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8.2 Presentation of the Research Protocol
8.2.1 Research Objectives
One of the central questions of this research project is to answer the following
question: how does the school trip modify the children's spatial representations?
This key question raises another question, which asks about the tools, namely, how
to understand the “structure” of spatial representation? Another question asks about
the materials: how to identify the structure of children's spatial representation of
their urban environment in Lyon and Cracow? At the moment, it is possible to
answer partially the initial question and to evaluate the effects of spatial mobility on
representations, particularly on their structure.
8.2.2 Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were put down:
• H1: The spatial experience as a result of the school trip of a few days modifies
the children's urban spatial representations in terms of their level of structure.
• H2: Children's urban spatial representation is more structured for those who
have already benefited from the personal experience of mobility.
• H3: The field trip modifies the children's level of spatial structure differently
according to their personal experience of mobility.
• H4: The field trip modifies the children's level of spatial structure differently
according to their school experience of mobility.
8.2.3 Field Research
My research is based on a specific field: the school classes that went on 5-day school
trips (called “discovery classes” in France and “green schools” in Poland) during
the spring of 2008. I carried out the work in Lyon and Cracow at the same time.
The object of my research is primary schools. I chose classes that would allow
me to constitute a data corpus that presents a high degree of homogeneity (same
age, belonging to a common territory). In Lyon, I carried out the survey in five
school classes (121 pupils) of the same level from three primary schools. In
Cracow, I collected my data with the pupils of five classes at three different levels
from three primary schools.
The sample of the children in my research was formed on the basis of the
following measures: the age (from 9 to 12), and the length and the kind of the
school trip. The length of the 5 days was chosen principally for the possibility of
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