CHILDRENS ESTIMATIONS OF THE SIZES OF THE CONTINENTS

Curriculum changes in geography have focused increasing attention on c hildren's knowledge and understanding of global spatial relationships. Map projections have become fashionable once more in geographical edu cation, which also raises issues of the cartographic representation of the relative proportions of the land masses. In this study, 62 childr en were asked to estimate the sizes of the continents in relation to E urope, by selecting from a range of cut-out continents of different si zes. The results indicate that the size of Asia was underestimated and the sizes of Australasia and Antarctica were overestimated. Possible reasons for this are discussed and some teaching approaches suggested.