Topics of 1st round thesis of the Geography Olympiad in Poland vs. the idea of sustainable development

Abstract

For over 40 years, the Geography Olympiad has been spreading geographic knowledge among school students in Poland. The initiator of organising multi-level geography competitions for high school students, under the name of the Geography Olympiad, was Prof. Anna Dylikowa. Her novel idea met with the approval of the Polish Geographical Society (Polskie Towarzystwo Geograficzne, PTG). In 1974, following the proposal of the Central Board of the PTG, the Minister of Education approved the creation of the Geography Olympiad and appointed its Central Committee, which was entrusted all issues related to the organisation of the competitions. The Olympiad obtained financial support from the Ministry of Education (Dylikowa 1975). In 1991 the scope of the Olympiad was extended by the inclusion of maritime topics to the Geography Olympiad. As a result of these changes, until 2010 the final competitions of the Geography Olympiad (36th in 2010) and Nautological Olympiad (19th) had been taking place simultaneously (Szmyd & Uroda 2010). For years, various geography olympiads and olympic style competitions have been promoting geographical and other earth sciences knowledge and skills in the world. Such competitions are organized in many countries. In Russia (former USSR) soon after World War II Faculty of Geography of Lomonosov State University (MGU) started to organize annually Geography Olympiad, firstly only for students from Moscow region and after some years also for the secondary school students from other Russian provinces (Naumov 2007). In Estonia since the 1965/1966 academic year there have been 43 Geography Olympiads organized (Liiber & Roosaare 2007; Liiber et al. 2014). In Mexico geography olympiad started in 1987 (García-García 2007). The Australian Geography Competition (AGC) was established in 1995 by the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland (RGSQ) and the Australian Geography Teachers’ Association (Childs & Berg 2015, www.geographycompetition.org.au). In the Czech Republic various school geographic competitions have been taking place since the 1960s. However, the competitions were organized regionally and on the basis of teacher volunteerism. In 1998 Zeměpisná olympiáda was established (www.zemepisnaolympiada.cz/historie.phtml, Hanus 2016). In China geography contest is organized was established in 2005 as China National Geography Competition – CNGC – and first edition took place in January of 2006(Min & Dongying 2007) In Turkey Scientific Project Competitions in geography are held since 2011 (Meydan 2017). The geography Olympiads are organized also in New Zealand – Maatangi Whenua Geography Olympiad (Mark 1999) and since 2012 in USA as well (www.geographyolympiad.com/). The Polish Geography Olympiad has been disseminating geographical knowledge among school students since 1974. Its main objectives are: • fostering interest in geography and geographical sciences among school students; • detecting and and working with gifted students; • stimulating creative thinking; • raising the level of geographical knowledge and using it in practice; • ensuring better preparation of candidates for higher education; • raising the level of education and popularisation of the latest achievements of science among teachers working with gifted students; • selecting students for international competitions. Popularising geographical knowledge also contributes substantially to disseminating sustainable development goals. This happens primarily during the preparation of 1st round theses by students, but also through the acquisition of knowledge and various skills necessary to successful solving Olympiad tests and completing fieldwork tasks. In the analysed period of 43 years a significant number of 1st round thesis topics included the content promoting sustainable development goals. Over 61 000 students participated in this round of the Geography Olympiad. As stated before, the amount and scope of the content related to sustainable development is now much greater than in the past. In the last 14 editions (Olympiads 30–43) 51.5% out of 22 394 submitted competition entries contained the characteristics referring to sustainable development goals. In the latest edition – 43rd Geography Olympiad – the percentage of this type of theses was 86.5%. It should be stressed that besides theoretical considerations, students include specific examples showing various aspects of the implementation of sustainable development, as well as examples of activities contrary to its purposes and principles. This proves high social maturity of the authors of the theses, but also their sensitivity in relation to complex environmental issues.