Elevating Teacher-Faculty Professional Development to Move Secondary Geography Education Forward: A Southeast Texas Case Study

High school geography in the U.S. continues to face many challenges. Recent research argues for increased faculty engagement with teachers and students to broaden participation and promote career opportunities. Here, we sought to better understand teachers’ challenges in ninth-grade geography classes in Southeast Texas, including addressing students’ negative perceptions of geography from a baseline survey. To address student perceptions, teacher and student focus groups highlighted challenges and interests. Results suggest that student interests do not align with teachers’ insights. These data can be used to work with teachers to enhance secondary geography education and improve student perceptions.