The persistence of selected geographic misperceptions: A survey of junior high through undergraduate college students

The degree to which students misperceive the relative locations of continents, states, and ocean sizes was assessed. In order to test suspected geographic misperceptions, identical questionnaires were given to more than 700 students from the junior high school through upper undergraduate levels, including future teachers. Misperception rates as a function of class level, gender, and expressed student interests were tested using Chi Square. Geographic misperceptions were found to persist across all measured educational levels. Upper level undergraduate geography and earth science students had the best overall score. Junior high school students scored better than students entering both general elementary and science-related teacher preparation classes. Junior high males did significantly better than females. This gender difference decreased in high school and was virtually absent at the university level. No significant differences in misperceptions were found between students with different subject matter interests.