Die Optimierung von Schul- und Hausatlanten (English shop)

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Brief description

Atlases connect scientific geography with people’s general understanding of space. Home atlases are expected to be able to explain geography as it is discussed in the media and in society. School atlases are expected to be optimally usable in classroom teaching. The focal points of geographical research, as well as the socially and media-relevant topics within geography and geography teaching, are in constant flux. As a result, atlases quickly lose their currency; they must be continually redesigned. Atlases undergo permanent further development by being adapted to current requirements. The pursuit of the optimum shapes atlases anew again and again.

This study aims to show which atlas content has proven itself over decades and which content is optimal for an atlas in the present day. The question of the optimal atlas is a question of which geographical topics should be included in an atlas, and to what extent and in what context they should be presented. To pursue this question, 118 atlases from various countries were analysed in terms of content. In addition, the content of the atlases was compared with the requirements of curricula and with geographical topics in the mass media.

It became apparent that atlases need to be optimized in terms of content so that they better correspond to their use in school and at home. What an optimal atlas of the present day should look like as a whole is set out in conclusion in a table of contents (Chap. 5). In addition, numerous maps with interesting and successful approaches are singled out, further developed where appropriate, discussed and commented on. This study is intended to accompany atlases, which already have a long path of development behind them, in their future development as well.

Description

For centuries atlases have been a bridge between scientific geography and the geographical understanding of the people. General atlases should explain the geographical knowledge that is disseminated in media and society. The geographical education in school should optimally benefit from school atlases. The topics in geographical research are in permanent change; the same is true for the news and geography lessons in school. Therefore atlases rapidly run out of date which makes it indispensable to adapt the shape and content of an atlas every now and then. Hence, atlases are permanently refined to meet the new demands.

This work shows in which way general atlases and school atlases have been refined to the needs of their time. It is shown which atlas contents have been unchanged for a long time, but also which contents would lead atlases close to their optimal state. The question how an atlas can be designed to be close to the optimal state is a question of its content and appearance. To find an answer to this question 118 atlases from different countries were analysed. School programmes and media were also investigated to figure out how atlases cover the geographical interest of schools and everyday life.

The results show that the present atlases need to be optimized. A standard table of content was written to give an overview of the content an optimal atlas of the present time could have. Several maps with interesting and good contents are presented, further developed if necessary and discussed. This work should help to enable the next steps to develop atlases on the way towards their optimal state.

www.humgeo.unibas.ch/

www.reliefs.ch/kartopro.htm