ACADEMIA Letters
A survey to analyze the learning of geology in the
Compulsory Secondary Education system of Catalonia
(Spain)
Nuria Roca, Dept. Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambiental, Facultat de
Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Maite Garcia-Valles, Dept. de Mineralogia, Petrologia i Geologia Aplicada, Facultat
de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, Carrer Martí i Franquès, s/n
08028 Barcelona, Spain
Pura Alfonso, Dept. Enginyeria Minera, Industrial i TIC, Universitat Politècnica de
Catalunya, Edifici MN1. Av. de les Bases de Manresa, 61-73, 08242 Manresa,
Barcelona, Spain
Antoni Calafat, Dept. de Dinàmica de la Terra i de l’Oceà, Facultat de Ciències de la
Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, Carrer Martí i Franquès, s/n 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Telm Bover-Arnal, Dept. de Mineralogia, Petrologia i Geologia Aplicada, Facultat
de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, Carrer Martí i Franquès, s/n
08028 Barcelona, Spain
Mª Teresa Calvet-Pallas, Dept. de Mineralogia, Petrologia i Geologia Aplicada,
Facultat de Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, Carrer Martí i Franquès,
s/n 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Elisabet Playà, Dept. de Mineralogia, Petrologia i Geologia Aplicada, Facultat de
Ciències de la Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, Carrer Martí i Franquès, s/n 08028
Barcelona, Spain
Marta Guinau, Dept. de Dinàmica de la Terra i de l’Oceà, Facultat de Ciències de la
Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, Carrer Martí i Franquès, s/n 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Xavier Delclòs, Dept. de Dinàmica de la Terra i de l’Oceà, Facultat de Ciències de la
Terra, Universitat de Barcelona, Carrer Martí i Franquès, s/n 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Martin Rios, Dept. Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Facultat de Biologia,
Academia Letters, November 2021
©2021 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0
Corresponding Author: Maite Garcia-Valles, maitegarciavalles@ub.edu
Citation: Roca, N., Garcia-Valles, M., Alfonso, P., Calafat, A., Bover-Arnal, T., Calvet-Pallas, M.T., Playà, E.,
Guinau, M., Delclòs, X., Rios, M. (2021). A survey to analyze the learning of geology in the Compulsory
Secondary Education system of Catalonia (Spain). Academia Letters, Article 4146.
1
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4146.
Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Introduction
The training received during primary and secondary education is crucial for the development
of our behavior in adulthood. For this reason, at this early stage, it is important to know our
environment and its dynamics to appreciate it. The Spanish Secondary Compulsory Education
(SCE) comprises four academic years and is taken by students aged 12-16. The learning of
geosciences during this level takes place only in the first, third and fourth year. Biology and
geology are part of the same subject, being mandatory in the first and third year and optional
in the last year. The students lose their interest in science as they advance from primary to
secondary education and cease to see it as a viable option for their future (Zamalloa and Sanz,
2020). Several authors have also detected this lack of interest in science of young people (Ali
et al., 2013; Christidou, 2011). This disinterest is manifested in expressions such as “Science
does not provide food”, “You have to study hard” or “Science is boring”. To avoid this lack of
motivation, educational models should be reoriented towards an educational system in which
students are at the center of their learning and not simply focused on the systematic acquisition
of memorized concepts to pass an exam.
The discipline of Earth Sciences, or Geosciences, face a more difficult challenge than
many other sciences given that students do not learn geology during early stages of their academic life (Adetunji et al., 2012). In many places such as the USA (Lewis, 2008), Australia
(Dawborn-Gundlach et al., 2017), some countries of northern Europe (King, 2013), Argentina
and other Latin American countries (Lacreu 2017; UNESCO, 2019) and Spain (Pedrinaci,
2012) geoscience subjects are underrepresented and frequently in the optional subjects, it is
selected by students who are unmotivated.
Given this context, the present study investigates the structure of geoscience education in
the frame of the SCE system from Catalonia and the degree of geological knowledge acquired
by the students.
Data collection
An online survey was selected as an appropriate methodology to be used in a quantitative
study, which was conducted with 1197 students of the SCE system from Catalonia (an auAcademia Letters, November 2021
©2021 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0
Corresponding Author: Maite Garcia-Valles, maitegarciavalles@ub.edu
Citation: Roca, N., Garcia-Valles, M., Alfonso, P., Calafat, A., Bover-Arnal, T., Calvet-Pallas, M.T., Playà, E.,
Guinau, M., Delclòs, X., Rios, M. (2021). A survey to analyze the learning of geology in the Compulsory
Secondary Education system of Catalonia (Spain). Academia Letters, Article 4146.
2
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4146.
tonomous region of Spain). Most of the answers correspond to students of 1st (426), 3rd (256)
and 4th (424) year. The survey included 23 items. It was divided into five blocks named (1)
students profile, (2) academic factors, (3) perception of geosciences, (4) personal interest and
curiosity in geosciences and (5) linkage with outdoor activities. The answers were anonymous. The 85,3% of the high schools that participated in the survey were public, whereas
14,0% were partially state-subsidised and 0,7% were private.
Students responded most of the multiple-choice questions and items on a 5-point rating
scale from 1 to 5, where 1 means that they do not agree at all and 5 when they totally agree. In
addition, they also responded to open questions and others with semantic differential scales.
Moreover, specific questions were raised to know the usefulness or professional future value
of geology.
Results and discussion
Perception of geoscience
To analyze the perception of geology by SCE students a question with semantic differential
scales was formulated in order to know the positive and negative aspects. Students were able
to choose a word to describe her/his perception about geoscience: illusion, interest, ignorance,
indifference, boring. The less appreciated perception of geoscience was illusion (2,7%) and
the most appreciated was interest (45%). However, 12% of the students found geosciences
boring and 17% showed indifference. It is important to note that the 23% of the students
surveyed recognize that they have a significant lack of knowledge on fundamental and basic geological concepts and processes. In addition, the 70% of the students who responded
the questionnaire do not believe that geology can be useful for their further studies. This result agrees with the lack of information about the professional job opportunities in geology
highlighted by the 85% of the survey participants.
A great number of students perceived geology as a destructive discipline. They believe
that geology is predominantly an economic discipline, supplying raw materials needed for
economic development. Moreover, geology only comes to the fore and is visible by society
when a catastrophic phenomenon associated with geological hazards (volcanoes, earthquakes,
floods, landslides) or anthropogenic pollution occurs. However not always the students have
a negative perception on geology. Other survey (Almeida et al. 2013) reported that some of
the respondents acknowledge the role of geology against the destruction of the nature and emphasizing the importance of this science in the sustainable management of mineral resources.
Academia Letters, November 2021
©2021 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0
Corresponding Author: Maite Garcia-Valles, maitegarciavalles@ub.edu
Citation: Roca, N., Garcia-Valles, M., Alfonso, P., Calafat, A., Bover-Arnal, T., Calvet-Pallas, M.T., Playà, E.,
Guinau, M., Delclòs, X., Rios, M. (2021). A survey to analyze the learning of geology in the Compulsory
Secondary Education system of Catalonia (Spain). Academia Letters, Article 4146.
3
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4146.
Personal interest in geosciences
Although the large majority of the surveyed students (85%) answered that they had learned
geology topics in CSE, the 59% of them did it only during the first year. The main topics
covered were: 1) the Universe and the Solar System (70%); 2) crystals and minerals (58%);
3) plate tectonics (56%); 4) fluid envelopes of the Earth (55%); and 5) the rock cycle (50%).
The 2% of the students do not remember having learned any of the proposed topics. When
they are asked to specify further geological concepts learned, a confusion with other subject
areas such as biology (47%) was observed, especially in 1st course students (12-13 years).
Despite these results, the students consider that they have a medium or medium-high level
of geological knowledge (2.99, in the range from 0 to 5). This acquired knowledge is concentrated in some part of the geology, such as fossil recognition (85%). However other issues
are less known, such as the origin of the raw materials for making the objects we use daily.
Even, most of them (55%) do not know or have only a little knowledge that a large amount
of minerals is needed to make a cell phone or that we use the minerals regularly every day,
e.g. in the toothpaste or medicines. When asking Do you know what rock is used to make
cement? 75% of student responses were that they donot know. However, more than a half of
the surveyed participants (50%) affirmed that they know what mineral we eat each day. These
results show that the study of raw materials for the manufacture of most every day items is
undervalued in the secondary education. Also, the geosphere is one of the less studied topics,
only 19% of the students indicated that they know the chemical composition of the Earth’s
crust.
Moreover, students, and society in general, tend to have a passive attitude towards acquiring new knowledge. Nowadays, it is more attractive to watch a film or a YouTube video or
in another digital platform, than to read a book. Along these lines, the survey asked about if
they had watched videos or documentaries related to geology either at school or at home, and
79% of them gave an affirmative answer. These results prove that interest in geology topics
exists among the student community.
Linkage with outdoor activities
Nearly half of the surveyed students, 45%, affirm that they have carried out outdoor activities
related to the geology, such as field trips, it occurs mainly during the 1st year of CSE (54%).
During the following years of CSE this activity drops significantly, and only 18% of the students surveyed participated in a field trip during the 4th year, for example. When evaluating
these results, however, it is important to consider the mess that students made between geology and any other subjects related to outdoor didactic activities e.g., the biological part of
Academia Letters, November 2021
©2021 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0
Corresponding Author: Maite Garcia-Valles, maitegarciavalles@ub.edu
Citation: Roca, N., Garcia-Valles, M., Alfonso, P., Calafat, A., Bover-Arnal, T., Calvet-Pallas, M.T., Playà, E.,
Guinau, M., Delclòs, X., Rios, M. (2021). A survey to analyze the learning of geology in the Compulsory
Secondary Education system of Catalonia (Spain). Academia Letters, Article 4146.
4
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4146.
the ecosystems, archaeology, visits to a planetarium. Accordingly, it would be advisable to
teach on the different aspects before and after a field trip with high school students to fix the
concepts and to promote the mainstreaming of the activity.
In general, field trips and fieldwork are a good strategy in teaching geosciences. For example, Esteves et al. (2013) show in their study the efficiency of field trips in the transmission of
geological knowledge and environmental issues. Evidence suggests that contact with nature
contributes to the learning and development process (Kuo et al., 2019). Outdoor activities also
facilitate the socialisation of students, because they can interact with each other more easily
while directly developing the scientific method (observe, propose, experiment and discuss).
However, there are noticeable differences in the time spent outdoors between children and
teenagers. Children aged 13-19 displayed lower levels of participation in outdoor activities
compared to children aged 6-12 (Larson et al., 2011). Esteves et al. (2013) insist on the need
to increase outdoor activities in the SCE and the Baccalaureate.
Conclusions
Geological learning on the CSE system of Catalonia mainly occurs during the 1st academic
year, when students are not yet aware of the geological implications in both the natural and
anthropogenic environment. The CSE students show a significant lack of knowledge of the
most applied aspects of geology, such as the use of minerals in daily objects. Field geological
practices, which have the potential to act as a motivation factor among students, are also only
performed, for the most part, in the 1st year of CSE.
Although CSE students show enthusiasm for geosciences and they consider that they have
a medium or medium-high level of geological knowledge, the survey results highlight a significant unfamiliarity with fundamental geological concepts and processes. Furthermore, the
fact that students do not perceive geology as useful for their future aggravates the poor state
of Geoscience schooling in CSE.
Funding
The research leading to these results has received funding from tInstitut de Desenvolupament Professional of the University of Barcelona under Convocatòria d’Ajuts a la Recerca en
Docència Universitària REDICE20-2440 project.
Academia Letters, November 2021
©2021 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0
Corresponding Author: Maite Garcia-Valles, maitegarciavalles@ub.edu
Citation: Roca, N., Garcia-Valles, M., Alfonso, P., Calafat, A., Bover-Arnal, T., Calvet-Pallas, M.T., Playà, E.,
Guinau, M., Delclòs, X., Rios, M. (2021). A survey to analyze the learning of geology in the Compulsory
Secondary Education system of Catalonia (Spain). Academia Letters, Article 4146.
5
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4146.
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©2021 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0
Corresponding Author: Maite Garcia-Valles, maitegarciavalles@ub.edu
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Academia Letters, November 2021
©2021 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0
Corresponding Author: Maite Garcia-Valles, maitegarciavalles@ub.edu
Citation: Roca, N., Garcia-Valles, M., Alfonso, P., Calafat, A., Bover-Arnal, T., Calvet-Pallas, M.T., Playà, E.,
Guinau, M., Delclòs, X., Rios, M. (2021). A survey to analyze the learning of geology in the Compulsory
Secondary Education system of Catalonia (Spain). Academia Letters, Article 4146.
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