This study analyzes how the spatial perspective, widely regarded as a representative perspective of the geography domain, is utilized in high school Integrated Social Studies textbooks in a context where the importance of Integrated Social Studies has...
This study analyzes how the spatial perspective, widely regarded as a representative perspective of the geography domain, is utilized in high school Integrated Social Studies textbooks in a context where the importance of Integrated Social Studies has increased due to the implementation of the 2022 revised national curriculum and the 2028 reform of the College Scholastic Ability Test. The study is motivated by the concern that, despite the subject goal of fostering problem-solving competence, the spatial perspective has not been presented in textbook narratives and learning cases as a perspective with practical utility for problem solving. Accordingly, this study aims to identify patterns in the problem-solving–oriented use of the spatial perspective and to propose directions for improvement to strengthen its problem-solving–oriented application. The research methods are as follows. First, the theoretical foundation was established by synthesizing accumulated discussions of the spatial perspective in geography education along three strands: spatial-scientific approaches, perspectives centered on spatial thinking, and approaches emphasizing civic practice. Second, the 2022 revised Integrated Social Studies curriculum documents and eight authorized textbooks were analyzed to examine how the spatial perspective is conceptually defined, focusing on its constituent content elements and the manner in which each element is described. Third, qualitative content analysis(QCA) was applied to investigate how the spatial perspective is used within integrated problem-solving processes. The main texts and instructional cases across the eight textbooks were segmented into units of analysis, and a coding frame was constructed to classify the role performed by the perspective in problem-solving stages(background vs. solution). Interpretive reliability was ensured through multi-coder procedures and verification using Krippendorff’s alpha. The findings are as follows. First, the spatial perspective in the textbooks was primarily defined through the content elements of place, region, and spatial interaction. This conceptualization was analyzed as having been constructed not so much from a specific context of geography education scholarship as from the curricular positioning of Integrated Social Studies—namely, as the perspective designated to represent the geography domain within the subject. Second, textbook presentations revealed a mixed pattern in which the spatial perspective was used both as a “perspective” applied to diverse social phenomena and as a category that broadly encompassed geographical “topics” such as climate and urban issues. Consequently, the spatial perspective was presented ambiguously depending on the unit and the surrounding narrative context. Third, with respect to problem-solving–oriented use, references to the spatial perspective were less frequently interpreted as corresponding to problem-solving stages than those to other perspectives. Moreover, when it did appear in problem-solving contexts, it tended to function more as background—clarifying conditions and contextual factors—than as a solution contributing to the derivation of alternatives. An analysis of 25 cases applying integrated perspectives likewise showed a relatively higher proportion of background roles and a lower proportion of solution roles, suggesting that the spatial perspective has not been sufficiently utilized as a perspective for proposing alternatives in problem solving. Based on these analyses, this study proposes directions for improvement at the level of textbook narratives and instructional case development so that the spatial perspective can be described as a perspective useful for problem solving in Integrated Social Studies. Specifically, it suggests developing cases that take into account the contextual overlap between “perspective application” and geography “topics,” and typologizing problem-solving–oriented uses by drawing on textbook cases in which the spatial perspective functioned more actively within problem-solving stages, thereby offering guidance for future case development. In addition, the study proposes a concrete example of classroom application centered on location selection.