Geografie 2025, 130, 445-468
Parameters of instructional quality in geography: Perspectives of key stakeholder
, Dana Řezníčková
Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Social Geography and Regional Development, Prague, Czechia
Received July 2025
Accepted September 2025
This study examines how key stakeholders in Czech geography education – university educators, in-service teachers, and student teachers – think about the quality of geography instruction at the lower-secondary level (ISCED 2). The research is guided by three questions: (1) How do the main stakeholders conceptualize the scope of instructional quality in geography? (2) Which generic and which subject-specific parameters do they emphasize? (3) In what ways do their perspectives differ or converge? A thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews shows that most participants associate instructional quality primarily with the teaching process rather than with pupils’ outcomes, though some mentioned both. Across the three groups, the identified parameters are largely generic, such as clarity, motivation, and formative assessment. Subject-specific aspects – such as geographical thinking, map skills, or the use of geographical concepts – appear less frequently but are recognized by all groups. Major differences among the groups were not observed; rather, variations emerged within groups, reflecting individual professional experience and perspectives.
Keywords
qualitative research, instructional quality, quality perception, geography instruction, geography education, lower secondary education.
Funding
This research was supported by the Department of Social Geography and Regional Development, Faculty of Science, Charles University, and by the Charles University Research Program Cooperatio SOC/SSED.
