ENHANCING GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION THROUGH PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING: A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL AND BIBLIOMETRIC STUDY OF PEDAGOGICAL EFFECTIVENESS

This study evaluates the pedagogical effectiveness of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in geography education through a design combining a quasi-experimental school intervention with bibliometric analysis. The empirical study involved 371 students from six general education schools in the Jizzakh, Samarkand, and Tashkent regions of Uzbekistan and was conducted in diagnostic, formative, and summative stages. Students in the experimental group received geography instruction based on problem situations, case studies, project work, practical tasks, and interactive learning, while the control group received traditional instruction. Student outcomes were assessed using surveys, diagnostic tests, and academic assessments. The experimental group showed a clear shift toward higher achievement levels: the proportion of students at the high level increased from 17% to 28%, the medium level from 30% to 42%, and the low level decreased from 53% to 30%. The study reports a 14.7% performance advantage for the experimental group over the control group. A VOSviewer co-occurrence analysis based on Lens.org records was also used to situate the study within international research trends. Overall, the findings support PBL as a promising approach for strengthening geographical knowledge, practical skills, analytical reasoning, and independent learning.

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