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The Worlds of Girls and Boys: Geographic Experienceand Informal Learning OpportunitiesPamela WridtPublished online: 16 Aug 2007.

To cite this article: Pamela Wridt (1999) The Worlds of Girls and Boys: Geographic Experience and Informal LearningOpportunities, Journal of Geography, 98:6, 253-264, DOI: 10.1080/00221349908978939

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The Worlds of Girls and Boys: Geographic Experience and Informal Learning Opportunities

Pamela Wridt

Children and youth learn about society and the environment through formal schooling and informal learning experiences in their everyday lives. The influence of formal schooling on shaping children’s understanding of geography is generally the focus of academic research. However, informal learning experiences play a substantial role in understanding geography.

This article examines an alternative method for learning about the world advocated by Lucy Sprague Mitchell, a New York City geogra- phy teacher. Mitchell (1991 [1934], 14) recognized that children learn geography through their own experiences in their everyday environ- ments:

Every environment is geographic. The kind of geography which we have found most natural to city children is human geogra- phy. The natural earth conditions are too overlaid with human modifications to make physical geography an easy field of exploration in the city. In the country, even in the suburbs, chil- dren discover relationships which concern soil, erosion, eleva- tion and the growth of plants and animals at an earlier age than do city children.

Mitchell’s analysis was largely anecdotal, driven by her experiences as a geography teacher in New York City. Unfortunately, scholars have generally not followed Mitchell’s lead and have devoted little attention to understanding the everyday worlds of youths as a potential source of informal learning about peoples and places. There is, however, some concern among environmental psychologists that socio-cultural process- es create variation in children’s environmental experience which may facilitate or hinder their cognitive development. According to Hart (1997,27), ”Children living in different cultures, environments, and social classes are exposed to different materials, experiences, and infor- mal teaching by their families and neighbors, and this results in the appearance of different competencies at different times.”

Moore and Young (1978) suggest that children’s everyday environ- mental interactions are shaped by three interdependent realms of expe- rience: physical space or the landscape; social or cultural space; and inner, psychological space. These three realms of experience influence how children encounter geographic environments, and in turn mold children’s images and conceptions of peoples and places. This suggests that variations in children’s exposure to, and images of, environments

ABSTRACT This study examined the influence

of gender and social relationships on the everyday geographic experiences of adolescents in Eugene, Oregon. Forty- six 13-year-old students kept detailed diaries of all their travels for a period of one week. Females traveled to a greater number of places, and in partic- ular to commercial and residential loca- tions. Male students traveled mainly to outdoor recreational sites and residen- tial places. The results suggest that males and females encounter different types of informal learning opportuni- ties through their daily environmental interactions, and these opportunities may be important to formal geography instruction.

Key Words: gender, adolescence, geograpk- ic experience, informal learning

Pamela Wridt is a Ph.D. candidate in the Environmental Psychology Department at the City University of New Yovk, New York, New Yovk 1001 6 USA.

Journal of Geography 98:253-264 01999 National Council for Geographic Education

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are shaped by many variables including social rela- tionships, a person’s gender, his or her cultural background, personality traits, and the qualities of the physical landscape.

As geography educators, we should become more aware of how a child’s exposure to environ- ments relates to the formation of mental images and conceptions of places. In particular, geographic edu- cators should become attuned to the variety of social, cultural, and geographic backgrounds that shape a child’s everyday perspectives. These back- grounds vary considerably from one child to anoth- er, and may vary between girls and boys. In an effort to stimulate such research, this article exam- ines the degree to which environmental experiences vary among adolescent boys and girls. Highlighting these differences exposes the physical and social opportunities and constraints influencing an ado- lescent’s use of geographic space proposed by Moore and Young (1978). In turn, educators can use their knowledge of adolescent geographies to link formal geography instruction with a student’s everyday world. Given such, the purpose of this article is to present preliminary results from a case study which highlight differences in the everyday geographic experiences of adolescent males and females.

A case study was conducted in Eugene, Oregon, with 13-year-old adolescents. It was drawn from a larger, action research project conducted with Finding A Way teachers and one Texas Alliance for Geographic Education teacher in the fall of 1997.’ Preliminary results suggest that gender and social relationships influence the way in which adolescents interact with places in their communi- ties. Specifically, the results highlight differences in how male and female adolescents get around in Eugene, the degree to which they travel from their immediate neighborhoods, with whom they travel, the types of places to which they travel, and why they travel. The results suggest that educators should be attentive to the different kinds of infor- mal learning opportunities boys and girls encounter in their daily environments that may complement the teaching of geography in the formal classroom.

GENDER, ADOLESCENCE, AND GEOGRAPHIC EXPERIENCE

During their development, children experience an expanding range of geographic settings. Generally speaking, children interact more closely with the spaces of their dwellings and the

dwellings’ immediate vicinity at younger stages of development, and by the time they reach adoles- cence they experience, on their own, more spatially distant places far from their dwelling (Harloff et al. 1998). During adolescence, the local neighborhood and the greater metropolitan area constitute the main geographic settings within which youths experience different aspects of nature and society. However, the range in which they can travel from their homes and the nature of their experiences in place depends upon, among other variables, an adolescent’s gender and social relationships.

Males and females are commonly thought to perceive and use space differently (Spain 1992). Studies suggest that female activities are associated more with private spaces such as homes and resi- dential areas, whereas male activities are more visi- ble in the public realm, creating gendered spaces within a community (Monk 1992, Spain 1992). Research by feminist geographers suggests that space is gendered; that is, the design and use of space is determined by ideological assumptions about gender roles (Seager 1992). However, this lit- erature deals with adult populations and has not yet been adequately incorporated into studies on how boys and girls experience place and, in turn, acquire geographic expertise from their daily envi- ronments.

Only a few scholars have researched gender differences in a young person’s exposure to geo- graphic environments. These researchers hypothe- size that differences in the socialization of males and females leads to varying degrees of environ- mental experiences for boys and girls (Hart 1979; Katz 1993; Matthews 1987,1992). Hart’s (1979) research suggested that boys cover larger geograph- ic areas in their everyday play activities. Matthews (1992) documented differences in the degree to which males and females travel from home. He found that boys travel greater distances from home by themselves, and that these differences became greater with age.

Research by Katz (1993) in rural Sudan high- lighted the relationship between children’s daily chores and their spatial activities. Boys were allowed to roam unaccompanied far from home to gather wood, while girls were more restricted around the home area to help with domestic chores. However, these studies were conducted with very young children in small villages. Few authors have documented how male and female adolescents experience a range of geographic environments in larger, urban settings.

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Worlds of Givls and Boys 255

Understanding how males and females experi- ence places can be explained by examining caretak- er-child relationships and the social context of ado- lescent life in general. Adolescents negotiate their geographic experiences with their caretakers based on the opportunities and constraints presented by the physical and social landscape within which they live (Aitken 1994, Matthews 1992, Harloff et al. 1998). Adolescents are not passive recipients. Rather, they mold their everyday worlds under the guidance of their parents and other adults. Adolescents’ experience of place also tends to be driven by social relationships with their peers (Medrich et al. 1982).

Experiencing the local neighborhood is often guided by an adolescent’s friendship networks and entails learning how to fit into larger groups, obey authority figures, and keep distance from strangers. When adolescents are allowed to venture into the greater community with their peers, they transition from the private, seemingly protected world of the family to a more public, social life (Harloff et al. 1998). Typically, at the onset of puberty, caretakers tend to be more restrictive of a female’s direct inter- action with a community, based on the perception that girls encounter greater opportunities to be harmed or injured in the public realm (Katz 1993).

Thus, research suggests that males and females may interact with different types of places in a city as a function of socially defined roles unique to girls and boys in a particular society (see, for exam- ple, Hart 1979). The primary hypothesis cited in the literature is that social relationships and gender- specific societal roles explain the private and restricted nature of environmental experiences for adolescent females (Katz 1993). Yet, this conjecture is not well studied from a spatial or geographic per- spective with adolescent populations. Little is known about how, why, or where boys and girls roam in any given community, or whether the con- cept of gendered space can be applied to adolescent life.

According to Katz (1993,88), “The notions that access to and control of space are greater for males than females is so commonplace that they remain largely unexamined.” This research seeks to under- stand where boys and girls spend time, what types of places they travel to and why, how they get there, and with whom they travel. In this regard, the term geographic experience has multiple elements. First, geographic experience includes activity space (i.e., the spatial patterns created by a person’s activ- ities) (Porteous 1977). Second, geographic experi-

ence includes the notion of home range (i.e., the area beyond the home base which is habitually tra- versed) (Porteous 1977). Third, geographic experi- ence includes an analysis of the characteristics of places visited. Finally, how adolescents get around and with whom complement the analysis of geo- graphic experience. Studying the nature of a teenager’s geographic experience helps expose the variety of environments boys and girls encounter in their daily lives, and such knowledge may facilitate the teaching of geography.

TEACHERS AND STUDENTS AS RESEARCHERS

The methodology and data analysis techniques used in the study of students in Eugene, Oregon, derive from the research design of a larger Finding a Way research project on adolescent life, Teens in Space: Mapping Everyday Geographies.2 The model employed in this larger study is based on a collabo- rative, participatory research design that invites both teachers and students to be researchers. The research model rests on the notion that the creation of knowledge pertaining to geographic education results from a dynamic collaboration among stu- dents, teachers, and academic researchers. Using this approach, multiple aspects regarding the study of geographic education can be simultaneously researched, covering diverse geographic settings and student populations. The model facilitates a dialogue among teachers, students, and researchers about geography teaching and learning.

In accordance with this model, and with the help of the teachers in the study, I created a learn- ing activity that asked students to gather, map, and analyze their everyday travel patterns3 The learn- ing activity incorporates the national geography standards in Geography for Life (Geography Education Standards Project 1994) and exemplifies the philosophies of the Finding A Way project by including gender in the discussion of traditional geography content and promoting gender-sensitive teaching strategies.

During the study, teachers were responsible for implementing the lesson plan in the classroom and monitoring its success in elevating the interest and achievement of students in geography. This process created a dialogue between the teachers and me in regards to the effectiveness of geography teaching. Similarly, the teachers were engaged in a dialogue with their students about how and what aspects of geography they learned during the exercise. The students had a strong role in the research process,

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gathering data about their daily travels and provid- ing explanations for the spatial distributions of their activities.

as the researcher, and the students to help answer questions pertaining to the focus of this study. After producing summaries of student diaries and maps, I would send the information to the teacher and ask her to lead students in a discussion about questions I had regarding the results. I would then discuss the contents of student comments with the teacher via telephone or in person and take detailed notes.

The notion of an ”absent ethnographer” enabled the research to be conducted simultaneous- ly in many locations. However, it also placed limita- tions on data interpretation and limited some of the analysis around a teacher’s ability to relay the information to the researcher about the students’ speculations and comments. Adequate funding would enable researchers to visit each site for fol- low-up visits and alleviate this shortcoming. Nonetheless, this research model represents a more holistic picture of the dynamic interplay among teachers, students and academics concerning geo- graphic education research. The model takes full advantage of the highly skilled, highly trained teachers from within the Finding A Way and state geographic alliance networks.

The teacher also served as liaison between me,

ADOLESCENT LIFE IN EUGENE, OREGON

The students participating in the study includ- ed 23 males and 23 females in an eighth grade social studies class in an alternative school in Eugene, Oregon. Almost all the students in the sam- ple are Anglo, were 13 years of age, and had lived in single-family homes in Eugene all their lives. The students resided in an economically depressed neighborhood. Access to public transportation is via the city bus, which travels throughout the greater metropolitan area of Eugene and a number of out- lying areas. During the study period no weather impediments, such as precipitation, occurred that could have limited students’ travel.

For one week in October 1997, a Finding A Way-trained teacher instructed students on how to keep a detailed diary of all the places they visited in E ~ g e n e . ~ The diary was presented in a chart-like format with these headings: entry number, date / time, who, what, where, when, why, and how. On a daily basis, students gathered data about the types of places to which they traveled in the “what” column (e.g., store, park, house), with whom they

traveled in the ”who” column (e.g., mother, friends, alone), how they got there in the ”how” column (e.g., car, bus, walking), where exactly they traveled in the ”where” column (exact address or cross streets), and why they traveled to a particular place in the “why” column (eg., go shopping, visit a friend). They used the “where” column to map the exact location of the places they visited using a detailed street map of Eugene taken from the local telephone directory.

On their maps, students were expected to corre- late each location with their diary entry numbers so the researcher would be able to identify the nature of a student’s travel behavior to each place. The researcher could use the diary entry number to identify what type of place it represented; how the student got there; and with whom, when, and why they traveled. The teacher mailed all student diaries and maps to the researcher. The researcher per- formed a content analysis of their diaries using the “what,” ”how,” “who,” and “why” columns to ascertain trends in the types of places males and females traveled to during the study period, how they got around, with whom they traveled, and why they t ra~e led .~

from the analysis. However, if a student participat- ed in after-school programs or special events, these locations and diary entries were included in the analysis. The content analysis revealed how many times a student traveled via automobile or bicycle; how often students traveled with their mothers or friends; and how often students traveled to places such as stores, friends’ homes, or parks. These tal- lies are referred to as trips in the data analysis and maps and reflect the total number of times students traveled in a particular way, with whom, and where.

Individual student maps were separated by gender group and layered on top of one another using GIS (geographic information systems) soft- ware to create sets of maps differentiated by gender and land-use categories. Using the “what” column in the diary, four land-use designations were devel- oped that best represent the travel behavior of ado- lescents in the larger study. These categories were commercial locations, residential areas, outdoor recreation/natural sites, and other places (e.g., pub- lic places such as churches, public libraries, and health-related facilities).

residential locations are provided on the maps. The homes of all the students are located within the

Students’ daily trips to school were excluded

To protect the anonymity of each student, no

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Worlds of Girls and Boys 257

neighborhood boundary. Sometimes a student would visit the same location more than once dur- ing the week or more than one student would visit the same location. These frequencies are illustrated on the maps as total numbers of trips and are repre- sented by multiple dots on the maps.

sent back to the teacher and students to seek expla- nations for variations in the geographic experience of males and females in Eugene. The teacher pre- sented the maps to the students and led them through a classroom discussion in which they were asked several questions: What differences do you see in the maps? What explanations can you pro- vide for the spatial patterns in the maps? Why do more girls/boys travel to these particular kinds of places? What do you do at these places? The researcher then discussed via telephone the con- tents of student comments with the teacher. These comments are woven into the analysis and compli- ment the discussion of the themes derived from the ”why” column in student diaries.

In the final phase of the analysis, results were

RESULTS

Table 1 presents an overview of the types of places males and females visited during the study period. The most dramatic observation was that female students traveled more frequently to com- mercial places than their male counterparts. On the other hand, male students traveled to a significantly greater proportion of outdoor recreation or natural sites.

Interestingly, females took a greater number of trips overall when compared to their male counter- parts. At first glance, this finding is inconsistent with the idea that females spend more time in pri- vate residential places, but this seeming inconsis- tency may be explained in the more detailed com- ments below. No significant differences were seen between males and females in their travels to resi- dential or private spaces. Males and females took relatively the same proportion of trips to more pub- lic places. Girls traveled to commercial establish- ments; boys traveled to outdoor recreation facilities. A discussion of student maps and diaries will help clarify why males and females traveled to particu- lar places and will offer insight into how gender roles and social relationships play out in space in Eugene.

Figure 1 illustrates the spatial patterns created by differences in the number of commercial places girls and boys traveled to in Eugene. Those circles

representing two or more trips generally reflect more than one student traveling to the same loca- tion. Although girls took a greater proportion of trips to commercial establishments, the spatial pat- tern of their activities tends to be clustered within their immediate neighborhood. Boys took signifi- cantly fewer trips to commercial establishments and much of their spatial activities occurred outside of their immediate neighborhood. The discrepancy between the activity patterns of boys and girls shown in Figure 1 can be explained by examining an adolescent’s activities in commercial establish- ments.

The northern section of the neighborhood is an area of multipurpose strip malls including grocery and clothing stores and fast-food restaurants. Not surprisingly, girls cited shopping and eating as a major reason for going to these places. Other com- mercial establishments shown in Figure 1 represent several female students’ attendance in structured after-school activities such as self-defense classes and ballet lessons. During the classroom discussion, girls stated that they generally use commercial places to ”hang out” and socialize with their friends. However, there was also some discussion among females that going on errands with their parents to commercial places was highly desirable. Some of the female students felt that traveling with their mothers enabled them to go places ”if their friends were busy.” According to some girls, par- ents would not allow them to go places without being accompanied by friends or adults. Running errands, usually with their mother, gave girls the opportunity to leave the house.

of trips within the immediate neighborhood. As the literature suggest, parent-child negotiations may be influential in guiding the nature of a female’s daily activities and, subsequently, their spatial experi-

Running errands partially explains the cluster

Table 1. Overview of places visited by adolescents in Eugene, Oregon, by gender and land-use category.

Females Males Difference of Category Trips % Trips % Proportions

Commercial 88 39 27 16 23“ Residential 75 33 61 35 2 Outdoor

Recreation 28 $2 54 31 19“ Other 36 16 31 18 2 Total 227 100 173 100

“Significant at p < 0.0125 adjusted for four comparisons.

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ences. Similarly, social networks or peer relation- ships were influential in guiding a girl’s travel behavior to commercial establishments.

The distribution of trips taken by males to com- mercial places was less clustered. This can be explained by the degree to which males frequented commercial establishments and by the type of activ- ities motivating their travel behavior. According to male students, the main reason for going to com- mercial establishments related to leisure activities such as bowling, seeing movies, and playing video games. These types of activities are largely found outside of the students’ immediate neighborhood and help explain the higher number of circles in the greater metropolitan area.

Several of the boys stated that they go to the mall to ”flirt with girls,” and others echoed the girls’ statements about using commercial establish- ments as places to ”hang out” with their friends. In this regard, commercial establishments facilitated

social interaction within and between gender groups. However, boys did not run errands to stores with their parents like the girls described in their travels. Male students confessed that ”going to the grocery store with your mom is not a cool thing to do.” Whereas girls viewed running errands with their mother as a positive geographic experience, males tended to ”get out of it” because of its social- ly unappealing consequences. Therefore, child-care- taker negotiations did not necessarily lead to travel restrictions for male students, but rather tended to enable boys to visit commercial establishments for their own reasons, which generally led them to engage in activities outside of their immediate neighborhood.

As stated earlier, an almost equal proportion of males and females visited residential sites in Eugene during the period of the study. The distrib- ution of residential sites visited by both groups remains clustered within the study site neighbor-

Figure 1. Commevcial sites visited, by gender.

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Worlds of Girls and Boys 2.59

hood (Figure 2). This pattern largely reflects where the students and their friends live. The middle school in Eugene is located within the neighbor- hood boundary, and many of the students live in the immediate area. This enables students to form friendship networks within a small geographic area. Very few boys traveled to residential locations outside of their immediate neighborhood when compared to the girls. Several girls traveled to the same residential places more than once, visiting friends on a regular basis. Only a handful of the boys traveled to residential locations more than once.

Female students traveled to a diversity of resi- dential places, visiting friends, relatives, neighbors, and other homes to baby-sit. Visiting relatives and babysitting often took females outside of their immediate neighborhood, particularly in the south- east portion of the city. In their diaries and in the classroom discussion, the girls cited vague reasons

for visiting friends, relatives, and neighbors such as, ”I’m going to hang out” or ”I’m going there to go there.” However, a majority of females made clear that they used residential sites as places to socialize. Girls stated they went to residential locations to ”visit with friends,” “to spend the night,” ”to play,” ”to do homework,” and ”to party.” Many of the girls lived next door to their friends, which enabled them to travel alone. In fact, several females were allowed unlimited opportunities to visit friends nearby. This type of unsupervised travel partially explains the number of trips females took to resi- dential sites when compared to other geographic locations. As the literature suggest, it could also imply that the private nature of a residential loca- tion is perceived by caretakers to be safer for girls traveling alone.

sons for visiting friends like, ”I’m bored,” ”I want- ed to,” or ”to do something.” Several boys stated

In their diaries, males stated equally vague rea-

Figure 2. Residential sites visited, by gender,

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more specific reasons, such as ”to play computer games,” ”to play guitar,” or ”to play.” Yet, an over- whelming majority of the males traveled most often to friends or neighbors on the way to someplace else ”to pick up a friend” or “to drop off something on their way to school.” Therefore, it may be mis- leading to conclude that males traveled to residen- tial sites for extended periods of time. Rather, their trips to residential places constitute brief encounters with friends or neighbors to fulfill specific tasks. This helps explain the cluster of single-trip circles on Figure 2. Although males and females traveled to relatively the same proportion of residential sites, the nature of their geographic experiences varied with the intention of their trips, their access to resi- dential locations, and the extent of their social net- works.

ful in Eugene. Many foot, biking, and hiking trails Opportunities for outdoor recreation are plenti-

are scattered throughout the city, and given the mild climate, they can be used year-round. Male students engaged in outdoor activities to a greater degree than their female counterparts (Figure 3) . Contrary to the girls, boys traveled to outdoor recreation or natural sites largely within their immediate neighborhood, primarily because they visit these locations on bicycles. As the participating teacher described it, ”the boys have a clear mental map of all the new bike trails in the city.” Girls, on the other hand, visited nature trails or city parks outside of their immediate neighborhood for family outings, and often were accompanied by their mother or father in an automobile.

ited by female students is largely explained by the location of city parks or nature paths along the Willamette River that cuts through the heart of Eugene. According to the girls, they visited these

The distribution of outdoor recreation sites vis-

Figure 3. Outdoor recreation sites visited, by gender.

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Worlds of Girls and Boys 261

areas ”to exercise,” ”to go for a run,” or “to walk the dogs.” The use of outdoor areas is therefore tied to the social concerns of females. In addition to ”getting fit,” girls visited a neighborhood park where they could ”party” and ”see boys on skate- boards.”

Sporting activities, particularly skateboarding, were the primary reasons males traveled to outdoor locations. Skateboarding led boys to frequent more undifferentiated outdoor places such as streets and parking lots where they could find paved surfaces. Adolescents often appropriate spaces to engage in activities not intended in their original design (Harloff et al. 1998). Skateboarding, considered a sport among the male students, was also used to ”show off” to girls and other friends in neighbor- hood parks. Other sporting activities such as soccer, football, and baseball took place in their intended recreational settings located on school grounds and

area fields. Participating in sports underlies all activities occupying males in natural or outdoor recreational locations and can be viewed as an indi- cation of social activities deemed appropriate for their age and gender.

Typically, adolescents do not experience the entire range of neighborhoods within a metropoli- tan area. Rather, they experience islands of activity in the sea of the city (Harloff et al. 1998). The types of activities that lead adolescents into the greater metropolitan area include attending youth clubs or organized activities, interacting with public places such as a library or church, or to see a medical spe- cialist. There was little difference among the male and female sample in their travel to these types of places (Figure 4). Circles outside of the students’ neighborhood represent trips to the doctor, music lessons, and church. Travel to places such as these took students outside of their immediate neighbor-

Figure 4. Other sites visited, by gender.

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hood. Although adolescents can typically negotiate travel on their own in the local neighborhood via bicycling or walking, venturing into the greater metropolitan area usually depends upon driving by parents. An overwhelming majority of students relied heavily upon their parents for travel to many of the public, commercial, residential, and recre- ation sites described previously

Even though most of the students' daily travels occurred within their neighborhood in the range of places they visited, the major method of transporta- tion used by both groups was the automobile (Table 2). The primary difference among gender groups was the degree to which males and females negoti- ated their travel themselves, rather than being a passenger in a vehicle. A significantly greater pro- portion of females took trips in an automobile. On the other hand, males took a significantly greater proportion of trips by bicycle or by using other modes of transportation such as a skateboard. There were no significant differences in adolescents' travels with their peers.

Female students were often accompanied by an adult in their daily travels, whether running errands, visiting relatives, or attending family out- ings (Table 3). Male students tended to engage in

Table 2. Modes of transportation used by adolescents in Eugene, Oregon, by gender category.

Trips Females Trips Males Difference of Mode Number YO Number YO Proportions

Automobile 172 77 89 51 26" Walking 33 14 29 17 3 Bicycle 19 8 32 18 10" Other 3 1 23 14 13" Total 227 100 173 100

"Significant at p < 0.0125 adjusted for four comparisons.

Table 3. Adolescent travel companions in Eugene, Oregon, by gender category.

Trips Females Trips Males Difference of Companions Number % Number YO Proportions

Alone 19 8 40 23 15" Adults 157 70 89 52 18" Peers 51 22 44 25 3 Total 227 100 173 100

"Significant at p < 0.0167 adjusted for three comparisons.

activities that reflected more of their own desires, such as skateboarding and bicycling to a friend's home. Although boys often relied on a parent to take them to commercial establishments outside of their immediate area, girls took a significantly greater proportion of their trips accompanied by an adult, while boys traveled significantly more often by themselves. This discrepancy, along with the large number of travels with the mother, highlights the gendered nature of caretaker-child negotiations that are likely influencing the spatial patterns found in the previous maps.

SUMMARY

The results of this study indicate that male and female adolescents frequented different types of places in Eugene, traveled in different ways, and traveled with different companions, as a function of their gender and social relationships. Adolescent girls and boys had different motivations for visiting places and were placed under varying degrees of restrictions in their geographic experiences. As Katz (1993) and Hart (1979) suggest, the socialization of males and females creates variations in their daily activities and, ultimately, their activity patterns. However, boys and girls alike traveled beyond their immediate neighborhood quite frequently Overall, girls traveled to a greater number of places in Eugene, although they did so largely under the guidance of their parents.

able to travel more often alone or with their peers (Hart 1979). In addition, male travel behavior some- times took on a quality of being in motion, rather than visiting places for an extended period of time. This observation was evident in the degree to which boys traveled to residential places on their way someplace else. Boys tended to have more free- dom than girls to get places on their own via bik- ing, walking, and skateboarding. Girls used trips with their parents to travel places, often covering great distances. The manner in which girls and boys traveled to different types of places adds further insight into our understanding of gendered space. Contrary to the literature on adults (Spain 1992), both girls and boys frequented both private resi- dential spaces in the community and public places such as commercial establishments and outdoor recreation facilities. This does not necessarily negate the concept of gendered space as it applies to ado- lescents. Rather, an adolescent's daily activities, social networks, and caretaker-child negotiations create distinct spatial patterns that vary by gender.

As the literature claims, male adolescents were

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Worlds of Girls and Boys 263

How can such knowledge of the different worlds of girls and boys be used to tap into particu- lar strengths students acquire from transactions in their local communities? Although Moore and Young (1978) suggest a link between daily use of geographical space and images of place, students may not be consciously aware of the types of geo- graphic knowledge they gain in their daily lives. While not the focus of this article, it is important to discuss the characteristics of an adolescent’s place behavior in Eugene as a potential source of geogra- phy learning that could be linked to classroom activities.

Given their degree of travel to commercial loca- tions, teachers could engage girls in a discussion of economic geography to highlight their understand- ing of the distribution of goods and services in their community. Similarly, boys may be able to describe personal experiences with the topography or physi- cal geography of Eugene from their travels on bicy- cles and skateboards to outdoor recreational sites. Our research suggests that adolescents understand the geography of ”cool places” or social hangouts, which could be linked to topics in human geogra- phy. Future research should seek to understand the specific geography content children acquire from informal learning opportunities presented in their immediate environment. For example, how do the experiences of the students in Eugene relate to con- cepts in the national geography standards? What links can be made between environmental experi- ence and a student’s ability to produce mental maps or models of their own community? And finally, how does variation in the environmental exposure boys and girls receive shape their geo- graphic expertise?

own personal geographies made them aware of fac- tors, such as gender, influencing their exposure to places in their community. Anecdotal evidence from our classroom research project suggests that adoles- cents appreciate a more personal approach to learn- ing geography. In this regard, geographic educators should develop ways to connect the set of skills and knowledge children acquire through their personal environmental experiences to teach the more global geography curriculum within a formal classroom environment.

As our study suggests, adolescents spend most of their time interacting with the immediate neigh- borhood; surrounding local areas; and, to a lesser extent, the greater metropolitan area. On the other hand, the typical geography curriculum for middle

Asking students to construct and analyze their

school students asks them to analyze more distant regions and foreign lands. Therefore, while our stu- dents are more intimate with the geography of their own backyards, the formal geography curriculum demands that they move beyond this experiential domain of understanding to thinking about geo- graphic relationships in faraway places. This in no way is meant to suggest that adolescents are unable to handle abstract knowledge or learning materials. It simply implies a pedagogical argument in favor of a geography curriculum that links a student’s personal geographic experience with the study of geography. In particular, educators and researchers should be concerned with the diverse environmen- tal biographies shaping a student’s view of the world.

Author‘s Note: 1 would like to thank Ginny Berkey and her students for their participation in this study. Their valuable insights and com- ments about the research design, process, and results were invaluable in the production of this article. In addition, this research would not have been possible without the support of Rickie Sanders and the Finding A Way project staff and teachers. 1 salute their efforts to impact educational reform at the local and national levels.

NOTES 1 Finding A Way: Encouraging Underrepresented Groups in

Geography, is a three-year grant awarded by the National Science Foundation to the National Council for Geographic Education. The project trained middle school teachers in feminist geography content and gender-sensi- tive teaching strategies designed to elevate the interest and achievement of girls of all racial and ethnic backgrounds in geography. See Monk (1997) as well as the insert by Sanders et al. in this issue of the Journal of Geography for more detailed information about the Finding a Way pro- ject. Study sites include Eugene, Oregon; Barstow, California; Iola, Kansas; Sapulpa, Oklahoma; New Braunfels, Texas; Hastings, Minnesota; and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This learning activity-The Gendered Geographies of Adolescent Life-can be obtained from the National Council for Geograpluc Education as part of a Finding A Way module on Gendered Spaces/Gendered Places. The diaries used in the overall project are an adapted ver- sion of those used in Hart’s (1979) research on children and their experience of place. Since the initial research project in 1997, Finding A Way teachers have continued to use an updated version of the learning activity that requires students themselves to per- form the content analysis of the diaries and to create maps by gender and land-use categories.

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