Conceptions of Geography Teaching in Classrooms: Validating Teacher Self-Reports Through Observations

Abstract Improving teaching quality in geography education requires tools that strengthen geographical knowledge and pedagogy, particularly in relation to classroom observation, an area that has received limited attention in geography education research. We developed the Geo4Tea.com application, a self-report tool based on nine conceptions of geography teaching. This study examined its validity by conducting structured, non-participant classroom observations of 108 geography lessons and comparing these findings with teacher self-reports collected through the Geo4Tea questionnaire among 29 pre-service and 27 in-service teachers in Czechia. We analyzed how the self-reported conceptions relate to the observed practices and found the tool valid for identifying dominant conceptions. The findings show that Geo4Tea bridges teachers’ stated beliefs and classroom practice, making it a practical, evidence-based tool for teachers’ professional development.