Controversies on public space management projects in Geography teaching to educate pupils as dynamic citizens

This paper presents the results of a qualitative analysis, based on the principles of action research in education, of three teaching sequences taught during Geography classes in Southern Switzerland. Each sequence included a controversy on a management project of a public space located in the daily life space of the pupils involved. Different studies have analysed the advantages of a teaching method based on the introduction of controversies into teaching sequences. They stress, for example, the role of this method in the following areas: furthering collective and cooperative learning; enabling pupils to construct personal informed opinions and reinforced statements; developing pupils’ autonomy and responsibility. The research underlying this paper aims to measure the impact of this method in terms of strengthening critical thinking competencies, and educating pupils as spatial actors and dynamic citizens. The Geography teaching sequences were planned, under my supervision, by three students of the Teaching Education Institution of Southern Switzerland, where I work as a lower secondary school teacher trainer, as part of their teacher‐training programme. Each student taught the planned teaching sequence in one of their classes. Altogether, three classes were therefore involved in this research study. The analysis was conducted on material produced by the pupils of the three classes during the teaching sequence. Introduced into Geography teaching in secondary school, controversies on public space management projects contribute to educate pupils as dynamic citizens. Pupils therefore become conscious of their role as spatial actors, which could influence positively their future engagement in society.