Young Americans Geographically Illiterate, Survey Suggests

[Guest guest]

Young Americans Geographically Illiterate, Survey Suggests John Roach

for National Geographic News

 

May 2, 2006

 

Young adults in the United States fail to understand the world and their place

in it, according to a survey-based report on geographic literacy released today.

Take Iraq, for example. Despite nearly constant news coverage since the war

there began in 2003, 63 percent of Americans aged 18 to 24 failed to correctly

locate the country on a map of the Middle East. Seventy percent could not find

Iran or Israel.

 

And 54 percent were unaware that Sudan is a country in Africa. Remember the

December 2004 tsunami and the widespread images of devastation in Indonesia?

 

Three-quarters of respondents failed to find that country on a map. And

three-quarters were unaware that a majority of Indonesia's population is Muslim,

making it the largest Muslim country in the world.

 

(See the full report.)

 

( Bush when entering office was almost clueless about geography also)

 

" Young Americans just don't seem to have much interest in the world outside of

the U.S., " said David Rutherford, a specialist in geography education at the

National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. (National Geographic News is

part of the National Geographic Society.) New York City-based Roper Public

Affairs conducted the survey for the National Geographic Society. In total,

Roper carried out 510 interviews between December 17, 2005, and January 20,

2006.

 

The average respondent answered 54 percent of the questions correctly. (See how

you compare:

Test yourself with questions from the survey.)

 

" Alarming, " " Discouraging " Results

" The Roper poll is alarming, as it has been continuously for the past several

years, " said Douglas Richardson, executive director of the Association of

American Geographers in Washington, D.C.

 

Richardson added that geographic knowledge is essential for survival in our

rapidly globalizing world, a notion that is beginning to gain traction at the

university level, where enrollment in geography classes is up.

 

" We need to really now catch up in offering the foundation for students in

geography in the middle schools and the high schools, " he said.

 

 

Survey results published in 2002 were also disappointing.

 

The 2002 project also surveyed 18- to 24-year-olds in Canada, France, Germany,

Italy, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, and Great Britain. The U.S. trailed every other

country in that survey, except Mexico, which did only slightly worse. (See the

2002 results.)

 

" It's discouraging that so many young Americans have so little understanding of

the world, " said Robert Pastor, vice president of international affairs at

American University in Washington, D.C.

 

Geography Schmeography?

 

Even for U.S. geography, the survey results are just as dismal.

 

Half could not find New York State on a map of the United States. A third

of the respondents could not find Louisiana, and 48 percent couldn't locate

Mississippi on a map of the United States, even though Hurricane Katrina put

these southeastern states in the spotlight in 2005.

 

Many young Americans also lack basic map-reading skills.

 

Told they could escape an approaching hurricane by evacuating to the northwest,

only two-thirds could indicate which way northwest is on a map.

 

Perhaps even more worrisome is the finding that few U.S. young adults seem to

care.

 

Fewer than three in ten think it's absolutely necessary to know where countries

in the news are located. Only 14 percent believe speaking another language

fluently is a necessary skill.

 

Fewer than one in five young Americans own a world map. This geographic

ineptitude was further emphasized when young Americans were asked questions on

how the United States fits into the wider world. T

hree in ten respondents put the U.S. population between one and two billion

(it's just under 300 million, according the U.S. Census Bureau). Seventy-four

percent said English is the most commonly spoken native language in the world

(it's Mandarin Chinese).

 

Although 73 percent knew the U.S. is the world's largest consumer of oil, nearly

as many (71 percent) did not know that the U.S. is also the world's largest

exporter of goods and services, when measured in terms of monetary value; half

think it's China.

 

And what about India, which features prominently in the ob-outsourcing debate?

Forty-seven percent of young Americans were unable to locate where their jobs

may go on a map of Asia.

 

Rutherford, who is also a graduate of the Ph.D. program in geographic education

at Texas State University in San Marcos, said improving the geographic literacy

of tomorrow's leaders is crucial. " In our country—where the decisions we make

on a daily basis have far-reaching ramifications—it is profoundly important for

our people to have a better grasp of geographic literacy, " he said.

 

Geography's Place According to Richardson, of the Association of American

Geographers, enrollment in geography courses at the university level is

increasing. This indicates that " geography is assuming a more central place in

our society. "

 

Part of the upswing in enrollment is driven by increased use of technology,

such as geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning systems

(GPS). In addition, rapid globalization is forcing students to open their eyes

to the rest of the world, he says.

 

On a positive note, since 2002 the percentage of young Americans who use the

Internet for news has more than doubled from 11 percent to 27 percent.

Respondents who use the Internet were found to do better on the survey than

those who do not.

 

To further increase geographic literacy at the middle and high school level, the

National Geographic Society today announced the launch of a public-engagement

campaign called My Wonderful World.

 

Anchored by a Web site, the campaign provides resources to parents and teachers

to help children learn about their world.

 

And improving student engagement and interest seems to lead to improved

knowledge, according to the Roper survey. " The good news, " American

University's Pastor said, " is education, travel, and language matter.

 

The young people who have more education, who have traveled outside the country,

and who can speak a second language are more likely to answer more questions on

the geography survey correctly. " " So it shows Americans are educable, and

the only question is whether American teachers will do more to interest their

students in more education, language, and study-abroad activities. "

 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/0502_060502_geography.html