Transcript Title to go here - Geographical Association

World Issues Survey
Conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the
Geographical Association
February 2009
Contents
 In this summary report:
– Background & methodology
– What young people think is
important
– What young people learn at
school
– Learning about the wider world
– Key findings
Background & methodology
Background
 The Geographical Association commissioned research with 11-14-yearolds to inform its role to promote geography.
 The aim of the GA’s 2009 manifesto programme A Different View is to
restate and reaffirm geography’s place in the school curriculum.
 GA wished to understand what drives interest in the subject amongst
pupils at Key Stage 3, and what issues they would like to learn about.
 The research examined the issues that Key Stage 3 pupils think are
important and whether they feel they are learning about them. It
explored:
- The wider world issues that pupils think are important
- Whether or not they have learnt about/discussed them at school
- The lessons in which they have learnt about/discussed them
- The importance they attach to learning about these issues
Methodology
 Results are based on 598 interviews carried out face-to-face with
young people aged 11-14 years old in England; fieldwork ran
between 15 and 22 January 2009
 Results are based on all respondents unless otherwise stated
 Base sizes are shown in brackets
 Where results do not sum to 100, this may be due to multiple
responses, computer rounding or the exclusion of don’t knows/not
stated
 An asterisk (*) represents a value of less than one half or one percent,
but not zero
 Data are weighted to gender, age and region
What young people think is important
What young people think is important
 Young people age 11-14 most commonly mention Crime and anti-social
behaviour (61%) as affecting the area where they live. Young people in
GORs* West Midlands (70%) and South East (68%) are more likely to
flag this than their peers in GORs East (52%) or London (50%)**.
 This issue is also more likely to be mentioned by young people in
school Years 8-10 (65%) than those in Years 6 and 7 (53%). By social
class, C1 young people are more likely to mention it than ABs (64%
versus 52%).
 Overall, Economy and jobs (37%) is the second most frequently
mentioned local issue, but is significantly more likely to be mentioned
by young people in GORs East Midlands and West Midlands (46% and
51% respectively) than by those in GORs North East (23%), Yorkshire
(30%) or South West (18%)**.
 No other issue is mentioned by over 15% of young people.
 Environment and climate change (14% overall) is more likely to be
mentioned in London (25%) and the East Midlands (20%) than in the
North West (8%), East (7%) or South West (7%)**.
* Government Office Region; ** Indicative finding: some small base sizes
What young people think is important
 The picture is much more mixed when young people consider the issues
affecting the world, although Crime and anti-social behaviour (45%) is
once again the most cited. Young people in the North East, North West,
West Midlands and South West are much more likely to say this than their
peers elsewhere. For example, well over three in five young people in the
North East mention this issue (67%) compared with less than one in five
(18%) in GOR East**.
 Differences also emerge by social class (52% in AB and 51% in DE
versus 41% in C1C2).
 War and terrorism (44%) replaces Economy and jobs (41%) as the issue
in second position overall, with War and terrorism particularly top of mind
in the South East (64% compared, for example, to 28% in the North West
and 32% in Yorkshire)**. Mentions of Economy and jobs is highest in the
West Midlands and London (58% and 55% versus, for example, 18% in
the South West)**.
 As with War and terrorism, Environment and climate change (34%) and
Poverty and hunger (32%) are seen to be much greater problems globally
than locally.
Crime and jobs the big issues locally
Which of the following issues, if any, do you think are the main
issues affecting the area where you live at the moment? Please
choose up to three.
Crime and anti-social behaviour
Economy and jobs
Environment and climate change
14%
Health and illness
12%
Population growth and migration
8%
War and terrorism
6%
The future of water, oil and gas
6%
Poverty and hunger
5%
Inequality and discrimination
4%
Wildlife conservation
4%
Transport and world travel
4%
Extreme acts of nature
1%
Base: 598 children aged 11-14 years old in England, 15-22 January 2009
61%
37%
Other 3%
None of these 9%
Don’t know 10%
Crime, war and economy big globally
Which of the following issues, if any, do you think are the main
issues affecting the world at the moment? Please choose up to
three.
Crime and anti-social behaviour
War and terrorism
Economy and jobs
Environment and climate change
Poverty and hunger
Health and illness
The future of water, oil and gas
Extreme acts of nature
Population growth and migration
Wildlife conservation
Inequality and discrimination
Transport and world travel
45%
44%
41%
34%
32%
13%
13%
12%
11%
6%
4%
4%
Base: 598 children aged 11-14 years old in England, 15-22 January 2009
Other 1%
None of these 1%
Don’t know 7%
Crime and economy most important issues combined
And which of the following issues, if any, do you think are the main
issues affecting the area where you live/the world at the
moment?
Combined local area/world issues: Top 5 mentions
Crime and anti-social behaviour
72%
Economy and jobs
54%
War and terrorism
Environment and climate change
Poverty and hunger
Base: 598 children aged 11-14 years old in England, 15-22 January 2009
46%
38%
35%
What young people learn at school
What young people learn at school
 Crime and anti-social behaviour (50%) and Environment and climate
change (46%) are the issues most likely to have been learnt or
discussed at school, followed by Poverty and hunger (32%), Economy
and jobs (30%), and War and terrorism (28%).
 Those aged 13-14 are generally more likely to have discussed wider
world issues, such as crime and the environment, although this may
be due to having been at school longer than younger pupils.
 The environment is also significantly more likely to be discussed in the
South West (62%) and South East (54%) compared to the North West
(31%) and London (36%)**.
 Over half of young people in GOR East have discussed poverty at
school compared to a fifth of those in the West Midlands (51% versus
20%), while war is most commonly mentioned by young people in the
South East (42%) and West Midlands (36%) versus 13% of young
people in Yorkshire**.
What young people learn at school
 Young people who have learnt about or discussed any of these issues
at school are most likely to have done so in Geography (49%),
followed by PSHE (30%), History (29%) and Citizenship (27%).
 There are significant differences in the proportions of young people
discussing these issues in Geography by:
– Year group: 57% of Year 8s and 52% of Year 9s, compared with 45% of
Year 7s and 39% of Year 11s
– Social class: 59% in AB versus 44% in DE
 Overall, young people aged 11-14 are most likely to expect to learn
about these issues in Geography (42%), more so than for Humanities
(31%), Citizenship (30%), or PHSE (28%).
Issues learnt about at school
And which of these issues, if any, have you learnt about of
discussed in school? Any others?
Crime and anti-social behaviour
Environment and climate change
Poverty and hunger
Economy and jobs
War and terrorism
Extreme acts of nature
Health and illness
Population growth and migration
Wildlife conservation
The future of water, oil and gas
Transport and world travel
Inequality and discrimination
Base: 598 children aged 11-14 years old in England, 15-22 January 2009
50%
46%
32%
30%
28%
26%
25%
17%
17%
16%
13%
13%
Other *%
None of these 7%
Don’t know 5%
Geography top subject for discussing issues
In which of the following subjects, if any, have you learnt about this
issue/these issues? Any others?
Geography
49%
PSHE
30%
History
29%
Citizenship
27%
Science
RE
English
25%
17%
11%
Other subjects below 10%
None of these 1%
Don’t know 3%
Base: 529 children aged 11-14 years old in England who have learnt about issues at school, 15-22 January 2009
Geography where discussing issues expected
In which of the following subjects, if any, would you expect to learn
about these issues? Any others?
42%
Geography
Humanities
31%
Citizenship
30%
PSHE
28%
History
26%
Science
24%
RE
English
18%
10%
Base: 598 children aged 11-14 years old in England, 15-22 January 2009
Other subjects below 10%
None of these 1%
Don’t know 10%
Learning about the wider world
Learning about the wider world
 The majority (93%) of young people aged 11-14 think it is at least
fairly important to learn about the issues affecting people’s lives in
different parts of the world; 46% think it is very important.
 Young people in social class AB (62%) are significantly more likely to
think it is very important to learn about these issues (versus 44% in
C1C2 and 38% in DE), as are pupils in Year 7 (53% versus 41% in
Years 8-10).
Learning about the wider world
 Because a large majority (over 90%) of young people ‘agree’ it is
important to learn about a range of wider world issues, it is more
instructive to consider the relative proportions that definitely agree it is
important to learn about them.
 Young people aged 11-14 are most definitive about learning about
how the world they live in may change in the future (59%), changes to
the world around them and how they occur (56%), where resources,
such as food, energy and water come from (52%), and – finally –
people, societies and cultures in other parts of the world (49%).
 Furthermore, young people in social class AB are generally more
likely than those in other classes to definitely agree, e.g. 70% versus
49% in both C1C2 and DE regarding where resources come from.
 Overall, two-thirds (63%) agree that not enough time is spent learning
about the wider world in school, although only 19% definitely agree (a
further 28% disagree). Agreement differs significantly by region with
78% in Yorkshire and 77% in the North West agreeing versus 44% in
the North East and 45% in the South West**.
Learning about people’s lives elsewhere
How important, if at all, do you think it is for people your age to learn
about the issues affecting people’s lives in different parts of the
world?
Not at all important Don’t know
Not very important
5% 2%
1%
Very important
46%
47%
Fairly important
Base: 598 children aged 11-14 years old in England, 15-22 January 2009
Learning about future change
To what extent, if at all, do you agree or disagree with the following
statements? It is important to learn/think about …
% Def. agree
How the world I
live in may change
in the future
Changes to the
world around me
and why they
occur
Where the things I
use, such as food,
energy and water,
come from
People, societies
and cultures in
other part of the
world
% Tend to agree
% Tend not to agree
Def. disagree
59
56
52
49
Base: 598 children aged 11-14 years old in England, 15-22 January 2009
35
37
40
42
% Don't know
33
412
412
4 23
More time needed learning about wider world
To what extent, if at all, do you agree or disagree with the following
statement?
There is not enough time spent on learning about the wider world in
school?
Don’t know
Definitely agree
Definitely disagree
9% 19%
9%
Tend not to
agree
20%
44%
Base: 598 children aged 11-14 years old in England, 15-22 January 2009
Tend to agree
Key findings
Key findings
 Young people see Crime and anti-social behaviour as the most
important issue affecting either their local area or the world generally,
followed by Economy and jobs. War and terrorism, Poverty and
hunger, and Environment and climate change are also seen as more
important issues globally.
 Crime and the Environment are the subjects that young people are
most likely to have learnt about/discussed at school.
 Geography is the subject in which young people have most often
learnt about/discussed these issues at school, and the one in which
they most commonly expect to do so.
 The great majority think it is important to learn about issues affecting
different parts of the world, particularly how the world they live in may
change.
 Most young people think that not enough time is spent learning about
the wider world in school.