The Living Environment of 7–12‐year‐old Pupils in Finland

This paper is based on a Finnish research project in which a survey was made of the spatial identity of 7–12‐year‐old pupils at a suburban primary school in Helsinki, the emphasis being on assessing their knowledge, skills and feelings related to the physical environment at different a real levels. Certain clear differences emerging between the girls and boys are considered here. The boys were spatially more adept than the girls and the mental maps that they drew of their immediate environment and of the whole world were more sophisticated. The girls’ range of movement was more restricted, but given permission, they tended to range over a wider area than the boys.