USE OF MAPS IN SECONDARY SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY TEXTBOOKS

Abstract

The aim of this study is to reveal the purpose and cartographic features of the maps in the content of secondary education geography textbooks. The study was designed according to the descriptive research method. Research data was obtained by scanning the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade geography textbooks, which were approved by the Ministry of Education's Head Council of Education and Morality and published in Turkey in 2017, in compliance with document examination techniques.

It was determined that of a total of 207 maps, 73 was used to visualize, 59 to measure-evaluation, 47 to create a sense of space and 28 to show distribution. It was seen that the vast majority of these maps did not meet the requirements of accuracy, completeness, clarity-comprehensibility, easy readability and beauty. Major mistakes were also detected in terms of mapping criteria such as name, date, scale, direction arrows, coordination system, and data source. In the light of these findings, it does not seem possible to expect secondary students to attain the achievements related to the map skills in the Geography Course Secondary Education Curriculum with the existing maps. In order to be able to fully acquire the map skills, the problems found in existing textbooks need to be addressed immediately.