Transcript Geography into the 21st century

Geography into the 21st
century - trends,
challenges
Rob van der Vaart
Belgian National Geographers
Conference, October 2008
Presentation
Opening remarks
Trends in geography education
Trends in academic geography
Trends in employability
Conclusions
Opening remarks (1)
Geography’s first principle:
Phenomena take on different forms in
different places!
This is also true for geography
Utrecht example
Decrease of graduates into education
Shift from public sector to private sector
Many new programs (Bologna)
Opening remarks (2)
We need an open mind, also towards
trends and challenges that we
personally dislike.
Opening remarks (3)
Talking to ourselves about the
“importance of geography” is not very
productive.
Murphy and others in
Canadian Geographer:
“Many geographers work on matters of
great relevance for the issues facing
society, but geography is rarely invoked
in public debates over matters of
contemporary concern. As a result,
geographical perspectives are often
missing from public discourse, and
outmoded conceptions of geography are
reinforced.”
Opening remarks (4)
What are we talking about: school
geography or academic geography?
Of course, the two are closely related!
Geography education
Haubrich: survey 1996, 35 countries
Gerber: survey 2000, 31 countries
Geography education
Mandatory in primary and lower
secondary education
Key concepts, use of atlas and maps
Value orientation weak
Global orientation in decline
Very little use of systems approach
Academic geography
Very strong fragmentation
Mainly a research-driven trend,
But increasingly also driven by
educational changes (such as the
Bologna Process)
Academic geography
Ron Johnston
“Fragmentation around a
defended core” (1998)
“A conglomerate of separate
communities writing for
different audiences” (2003)
Academic geography
Harvey’s four elements of the
“geographical imagination”:
- Mapping
- The spatial dimension
- Place and territory
- Society and the natural environment
Academic geography
MSc in Development Studies
(Utrecht)
BSc in Economics and Geography
(UCL)
MA in Urban Studies (Lille)
BSc in Earth Sciences (Utrecht)
MSc in Applied Environmental
Geoscience (Tubingen)
Academic geography
Broad undergraduate education:
embedded geography
Graduate education (including masters):
niche markets driven by research
directions and labor market
opportunities
Employability
Stockholm Declaration on Graduate
Employability
Employability
Good performance in “traditional fields”
(spatial planning, environmental
management, services)
Generic skills for the wider labor market
Employability
“The geographical advantage”:
- Breadth of geography;
- Fieldwork;
- Internationalization;
- Sustainability literate;
- Flexible and adaptable.
Employability
Geographers’ talents and expertise:
- Think spatially & use GIS;
- Integrative thinking and problem
solving;
- Cross-cultural respect and empathy;
- Et cetera ...
Conclusions
School geography solid, but “relevance”
requires our attention
A solid field of undergraduate education
Collaboration and openness in the
graduate domain
Strengthen our public role
Academic quality - theory & ‘big ideas’