ORIGINAL PAPER
Podzolic soils – textbook white icons or a black hole in student knowledge?
1
Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management, Department of Soil Science and Landscape Ecology, Lwowska 1 Str. 87-100, Toruń, Poland
2
10th Secondary School named after Prof. Stefan Banach, Św. Katarzyny 9 Sq., 87-100, Toruń, Poland
Submission date: 2025-08-08
Acceptance date: 2025-11-01
Online publication date: 2025-11-01
Publication date: 2025-11-01
Corresponding author
Przemysław Charzyński
Department of Soil Science and Landscape Ecology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management, ul. Lwowska 1, 87-100, Toruń, Polska
Department of Soil Science and Landscape Ecology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management, ul. Lwowska 1, 87-100, Toruń, Polska
Soil Sci. Ann., 2025, 76(4)213838
KEYWORDS
Soil literacySoil geographyPodzolisationSchool textbooksEnvironmental educationGeography educationSTEM teaching
ABSTRACT
Podzolic soils, which cover only about 14% of Poland’s land area and play a limited role in agricultural production, have attained a disproportionately prominent place in Polish school geography textbooks. Their strong visual distinctiveness, marked by sharp colour contrasts between horizons, may partly explain this emphasis. The present study aimed to assess the representation of podzolic soils in current educational materials (primary and secondary schools) and the level of student knowledge upon completion of primary and secondary education. The research combined a structured content analysis of thirteen widely used geography textbooks (three for primary and ten for secondary school) with a nationwide survey of 569 primary and secondary school students, employing both open-ended and multiple-choice questions to assess conceptual understanding and recognition skills. The textbook review confirmed that podzolic soils are the most frequently referenced soil unit, surpassing chernozems, clay-illuvial, brown soils, and alluvial soils, yet coverage is dominated by visual depictions and general associations (e.g., low fertility, sandy texture, forest use) with minimal attention to formation processes, diagnostic horizons, or chemical properties. Survey results revealed that over one-third of respondents could not provide a single correct association, and only 13.4 % correctly answered all four closed questions. Secondary school students outperformed primary school students across all measures, but even at the higher level, knowledge of diagnostic features and soil profile morphology remained limited. Main misconceptions included overestimating the extent of podzolic soils, misjudging their fertility, and associating them with carbonate parent materials. The findings point to three main shortcomings in soil science education: (1) an overly static presentation of soils, focusing on appearance and distribution rather than genesis and functional implications; (2) limited progression in content depth between primary and secondary levels; and (3) outdated or inconsistent numerical data in textbooks. Addressing these issues does not require wholesale curriculum reform, but rather targeted updates, including accurate distribution maps, concise explanations of podzolization, and the integration of current classification data. Such changes could bridge the gap between name recognition and functional understanding, strengthening soil science literacy among Polish students.
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