Vol. 17 No. 2 (2026)
Special Issue: SI_TGEO

Developing Geography Teaching Expertise: Perceived Learning Opportunities Among Expert Teachers in Germany

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Lisa Wieczorek
Institute for Geography Education, University of Münster, Germany
Isabel Höyng
Mariengymnasium Bocholt, Germany
Nina Scholten
Institute for Geography, Geography Education, Kiel University, Germany
Identified areas of teacher expertise development
DOI: https://doi.org/10.48088/ejg.l.wie.17.2.283.301
Categories

Published 2026-06-14

Keywords

  • geography teacher professionalism,
  • enablers for geography teaching,
  • learning opportunities,
  • expert teachers,
  • reflective practitioner

How to Cite

Wieczorek, Lisa, Isabel Höyng, and Nina Scholten. 2026. “Developing Geography Teaching Expertise: Perceived Learning Opportunities Among Expert Teachers in Germany”. European Journal of Geography 17 (2):S.283-S.301. https://doi.org/10.48088/ejg.l.wie.17.2.283.301.

Copyright (c) 2026 Lisa Wieczorek, Isabel Höyng, Nina Scholten

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Received 2026-02-22
Accepted 2026-06-08
Published 2026-06-14

Abstract

Developing professional expertise in teaching requires more than practical experience or professional knowledge alone; it depends on meaningful enablers or so called learning opportunities. Due to the disciplinary complexity and societal relevance of geography education, geography teachers face specific professional demands. However, systematic insights into the learning opportunities that geography teachers perceive as meaningful remain limited, although such insights could inform geography teacher education and professional development. To address this gap, we conducted an exploratory qualitative and retrospective interview study with seven geography teachers. These teachers were identified as experts based on their experience and qualifications. Semi-structured interviews explored activities, practices, and experiences perceived as crucial for their professional development. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis with inductive and deductive coding. The findings indicate four main areas of learning opportunities supporting the development of geography teaching expertise: (1) reflective classroom practice, including lesson planning and lesson enactment; (2) professional exchange, encompassing both horizontal and vertical interactions; (3) the assumption of leadership or specialized roles, which expand perspectives and professional responsibilities; and (4) reflective spatial engagement, including everyday and travel-related experiences that inform subject-specific teaching. The findings support the importance of integrating structured, reflective, and socially embedded learning opportunities into both pre-eservice and in-service teacher education. Professional competence and teaching expertise in geography can therefore be strengthened through subject-specific practices and mentoring—confirming key approaches already discussed in the literature—while suggesting a need for a sharper emphasis on leadership roles and support for the development of reflective engagement with spatial experiences.

Highlights:

  • Geography teacher expertise develops through reflexive practice, not just experience.
  • Exchange, mentoring, and leadership roles appear to drive professional development.
  • Spatial experience is relevant to geography teachers’ professional expertise.
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