This master’s thesis first introduces the theoretical basis of achieving basic cartographic literacy: the notion of map, the influence of map use on the perception of space, cartographic literacy and the factors that influence its success. The emphasis is placed on the constituents of cartographic literacy: perspective, scale, orientation, markers, and relief. For each of the constituents, an overview of scientific findings has been made, with the findings of Piaget and Catling, who studied children’s perception of space and how the space is depicted on paper, represented in more detail.
The basis of this thesis is the analysis of maps drawn by children from grades 1-4 (ages 6-10) of a 9-year primary school, displaying the school and its immediate surroundings. The results, i.e. cartographic literacy and spatial perception improve with age. While there are considerable differences between the first-year students when it comes to the notion of maps and space representation, the children included in this research typically did not assume the perspective of others, did not draw from a ground-view perspective and only used few markers when drawing buildings. A huge leap in space representation and the use of markers occurs between the first and second grades, which is also when the legend appears. When it comes to the placing of elements, the greatest progress has been observed between the second and third grades. The greatest progress in the use of markers and the knowledge of map features has been observed between the third and fourth grades. Children have the most difficulties with distances and sizes.
Cartographic literacy is part of general literacy. The knowledge of its development enables a better understanding of the reasons for the difficulties an individual can have at a certain stage. This brings new challenges: what should be done and how certain constituents of cartographic literacy should be presented and made familiar to an individual in order to ensure his or her progress. Since maps contain a large number of elements, achieving cartographic literacy is a demanding mental activity and therefore a long-lasting process.
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