In our master's thesis, we examine the perceptions of Ljubljana and the local surroundings among pupils of three Ljubljana primary schools. In the theoretical part, we summarize the key findings on the development of spatial representations in pupils, their perceptions of space, and observation of their surroundings or hometowns. We then focus on the role of memory in recognizing objects from photographs. In the central part of the thesis, we discuss the survey design and the analysis of the results, which we compared with the study carried out in the same primary schools in 2000.
The research aimed to determine the pupils' spatial perceptions of their hometowns and Ljubljana in 2021, to study the development of pupils' perceptions during their schooling from the first to fourth grades of primary school, and to find out how well they knew Ljubljana's landmarks. The results were compared with those obtained in 2000. One hundred eighty-two pupils took part in the survey: 72 from the Vižmarje Brod Primary School, 77 from the Milan Šuštaršič Primary School, and 34 from the Majda Vrhovnik Primary School. In the 2000 survey, 216 pupils participated: 64 from the Vižmarje Brod Primary School, 73 from the Milan Šuštaršič Primary School, and 79 from the Majda Vrhovnik Primary School.
The survey data were collected through interviews with pupils. The findings showed that more primary school pupils know about castles, but less of them about bridges, monuments and famous buildings, compared to pupils involved in the study twenty years ago.
The results will help teachers teach and prepare activities and materials related to spatial representations, observation of the surroundings, and learning about Ljubljana. They will provide valuable information on how today's pupils perceived their hometown compared to their peers two decades ago.
|
