Pre-Service Geography Teachers’ Spatial Conceptions—How Do Field Trips Shape Spatial Conceptions?

Abstract Geography teachers’ subjective perceptions of space can determine how geographical content is selected and taught. In order to classify such spatial conceptions theoretically, it is essential to distinguish between the concepts of space and place: While space describes abstract spatial structures, place refers to locations that are shaped by experiences and meanings. While the importance of mental maps for assessing a change in students’ spatial conceptions has been emphasized and implemented in curriculum documents, there is only limited knowledge about the role of mental maps in teacher education. Against this background, this study investigates how field trips change pre-service geography teachers’ conceptions of spatial structures and subjectively meaningful places. To address the research question, mental maps were used in a pre–post design to assess the spatial conceptions of pre-service geography teachers ( n = 21) of selected geographical areas (the Alps, Tenerife, Ecuador) at three time points, namely before a seminar (T1), after a seminar or before a field trip (T2), and after a field trip (T3). The results show that pre-service teachers’ spatial concepts develop individually on the one hand, but on the other hand, regularities in the representation of spatial concepts can also be derived. Significant changes emerge when subject-specific analysis is combined with a geography education perspective, considering both indirect (media) and direct (field trip) encounters with the space. The study highlights it clear that mental maps are a valuable tool for diagnosing and promoting geography teaching and learning processes and has important implications for teacher training.