt Lake was among the few waterways portrayed on the map.
Educational background and age
The high school students scored lower points than the university students,
with two exceptions. In both Joensuu and Helsinki, high school students placed
Roswell on the map roughly at an accuracy of 25%, while the average score of the
entire sample was lower (one-fifth). This result is important when compared to
the generally poorer cartographic skills of the high school students. The case of
Ponderosa in Joensuu was even clearer: the high school students mapped it at an
accuracy of 12%, the university students at 7%. The importance of the result is
further underscored by the miniature size of these destinations, especially when
it is known that large centres are generally better known than small ones
(Ibrahim & Saarinen, 2000; Pinheiro, 1998; Saarinen, 1973). Roswell and Ponderosa
suggest that television series have helped their viewers memorise cartographic
information. The beginning of Bonanza features a burning map of the ranch, the
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location of Roswell has been indicated in both Roswell and the X Files, another
television series popular among this age group.
The West Coast was relatively unknown for high school students in both
Helsinki and Joensuu – the accuracy of locating Hollywood, Seattle, Santa
Monica, and San Francisco was clearly below the overall average. Finnish media
tend to portray the East Coast as synonymous with the USA,4 and at least in the
case of Seattle, the previously mentioned elements of life experience and political
awareness are likely to play a role – the university students enjoy an average
benefit of five years. Finnish teacher education seeks to promote the usage of
current news material in the classroom, but our results suggest that the message
in its current form does not reach the majority of the students.
The university respondents in Helsinki located 20 destinations on the map
more accurately than was the average score of the entire sample in Helsinki. In
Joensuu, the university students scored higher than average in the case of 22
destinations. Roswell (3%-units below the sample average both in Helsinki and
Joensuu) and Ponderosa (H –2%J –4%) were the only consistent exceptions. In
both cities the academic respondents appeared to be Baywatch fans – the world’s
most widely distributed and best-known television series ranked high in their
general knowledge, and they mapped Santa Monica at an accuracy of almost 50%
in both Joensuu and Helsinki, exceeding the sample’s overall average by at least
21 percentage units. The best-known destinations in Part Two were Hollywood
and San Francisco. The accuracy among the university respondents reached an
average of 66%, which exceeds the general average by 25 percentage units. A
difference of at least 20 percentage units between the university students and the
general average occurred also in the case of Salt Lake City (+28%-units).
Considerable differences in cartographic skills between the university and
high school respondents point to the selection of cartographically oriented
students to the geography departments. The differences also suggest that the
introductory courses in geography succeed in developing these skills further.
Several examples among the university-level geography students’ answers
suggested a strong ability to contextualise the given references. For example, the
placement of the Everglades somewhere in the southernmost, coastal South
(although not necessarily in Florida) indicates an ability to combine textual
messages, cartographic images, and the basics of world physical geography
learned in the introductory geography classes. Similar themes are touched upon
in high school geography, but our results from the four high schools did not
show similar sophistication. That the university students mapped Minneapolis,
Seattle, and Oklahoma City more accurately suggests (not surprisingly) that
academic study of geography enhances cartographic understanding of the world
and helps to place the sites of major news events on a map.
Gender differences
The differences between men and women were again considerable (Figure 2).
Men did better than women in each examined group and accounted for most of
the exact (three-point) answers. Male geography majors appeared as particularly
competent, scoring an average of 37.0 points for Part Two in Joensuu and 32.7
points in Helsinki. The performance of female geography majors was alarmingly
poor in comparison (J 24.7/H 19.0). In Helsinki, the youngest of these women
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attained an average of 17.7 points (in Joensuu, only one respondent in this group
was 22 years old). The difference between men and women shrinks by almost
one-third, if the ‘Sports’ results are excluded.
Gender differences were highlighted especially in Joensuu in a manner that
calls for further research. Among geography minors, the men’s average was 10.2
points higher than that of women (again, the small number of men in this group
prevents conclusions). The difference among the high school respondents was as
clear as among the university-level ones, and the ‘Sports’ category accounted for
less than 13% of the difference. Of the weakest 13 high school respondents (0–5
points, without deliberately handing in a blank form), 70% were women. At this
level of knowledge, the world is likely to appear as a confusing place.
Major cities were generally the easiest to recognise in Part One, irrespective of
gender, but women’s ability to place them on the map was much poorer. In
Helsinki, men mapped San Francisco, Hollywood (Los Angeles), New York, and
Pearl Harbor at the minimum accuracy of 50% and Dallas at 75%. Among
women, the most accurate was San Francisco, at 47%. In Joensuu, only Hollywood reached an accuracy level of 50%, but otherwise men’s better cartographic
knowledge was demonstrated with the same destinations, at an accuracy level of
43%–48%. Women also found these same destinations the easiest to locate, but
with an accuracy of 27% (Dallas) to 37% (Pearl Harbor, San Francisco).
In Joensuu, men had the hardest time placing Lancaster County (10%) and
Tombstone (12%) on the map; in Helsinki, it was Minneapolis (11%). Women in
both Joensuu and Helsinki had three destinations under 10% (San Jose, Lancaster
County, and Ponderosa/Lake Tahoe).
The largest differences between men and women applied to those destinations
that were the easiest to map. In the case of Dallas, for example, the difference was
36 percentage units in favour of men in Helsinki and 20 units in Joensuu. The
same pattern applied to other cities as well. Women were more accurate in
Helsinki only in the case of Minneapolis (+2%-units), and in Joensuu, in the case
of Memphis (+1), but generally these destinations were difficult to map. Chance
may therefore play a role in the result, although based on our findings, Elvis and
shopping seem to be female specialties.
Men were more capable of combining written hints and cartographic images.
The differences were the largest in those cases where the mapping could be
supported by this kind of deduction. Men knew the location of Salt Lake City (H
+29/J +14 %-units) and the Everglades (H +36/J +30) considerably better than
women and also placed major cities on the map more accurately. In the case of
New York, for example, men’s accuracy exceeded that of women by 34 percentage
units in Helsinki and by 39 units in Joensuu. Even if the sports questions were
excluded, the results point to gaps in the skills of women who study geography at
the university level. An interesting, but perhaps chance-induced detail is that in
both cities university women did better in the case of one destination – Ponderosa
(although mapping this destination was generally very difficult).
‘Back to the Maps, Chaps!’
The results from the survey’s Part Two suggest that the admission of
students into Finnish geography departments favours cartographically skilled
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individuals. The universities’ introductory classes in geography further enhance
these skills. Also, age and life experience are likely to favour university
students in this kind of survey. Furthermore, contact with American entertainment can promote cartographic knowledge about the country – Roswell serves
as the clearest example of this connection. Travel and interest in news
programmes had a similar (but weaker) impact (see Ibrahim & Saarinen, 2000;
Saarinen & MacCabe, 1989: 93). In their travels, the respondents of this study
are likely to benefit from the general linguistic competence of Finnish youth,
the significance of which has been confirmed in an earlier study (Saarinen &
MacCabe, 1989: 93; cf. Pinheiro, 1998). In order to graduate from high school
and university, Finnish students need a demonstrated command of three
languages (two domestic and one foreign).
Men had broader general and cartographic knowledge about the USA than
women and made better use of textual and cartographic hints. The trend
matches previous findings regarding gender differences in spatial comprehension (e.g. Gardner, 1985, 1991), which cultural factors related to the socialisation
of boys may enhance further. Thus, the male propensity to explore the world
beyond the immediate sphere of home is likely to promote the expansion of general
knowledge, including such geographically broad topics as world politics. This
would suggest that cartography is more of a challenge to women than to men,
but similar differences do not exist in relation to abstract geographical themes.
Especially among university students, the gender gap appears alarmingly
wide. The scores of the geography students in this survey were primarily a male
achievement. Our results suggest that women who study geography at the
university level have a weak understanding of global cartography, to the extent
that the world’s most important cities do not find their way onto the map – not
even at the level of a region. It thus seems that despite high standards, Finnish
universities host geography students who are lost in the world, without knowing
where on their mental map to locate places mentioned in the evening news. The
challenge is to make these students use available atlases and Internet map
sources.
The results suggest that the level of knowledge among the youngest fresh(wo)men is weaker than the average of university students, which is likely to be
connected to the generally weaker results of high schoolers. This observation is
important in the context of the public debate which began in Finland in 2003
about strengthening the link between the final national exams in high schools
and the entrance examinations of universities in favour of those students who
wish to enter university immediately after graduating from high school. The goal
would be to lower the graduation age of Finnish university students and move
the educated youth from schools into the workforce as soon as possible (partially
following the American model). Based on our results, this kind of change in the
admission procedures would damage such fields as geography, which expects
from its students a holistic understanding of the world and its constituents and,
preferably, independent travel experience.
There is a risk that this substantial gender gap will keep repeating itself. This is
evident as the proportion of female geography school teachers grows steadily,
reflecting the generally rising share of female students in Finnish universities
and the popularity of the teacher education option among women. But how well
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is geography being taught, if the teacher cannot place such world cities as New
York on the map, or if she or he cannot recognise the boundary between two such
important western powers as the USA and Canada? The active discussion within
Finnish teacher education about the importance of holistic cartographic and
environmental education is not enough nor very credible, if it fails to arouse willingness to seek information from maps and other sources among high school
students and, especially, among teachers in training. Some of the information
requested in our survey can be considered basic information that ordinary citizens need in their everyday lives. The roots of the problem may already lie in the
early school years of today’s academic freshmen – it was shown in the 1980s that
attention to world cartography is declining in Finnish schools (Kaivola, 1988; see
also Gannon, 1994). International comparisons that use mental maps rarely
reveal these problems because the method emphasises the respondents’ choices.
Suggestions about teaching
Our findings direct attention towards the content and method of geography
education. University-level geography teachers (including us) tend to take for
granted the importance of reading maps and following daily news, but it is not
self-evident that students understand why obtaining general and cartographic
knowledge of the world beyond the required reading assignments is necessary.
The challenge is obvious, yet simple: to find ways to deliver the message in clear,
thought-provoking, and engaging ways to which the children of the era of global
consumer culture and entertainment can relate and which they find meaningful
(see Biddulph & Adey, 2004).
Based on our survey, we offer the following recommendations. First, map
assignments should receive more attention in a variety of courses and in
programmes directed at geography teachers, who are encouraged to learn by
doing (Houtsonen, 1997). The results can be integrated in discussion sessions,
self-evaluation procedures, and method classes. In this way, the students can
reflect on their own level of knowledge. The instructor can have an updated
sense of what the students know and do not know, which helps in steering the
content and method of instruction.
Second, entertainment and popular culture should be made to serve education
(see Morgan, 2001; Raento, 2000; Tani, 1997). Our understanding and perception
of the world is now more strongly influenced by television and other sources of
visual entertainment than by education given in institutions (see Jenks, 1995;
Postman, 1985; Urry, 1990) and we know that sports affiliations can add to
geographic knowledge (Ibrahim & Saarinen, 2000; Pinheiro, 1996). Our results
confirm that entertainment is greatly enjoyed and age, gender, and education
guide taste and interest. The knowledge related to Roswell and Ponderosa/Lake
Tahoe (Bonanza) points to a strong link between general knowledge, cartographic knowledge, and favourite television programmes. The topic is so
important that the location of these places has been memorised, but neither of the
two places is among the conventional ‘must-know’ destinations on the American
map.
Critical analysis of popular culture imageries is one way to understand other
people’s cultures and countries as well as one’s own (e.g. Bordo, 1997;
Featherstone, 1995; Hottola, 2002; see also Ang, 1993; Lutz & Collins, 1993). The
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‘foe’ of international media entertainment could therefore be considered a friend
that supports the general goals of education. This does not mean wilful
‘dummification’ of the content matter or pleasing those who want an easy way
out. Examples used in the classroom can, and should, be actively sought from the
students’ own world in order to provoke curiosity, interest, and critical thinking.
‘Dry facts’ can be linked to popular examples to encourage creative associations
and to stimulate memory. The quality of education is generally strengthened if
the instructors know what their students are interested in and why (see Skelton &
Valentine, 1998). Students who learn that their participation is appreciated are
likely to contribute to the development of their own education.
Third, news offers plenty of up-to-date teaching material and novel ways to
use it creatively should be sought. Current, place-specific content matter
enhances the name recognition of a place and provokes interest in it (Saarinen,
1973). News material often includes visual imagery, which places the events on a
map and often guides the reader’s eye and interpretation. This is known and
acknowledged in teacher education and applied in the classroom, but based on
our findings, we suggest a change of focus – that these materials should be given
a more central role in instruction (at least at the university level), instead of using
them as supporting material through brief references and as additional sources
for those who already are interested. Again, this requires instructors to be
constantly developing their own skills.
Fourth, travel, nature, and related themes should be utilised in education more
extensively than is being done today. Conventional field trips can be creatively
supported through fresh approaches to visual materials. By way of example, the
representations, style, and selection of topics in travel and nature documentaries
provide a solid base for critical discussion and expansion of basic general and
cartographic knowledge in the process (see Lutz & Collins, 1993; Schwartz &
Ryan, 2003). Another useful link between television (and other media) and the
classroom is the use of nature in advertisements (for the semiotic interpretation
of advertisement in geography, see Burgess & Wood, 1988). Academic geography students, who tend to be frequent travellers, should be encouraged to
integrate their personal experiences in these debates.
The results of our survey highlight the value of ‘graphicacy’ and its equal
development along with the skills of reading, writing, and counting (Balchin,
1972; see also Boardman, 1989). Balchin’s famous suggestion, which opened the
discussion segment of this paper, should be revisited and understood even more
broadly in a world where the significance of visual information is growing
rapidly. It is likely to be even more important in the globalised world of labour
where broad general knowledge and understanding of local, regional, national,
and global geographies opens doors in the labour market (Featherstone, 1995;
Ritzer, 1996). Special attention should be directed to the skills of women and to
making sure that new school teachers have a solid professional foundation when
they move on to teach future generations. Education should anticipate change
instead of reacting to it.
Acknowledgements
Our heartfelt thanks to the geography teachers and students at Joensuun
Lyseo and Niinivaara High Schools in Joensuu, at Helsingin Normaalilyseo and
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Helsingin II Normaalikoulu High Schools in Helsinki, and at the Geography
Departments of the University of Joensuu and the University of Helsinki.
Without their help this project would not have been possible. Daniel Karvonen of
the University of Minnesota and Steven Flusty of York University helped with
the English language, Kirsti Lehto of the University of Helsinki with the cartographic design, and Taina Kaivola of the University of Helsinki with some of the
references.
Correspondence
Any correspondence should be directed to Pauliina Raento, University of
Helsinki, Dept of Geography, Box 64, 00014 Helsinki, Finland (pauliina.raento@
helsinki.fi).
Notes
1. Ice hockey is the most popular team sport in Finland. The national league attracts
more than 1.5 million spectators each year in a country of 5.2 million people. Finnish
media follow closely the careers of those Finns who play in the NHL.
2. Finnish students typically enter high school at the age of 16, after completing nine
years of comprehensive school (six years of elementary and three years of secondary
school). Most students complete high school in three academic years, although they
can choose a faster or slower route and complete the required classwork in, say, two or
four years.
3. The textbooks used in high schools are produced domestically in the students’ mother
tongue (in this case, Finnish).
4. The coverage of 9/11 is an illustrative example. While the main television news
channel of Finland’s National Broadcasting Company (YLE TV1) informed its audience that ‘all phone connections to the United States’ are down, Dr Raento was on her
cell phone in Helsinki talking to California. Only connections to the largest East Coast
cities had been severed.
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