Can we create a flourishing higher education environment? (2)
2023-09-01 11:10 - 12:50 (Europe/London)
Convenors: Jennifer Hill (University of Gloucestershire) and Harry West (UWE Bristol)

It is widely recognised that higher education environments across the globe are becoming increasingly marketised. This has placed great pressure on students and staff within the sector. A survey carried out by the UK National Union of Students in 2020 revealed that just over half of students (52%) had worse mental health than before the Covid-19 pandemic and they appeared to be more anxious than the general population (NUS 2020). In a Chinese study, 25% of surveyed students experienced anxiety linked to worries about academic delays, the economic effects of the pandemic, and the impact on daily life (Cao et al. 2020). Equally, recent surveys of higher education staff have highlighted significant wellbeing and mental health challenges. In the UK, one study found that 53% of academic and academic-related staff reported probable depression (Wray and Kinman 2021) and in another, conducted during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, 47% of academic and professional services staff described their mental health as poor (Dougall et al. 2021).

In this session we wish to debate if and how we might create higher education spaces, systems, processes, curricula and pedagogies that can support the flourishing of students and staff within and across higher education institutions (Vailes 2022).

Contributions might explore the themes below, or consider additional areas of interest. Papers can present results of empirical research or be more reflective in nature.

How might university strategies, policies and systems better reflect student and staff wellbeing challenges?

How might we recognise and enhance student and staff wellbeing in our curriculum planning, pedagogic practices and assessment processes?

How can we build a sense of belonging for a diversity of students in higher education to support positive wellbeing and flourishing?

Can further studies into pedagogies of courage, care, compassion, slowness and mattering offer us hope for securing more positive mental wellbeing in higher education?

Can hybrid ways of working and learning be used to promote positive wellbeing?

How might students and staff work collaboratively to promote positive wellbeing?

How can educational developers support staff to embed wellbeing in their curriculum delivery and pedagogic practices?

What can we do to generate open discussion and reflection on the wellbeing challenges experienced by staff and students?

How can we implement a systemic approach to change within higher education institutions so students can flourish and staff can reduce feelings of pedagogic frailty?

Note: this is the second of a 2-part in-person session. Details for the second part can be found here.

You can find the full list of speakers, titles and abstracts for this event at https://event.fourwaves.com/rgs-ibgac2023/schedule/718af918-4896-4a1b-af44-5ea79263377f

For the full list of GeogEd RGS Annual International conference listings, please visit https://event.fourwaves.com/rgs-ibgac2023/schedule?trackIds=bb7c70fb-f09d-42d8-b13e-4de4ccc7ea3c&date=2023-08-30

Exploring the complexities of student transitions in to and through geography degree programmes
2023-09-01 16:20 - 18:00 | RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2023, RGS & Imperial College, South Kensington, London, SW7 2AR, United Kingdom
Convenors: Sonja Rewhorn (The Open University; sonja.rewhorn@open.ac.uk) Vicky Johnson (The Open University; vicky.johnson@open.ac.uk)

We know student transitions into and through university can be complex, both academically and socially. It is widely accepted that transition programmes into university support student retention in geography. It is also documented that summer/between levels bridging programmes supports student retention (Habley et al., 2004). Watson Swail in 2014 highlighted that only having transition into the equivalent of first year undergraduate of higher education was meaningless as students need support moving through university levels. With Othman Aljohani (2016) noting that students may withdraw going into their final year due to ‘students’ academic abilities and their level of motivation and educational commitment were the most frequently reported reasons for withdrawal’ (p. 44). Pauline Kneale (2015) reminds us that if we support the students’ academic well-being this goes towards supporting their mental well-being, which supports retention. We are also aware that family, caring, health and work commitments can impact students moving into final year undergraduate. This session seeks to invite discussion about the transition into and through university for the progression of geography students. Papers are welcome on any aspect of transition.

You can find the full list of speakers, titles and abstracts for this event at https://event.fourwaves.com/rgs-ibgac2023/schedule/d899f71a-8325-4c1f-b030-bebad7246398

For the full list of GeogEd RGS Annual International conference listings, please visit https://event.fourwaves.com/rgs-ibgac2023/schedule?trackIds=bb7c70fb-f09d-42d8-b13e-4de4ccc7ea3c&date=2023-08-30

GeogEd AGM
2023-09-04 13:00 - 14:00
We have scheduled our Annual General Meeting (AGM) for Monday 4th September 2023 for all GeogEd members.

The event will take place online (via Zoom). A registration link has been sent out to all members on 29th June 2023. Please contact Harry.West@uwe.ac.uk should you have any issues.

Mentoring for Teaching and Scholarship Career Development
2023-10-11 15:00 - 16:30 | Online
The Geography and Education Research Group (GeogEd) will be delivering a session for colleagues who mentor others or who would like to participate in mentoring (as either a mentor or mentee) focussing on teaching and scholarship career development. The session will:

provide advice and guidance from those with mentoring experience (from mentor and mentee perspectives),

include on-the-spot mentoring to help participants reflect on their current needs and develop just one actionable point to kick start their progression, and

review the needs of colleagues to help plan and progress an informal teaching and scholarship mentoring network within the TeaS community.

This event has already taken place!

If you are interested in being part of a GeogEd peer-mentoring network for teaching and scholarship career development (as a mentor / mentee / both) please sign up via this brief form.

PDF slides of the event can be accessed below:

New to teaching geography at university (TeaS)
2023-10-26 10:30 - 16:30 | Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), 1 Kensington Gore, London, London, SW7 2AR, United Kingdom
Join our one-day workshop for new geography lecturers, teaching-fellows, and other early career academics teaching in geography departments post-PhD.

Organised in conjunction with the Society’s Geography and Education Research Group, this will feature interactive sessions led by experienced educators, covering innovative teaching methods, classroom management, and student engagement. Enjoy a networking lunch to connect with peers and build a supportive community. Refine your instructional skills, gain fresh perspectives, and leave with practical takeaways. Don’t miss this opportunity to become a more confident geography educator.

For more details and to book, please visit https://www.rgs.org/events/autumn-2023/new-to-teaching-geography-at-university/

Work-based learning and employability in geography and related programmes
2023-11-15 13:00 - 14:00
This session will be co-delivered by Dr Helen King (Northumbria University) and Dr Rebecca Jones (Bangor University) and is focused on helping colleagues develop and deliver work-based learning and employability initiatives for students on geography and related programmes. There will be opportunities for a Q and A following talks from our guest contributors.

For more information and to book, please head to https://www.rgs.org/events/autumn-2023/work-based-learning-and-employability-(1)/

Climate action and hopefulness in teaching
2024-02-21 13:00 - 14:00 | Online
During this session we will hear from three speakers about their work around climate education, with a focus on climate action and hopefulness in teaching.

Bee Gan, Sheffield Hallam University – ‘The Climate Emergency: a collaborative online international learning project’

Dr Ankit Kumar, University of Sheffield – ‘Contingencies of hopelessness and hope in a radical politics of climate justice’

Prof Larissa Naylor, University of Glasgow – ‘Creating windows of opportunity to become ‘Sea Level Wise”

There will be three presentations and then time for Q and A / discussion.

Please let us know if you would like to join and we will pass on the Zoom link.

Tackling maths anxiety (for physical and social scientists)
2024-03-20 13:00 - 14:00 | Online
Info to come

GeogEd session on Advance HE Fellowship
2024-11-29 13:00 - 14:00
Guest speakers Dr Annie Hughes and Dr John Canning, Learning and Teaching Enhancement Centre, Kingston University

Advance HE fellowships are increasingly being sought by employers as a condition of appointment or probation. This session supports our fellow geographers to understand the value of gaining a fellowship and provides some practical advice on how you can use the process of completing your fellowship to develop your learning, teaching, assessment and student support practice through pedagogic research, reflection and personal development.

The session will comprise of a presentation followed by time for discussion and a chance to ask questions about the Advance HE Fellowship scheme.

If you are working towards Advance HE Fellowship (or are interested in doing so) then this session is for you.

Annual General Meeting 2025 (AGM 2025)
2025-08-19 10:00 - 11:00
The Geography & Education Research Group AGM will be held online, 10-11am Tuesday 19th August 2025.Registration link here

RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025
2025-08-26 08:00 - 2025-08-29 19:00 | University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute for British Geographers) Annual International Conference will be held at the University of Birmingham and online, from Tuesday 26 August to Friday 29 August 2025.

The Geography Education Research Group will be hosting a number of sessions:

Wednesday 27 August

11.10-12.50: Making the Case for Geography in Our Classrooms: Lightning Lessons for Transformative Learning

Kenneth Foote, University of Connecticut,

Alan Marvell, University of Gloucestershire

Sonja Rewhorn, The Open University

Gavin Heath, University of KwaZulu-Natal

Harry West, UWE, Bristol

14.40-16.20: Food Education, Creative Practice and Youth’s Everyday Geographies of Food

Sara Brouwer, Utrecht University

Irene Marchiani, Utrecht University

Tine Beneker, Utrecht university

Ajay Bailey, Utrecht university

Harrison Awuh, Utrecht University

[Co-sponsored with the Food Geographies Research Group]

Thursday 28 August

9.00-10.40: What Can We Creatively Learn Here, That We Can Learn Nowhere Else?

Smriti Safaya, Stockholm Environment Institute – York, University of York

Suzie Eden, University of York

11.10-12.50: The Future of Fieldwork

Joanna Southworth, University of Birmingham

Lesley Batty, University of Birmingham

Surindar Dhesi, University of Birmingham

14.40-16.20: Emerging and Innovative Pedagogies in Geography Higher Education

Harry West, UWE, Bristol

Alan Marvell, University of Gloucestershire

Jennifer Hill, UWE, Bristol

16.50-18.30: Creating pathways to leadership in Geography HE (Panel discussion)

Sonja Rewhorn, The Open University

Vicky Johnson, The Open University

Matt Finn, University of Exeter

Friday 29 August

9.00-10.40: 2025 Journal of Geography in Higher Education Annual Lecture – Jennifer Hill, UWE, Bristol

Organised by:

David Higgitt, University of Lancaster

Derek France, University of Chester

Sonja Rewhorn, The Open University

11.10-12.50: Writing successfully for the Journal of Geography in Higher Education

Derek France, University of Chester

Sonja Rewhorn, The Open University

Alan Marvell, University of Gloucestershire

Harry West, UWE, Bristol

David Higgitt, University of Lancaster

14.40-16.20: Crǝativethnographies (1) Exploring new ways to co-produce young people`s geographies using arts, fiction and so-much-more-than-that

Itta Bauer, University of Zurich

[Co-sponsored with the Geographies of Children, Youth and Families Research Group]

16.50-18.30: Crǝativethnographies (2) Exploring new ways to co-produce young people`s geographies using arts, fiction and so-much-more-than-that

Itta Bauer, University of Zurich

[Co-sponsored with the Geographies of Children, Youth and Families Research Group]

Making the Case for Geography in Our Classrooms: Lightning Lessons for Transformative Learning (RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025)
2025-08-27 11:10 - 12:50 | University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
This event is part of the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025

Panel:

Convenor, Discussant, Panel Chair: Kenneth Foote, University of Connecticut,

Convenor, Discussant: Alan Marvell, University of Gloucestershire

Convenor, Discussant: Sonja Rewhorn, The Open University

Convenor, Discussant: Harry West, UWE, Bristol

Discussant: Gavin Heath, University of KwaZulu-Natal

Description:

This panel discussion will focus on how geography education can address today’s critical challenges, including climate change and social inequities. We invite participants to share persuasive pedagogical materials, practices, and lessons that demonstrate geography’s value in understanding and responding to local, regional, national, and global issues. We are particularly interested in examples that emphasise geography’s role in supporting progressive, inclusive civic education that prepares students to be active, participatory, and empowered citizens.

This session will showcase geography’s transformative potential in the classroom, equipping students to make empathetic and critical spatial decisions regarding community and global issues. Transformative learning emphasises social and environmental justice, highlights the lived experiences and well-being of underrepresented groups, and transforms classrooms into welcoming, inclusive spaces.

In collaboration with the International Network for Learning and Teaching in Geography in Higher Education (INLT), this panel discussion aligns with similar initiatives from the American Association of Geographers (AAG) and the European Association of Geographers (EUGEO). We aim to share teaching strategies that reflect what Sarah Bednarz describes as “geography’s secret powers to save the world,” explore “why geography matters,” as noted by Harm de Blij and Alec Murphy, and address geography’s “wicked” problems, as discussed by David Simm, Alan Marvell, and Alexia Mellor.

Join us for this engaging debate and share your experiences in the classroom. We welcome discussions on classroom ideas, materials, or strategies that invigorate geography education and inspire others. This workshop-style panel allows contributors to pitch and discuss ideas at any stage of development.

Food Education, Creative Practice and Youth’s Everyday Geographies of Food (RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025)
2025-08-27 14:40 - 16:20 | University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
This event is part of the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025

Panel:

Convenor, Panel Chair: Sara Brouwer, Utrecht University

Convenor: Irene Marchiani, Utrecht University

Convenor: Tine Beneker, Utrecht university

Convenor: Ajay Bailey, Utrecht university

Convenor: Harrison Awuh, Utrecht University

Description:

From various national educational programmes accompanying the EU’s Fruit and Vegetables Scheme to government-supported programmes such as the Healthy Schools Approach (De Gezonde School) in The Netherlands, the Italian School & Food Programme (Scuola&Cibo), and the ‘Food – a fact of life’ programme in the UK, the food education landscape is a patchwork.

While different in each country, these formal food pedagogies – educational ideologies and practices focused on growing, acquiring, shopping, cooking, eating and disposing of food (Flowers & Swan 2015) – share the common goal of educating young people about healthy and sustainable food choices and skills. Studies in European contexts have mainly measured knowledge retention and uptake of healthy eating habits (Battjes-Fries et al. 2017), while geographers in Anglo-Saxon settings have highlighted a scalar politics around how social anxieties about food and diet (cooking skills, childhood obesity) in educational programmes place responsibility on the individual scale of the young body, overlooking structural processes such as income and spatial inequalities that shape food access (Jackson 2016). Geographers have, furthermore, critiqued food education programmes for reducing food to its nutritional components, emphasising students’ deficits over capabilities, and for producing normative moral binaries distinguishing good/bad food, healthy/unhealthy or good/bad parents and children, often excluding diverse cultural and socio-economic foodways (Maher et al 2020; Rawlins 2009).

Creative methods and practice have the potential to bridge the gap between food education and young people’s diverse and everyday geographies of food. This session includes contributions that explore:

How creativity in formal or informal education can reimagine food education;

How participatory methods (e.g. photo elicitation, arts-based methods, games such as Serious Play but also gardening, cooking, recipes) can help integrate youth’s voices and their geographies of food in food education or to understand the role and responsibilities of teachers, administrators, parents;

How creative practice (art, photography, theatre, poetry) can challenge the predominant material lens in food education, shift students from passive to active agents in learning about food or facilitate discussions around the relational and affective nature of food and structural political and economic factors influencing how families relate to food.

What Can We Creatively Learn Here, That We Can Learn Nowhere Else? (RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025)
2025-08-28 09:00 - 10:40 | University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
This event is part of the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025

Panel:

Convenor, Panel Chair: Smriti Safaya, Stockholm Environment Institute – York, University of York

Convenor, Panel Chair: Suzie Eden, University of York

Description:

Our students have taught us that the most impressionable learning experiences in Geography are seen, heard and felt. With more than 25 years teaching geography in U.K. and Hong Kong schools across a range of national and international curricula, we, Dr. Smriti Safaya and Suzie Eden will lead conference attendees on a multi-sensory geography-forward outdoor workshop to stimulate thinking about using the creative arts, smartphone and AI technologies, and interdisciplinary place-based approaches for teaching and researching socio-environmental topics.

This 3-phase workshop includes: (i) sharing research findings and implications about impactful experiential learning on youth agency and youth participatory action research; (ii) putting pedagogy into practice, with a series of outdoor activities ranging from soundscaping, doing biodiversity citizen science and nature journaling; (iii) facilitating a reflective discussion where workshop attendees ideate ways to tailor the workshop ideas and methods to suit their educational and research contexts. This workshop provides an overview of several creative fieldwork methods that can be used to inform geographical enquiry across a range of topics in KS2 to KS5, and in the International Baccalaureate Middle Years and Diploma Programmes’ humanities, geography, biology, environmental science and societies, and global politics courses. We provide a bespoke workshop guide for each attendee to write in, and it would be beneficial for attendees to bring their smartphones and pencils/pens to fully enjoy the range of activities. The University of Birmingham campus’ green areas make for ideal spaces for the outdoor portion of the workshop. Along the workshop phases, attendees will gain interdisciplinary insights from behaviour psychology, citizenship education and participatory action research which can be applied to champion equitable youth and teacher voices in geography teaching, research and action.

Come rain or shine, we will be exploring wildly about creative enquiry in Geography. As ‘they’ say, there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear!

The Future of Fieldwork (RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025)
2025-08-28 11:10 - 12:50 | University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
This event is part of the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025

Panel:

Convenor: Joanna Southworth, University of Birmingham

Convenor: Lesley Batty, University of Birmingham

Convenor: Surindar Dhesi, University of Birmingham

Description:

Fieldwork is an integral part of Geography as a discipline, whether as human or physical geographer, a student or researcher. This session will explore the challenges that we face in conducting fieldwork in a rapidly changing financial, political, social and technological world. Employability is one important and increasingly more crucial area that fieldwork feeds into. The practical side of ‘being a Geographer’ can enable students to gain transferable skills not accessible in the classroom, and there is a case to be made for fieldwork in these terms. However, as sustainability rightly makes it way up the agenda of many Universities, the need and necessity for overseas fieldwork, in particular undergraduate trips abroad, is a question that is worthy of serious consideration. This is coupled with concerns of rising financial pressures for both students and universities, access to suitable sites, and safety concerns associated with a number of countries. The advent of technology means that both quantitative and qualitative research could in some part take place remotely (big data, remote sensing or utilising Zoom or Teams for interviews/focus groups). Similarly, technology has enabled virtual fieldwork on the physical side to be a viable alternative. Yet in a discipline that stresses the importance of place, what is lost by not conducting research in situ? There are also questions of a more ethical nature regarding helicopter science and perhaps a way forward might be greater collaboration with local researchers who could perform the data collection. The advent of AI opens up even more possibilities and also threats to how we currently conceive fieldwork, the student or researchers role in it and the need for it to happen ‘in place’. This session will explore these questions as well as considering creative ways in which we can take fieldwork forward into the future.

Emerging and Innovative Pedagogies in Geography Higher Education
2025-08-28 14:40 - 16:20 | University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
This event is part of the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025

Panel:

Convenor: Harry West, UWE, Bristol

Convenor: Alan Marvell, University of Gloucestershire

Convenor: Jennifer Hill, UWE, Bristol

Description:

The evolving landscape of geography higher education demands pedagogical innovation that is responsive to the diverse needs of students and the challenges of the 21st century. This session invites paper contributions that explore emerging and transformative approaches to teaching, learning, and assessment, offering a platform to share ideas and discuss emerging and innovative HE pedagogies.

Central to the discussion is the integration of inclusive and equitable teaching practices that address the diverse needs of students. By rethinking traditional teaching and learning approaches and exploring alternative assessment models, educators are fostering accessible and engaging learning experiences. These practices are further enhanced by advances in technology, including the use of generative AI. Tools such as AI-driven writing aids, data analysis platforms, and virtual simulations are being leveraged to personalise learning, create innovative assessment opportunities, and prepare students for a digitally-literate world, while also prompting critical discussions about ethics and academic integrity.

The session also explores how pedagogies adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as digital and hybrid teaching, have evolved into powerful tools for the post-pandemic era. Innovative uses of digital platforms and immersive technologies, such as GIS, augmented reality, and online collaborative tools, are changing how students interact with geographical content and their peers and tutors. This transition to flexible and technology-rich learning environments is complemented by a renewed focus on authentic and sustainable fieldwork. By emphasising local contexts, virtual field experiences, and ethical community engagement, educators are balancing pedagogical rigor with social, environmental and financial responsibility.

Recognising the holistic nature of education, this session also considers the affective dimensions of learning. Emotionally supportive pedagogies are emerging as crucial tools in fostering student and staff wellbeing, resilience, and motivation. Equally transformative are student-staff partnerships, where students are empowered as co-creators in curriculum design, assessment practices, and research, ensuring that educational practices remain inclusive, relevant, and reflective of diverse perspectives.

By integrating these themes, the session aims to provide a collaborative space for sharing innovative practices that advance the discipline of geography, preparing students to navigate and address the complex challenges of a changing world.

Creating pathways to leadership in Geography HE - Panel discussion (RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025)
2025-08-28 16:50 - 18:30 | University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
This event is part of the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025

Panel:

Convenor: Sonja Rewhorn, The Open University

Convenor: Vicky Johnson, The Open University

Convenor: Matt Finn, University of Exeter

Description:

The higher education landscape is changing, with precarity, whether this is institutional restructures, shrinkages within universities, dissolution of geography departments or the ever-growing workload. As leaders or aspiring leaders, questions are emerging on how we support ourselves and others as leaders or how to become leaders, during current precarious times. Furthermore, leadership covers various elements from managers and performance management, leading or supporting through change, leading modules, programmes, learning and teaching or wider pedagogic themes such as employability or generative AI. What is more, there is limited literature on leadership in geography in higher education. This panel discussion will discuss how we can creatively support ourselves and others through our leadership aspirations. Topics will, but not be restricted to:

Control vs empowerment of both leaders and those they work with

Creating a pathway to leadership

Creative empowerment to deal with the short-term crisis whilst still retaining the long-term goals

Using creativity to overcome obsessions with output and financial driven performance

2025 Journal of Geography in Higher Education Annual Lecture (RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025)
2025-08-29 09:00 - 10:40 | University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
This event is part of the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025

Description:

The Journal of Geography in Higher Education‘s annual lecture, given by Dr Jennifer Hill, University of the West of England.

Speaker: Dr Jennifer Hill, University of the West of England

Convenor, Panel Chair: David Higgitt, University of Lancaster

Convenor, Panel Chair: Derek France, University of Chester

Convenor: Sonja Rewhorn, The Open University

Writing successfully for the Journal of Geography in Higher Education (RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025)
2025-08-29 11:10 - 12:50 | University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
This event is part of the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025

Panel:

Derek France, University of Chester

Sonja Rewhorn, The Open University

Alan Marvell, University of Gloucestershire

Harry West, UWE, Bristol

David Higgitt, University of Lancaster

Description:

This session is designed to encourage and enable new academics/postgraduates that have undertaken pedagogic research to get their work published and disseminated to the rest of the geographic community.

After discussing the mission of the Journal of Geography in Higher Education (JGHE), panelists will explain the submission, review, and publication processes of the JGHE. Topics will include the nature of material appropriate for submission, the types and level of evidence necessary to support findings, the recommended length of manuscripts, advice about writing for an international readership, and JGHE’s citation index.

In this practical workshop, prospective authors will interact with panelists through an interactive paper review session and to discuss issues specific to manuscripts they are planning or writing. Practical guidance and advice will be provided to potential authors. The session will end with a plenary around the demands of getting published.

It should be noted that the proposed running order of the session needs to be flexible to accommodate the needs and level of response from prospective.

Crǝativethnographies (1) Exploring new ways to co-produce young people's geographies using arts, fiction and so-much-more-than-that (RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025)
2025-08-29 14:40 - 16:20
This event is part of the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025

Organised by:

Convenor, Panel Chair: Itta Bauer, University of Zurich

Description:

This session aims at bringing together people – including geographers and social or educational researchers – who share three interests:

First, they collaborate, learn, study or work with children or young people.

Second, they have experience and/or interest in ethnographic research designs that involve young people with diverse backgrounds.

Third, they are open-minded and eager to explore how we might fill “crǝativethnographies” collaboratively as a methodological approach that combines art-based, fictional and other creative ways to express individual as well as collective experiences, views and challenges.

The intention of this gathering is to respond to previous research with similar foci (e.g. Cole & Knowles, 2001; de Freitas, 2003; Gilles & Robinson, 2012; Kill, 2022; Leavy, 2013; Mendus & Connelly-Mendus, 2024; Rizvi, 2019, Stafford, 2017; Watson, Morgan & Bull, 2021). We may take this session as an opportunity to explore if “crǝativethnographies” is a useful term to extend these approaches or move to somewhere else.

The interactive short paper format of the session has been deliberately chosen to share ideas on not yet fully cooked up, ongoing, but also finished projects that combine interests in arts, ethnography and young people. Hopefully, this brings together conceptual, methodological and empirical work from different social and spatial contexts.

Presentations may, for example, focus on

suggesting fresh ideas how to create an inclusive network of people interested in “crǝativethnographies” reaching out beyond academia?

elaborating empirical examples where creative educational spaces in play groups, schools, youth clubs or more informal or online gatherings enable new ways to fathom out the chances, challenges and threats that young people experience during creative acts and performances.

interrogating established concepts in terms of ethnographic work or art-based ethnographies with young people and their participation, collaboration and responsibility in these projects.

exploring creative ways in which young people engage in activism and/or fight for environmental, social or other forms of justice.

implying an art-based research design in different stages of the research process

illustrate how young people and researchers (or teachers) use social media and hybrid forms of interaction and communication to publish their arguments and publicise their actions.

engaging with conceptual ideas and their consequences, such as “fiction as research practice” (Leavy, 2013) and fiction (or other art) as research output.

Crǝativethnographies (2) Exploring new ways to co-produce young people's geographies using arts, fiction and so-much-more-than-that (RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2025)
2025-08-29 16:50 - 18:30

Writing and reviewing for the Journal of Geography in Higher Education
2026-03-25 14:00 - 15:30 | Online – advanced booking required
Hosted in collaboration with the Geography and Education Research Group (GeogEd), this session is designed to encourage and enable new academics/postgraduates who have undertaken pedagogic research to publish and disseminate their work to the rest of the geographic community.After discussing the mission of the Journal of Geography in Higher Education (JGHE), panellists will explain the submission, review, and publication processes of the JGHE.Topics will include the nature of material appropriate for submission, the types and level of evidence necessary to support findings, the recommended length of manuscripts, advice about writing for an international readership, and JGHE’s citation index.In this practical workshop, prospective authors will interact with panellists through an interactive paper review session and discuss issues specific to manuscripts they are planning or writing. Practical guidance and advice will be provided to potential authors. The detailed discussion will be responsive to the needs and interests of the participants.

Speakers

David Higgitt (University of Lancaster), JGHE Editor-in-Chief

Derek France (University of Chester), JGHE Editor

Sonja Rewhorn (The Open University, UK) GeogEd Treasurer and JGHE Editorial Board Member

Alan Marvell (University of Gloucestershire), GeogEd Chair and JGHE Editorial Board Member

Vicky Johnson (The Open University, UK), GeogEd Committee Member and JGHE Editorial Board Member

Advance booking required – book here.

RGS-IBS Annual International Conference 2026
2026-09-01 00:00 - 2026-09-04 23:59 | RGS-IBG and Imperial College london, 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR, United Kingdom
Join us for the RGS-IBS Annual International Conference 2026

The Annual International Conference 2026 will be chaired by Professor Peter Hopkins (Newcastle University, UK), on the theme of Geographies of inequalities: toward just places. Find out more about our Chair’s sessions at the conference.

GeogEd will be hosting a number of events (see below). Stay tuned for specific locations and times!

The Geographies of Generative AI in Higher Education (RGS-IBG AIC 2026)

Emerging and Innovative Pedagogies in Geography Higher Education (RGS-IBG AIC 2026)

Rethinking Educational Pedagogies and Practices in Unequal Contexts (RGS-IBG AIC 2026)

The Geographies of Generative AI in Higher Education (RGS-IBG AIC 2026)
2026-09-01 00:00 - 2026-09-04 23:59 | RGS-IBG and Imperial College london, 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR, United Kingdom
*This event is part of the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2026. Exact session time and location will be confirmed in due course and updated here.

Session organisers: Kieran Phelan (University of Nottingham, UK) and Andrew Cook (University of Nottingham, UK)

Generative artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping practices of learning, teaching, and knowledge production in higher education (Pratschke, 2024, HEPI, 2025). The widespread use of large language models by both students and faculty presents fundamental challenges to established pedagogical norms, as well as academic integrity, and institutional governance (Bertram Gallant and Rettinger, 2025). As universities struggle to respond to these disruptions, significant shifts are emerging in assessment practices, curriculum (re)design, and integrity and assurance mechanisms, as well as everyday pedagogical cultures of teaching and learning.

Taking seriously the geographies of the university, this session invites critical reflection on how generative AI is reconfiguring the geographies of higher education; spatially, institutionally, ethically and relationally. Rather than focusing narrowly on technical or instrumental approaches such as prompt engineering, the session seeks to centre broader conceptual and empirical insights on how universities are being reshaped by cultures of artificial generativity, including changes in pedagogical spaces and cultures, shifts in students’ digital practices, as well as how forms of academic labour are being reimagined in response.

experiences embedding critical AI literacy within geography degree programmes

analysis of institutional AI strategies and responses

critical AI politics and resistance amongst students and faculty

approaches to governance, assurance, and academic integrity

assessment redesign and curriculum innovation

AI and student experience enhancement and student-voice projects

Emerging and Innovative Pedagogies in Geography Higher Education (RGS-IBG AIC 2026)
2026-09-01 00:00 - 2026-09-04 23:59 | RGS-IBG and Imperial College london, 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR, United Kingdom
*This event is part of the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2026. Exact session time and location will be confirmed in due course and updated here.

Convenors:

Dr Harry West (University of the West of England)

Dr Alan Marvell (University of Gloucestershire)

Professor Jennifer Hill (Visiting Professor, University of the West of England)

Dr Sonja Rewhorn (Open University)

Format: In-person paper session

Sponsored by the Geography & Education Research Group

The evolving landscape of geography higher education demands pedagogical innovation that is responsive to the diverse needs of students and the challenges of the 21st century. This session invites paper contributions that explore emerging and transformative approaches to teaching, learning, and assessment, offering a platform to share ideas and discuss emerging and innovative HE pedagogies.

Central to the discussion is the integration of inclusive and equitable teaching practices that address the diverse needs of students. By rethinking traditional teaching and learning approaches and exploring alternative assessment models, educators are fostering accessible and engaging learning experiences. These practices are further enhanced by advances in technology, including the use of generative AI. Tools such as AI-driven writing aids, data analysis platforms, and virtual simulations are being leveraged to personalise learning, create innovative assessment opportunities, and prepare students for a digitally-literate world, while also prompting critical discussions about ethics and academic integrity.

The session also explores how pedagogies adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as digital and hybrid teaching, have evolved into powerful tools for the post-pandemic era. Innovative uses of digital platforms and immersive technologies, such as GIS, augmented reality, and online collaborative tools, are changing how students interact with geographical content and their peers and tutors. This transition to flexible and technology-rich learning environments is complemented by a renewed focus on authentic and sustainable fieldwork. By emphasising local contexts, virtual field experiences, and ethical community engagement, educators are balancing pedagogical rigour with social, environmental and financial responsibility.

Recognising the holistic nature of education, this session also considers the affective dimensions of learning. Emotionally supportive pedagogies are emerging as crucial tools in fostering student and staff wellbeing, resilience, and motivation. Equally transformative are student-staff partnerships, where students are empowered as co-creators in curriculum design, assessment practices, and research, ensuring that educational practices remain inclusive, relevant, and reflective of diverse perspectives.

By integrating these themes, the session aims to provide a collaborative space for sharing innovative practices that advance the discipline of geography, preparing students to navigate and address the complex challenges of a changing world.

Rethinking Educational Pedagogies and Practices in Unequal Contexts (RGS-IBG AIC 2026)
2026-09-01 00:00 - 2026-09-04 23:59 | RGS-IBG and Imperial College london, 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR, United Kingdom
*This event is part of the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2026. Exact session time and location will be confirmed in due course and updated here.

Convenors:

Professor Jennifer Hill (Visiting Professor, University of the West of England)

Dr Harry West (University of the West of England)

Dr Sonja Rewhorn (Open University)

Dr Alan Marvell (University of Gloucestershire)

Format: In-person paper session

Sponsored by the Geography & Education Research Group

Education is frequently positioned as a vehicle for social mobility and justice, yet institutions are deeply uneven places, shaped by widening social, economic and spatial inequalities. This session invites contributions that critically examine student and/or staff experiences of teaching, learning and assessment within these unequal contexts. It invites contributions that explore how educational experiences, institutional resources and academic labour are geographically differentiated and unevenly valued.

Contributions may focus on geographical disparities in education provision, for example widening participation, inequalities in academic careers and working conditions, in addition to broader spatial politics of internationalisation, and unequal impacts of neoliberal austerity, marketisation and institutional restructuring.

The session also welcomes work on campus geographies, such as inclusive pedagogies, assessment practices and curriculum design, and how these are inflected by inequalities related to class, race, gender, disability, citizenship and place. Papers might also discuss digital divides, accessibility, caring responsibilities, precarity and institutional policies and practices shaping everyday educational experiences in classrooms, online spaces and the field.

Crucially, the session seeks to move beyond diagnosis to consider resistance, reform and reimagining of power, privilege and exclusion. This includes reflections on policy interventions, collective action and alternative educational practices. Contributions may be empirical, conceptual or practice-based, and may engage with students, staff or institutional policy contexts. The session aims to create space for critical discussions about how educational spaces might become more just places of learning and work.

Potential themes:

Teaching, learning and pedagogy in unequal institutional contexts

Assessment practices, fairness and equity

Student experience, belonging and exclusion

Staff experience, workload, wellbeing and precarity

Widening participation, access and retention

AI, digital and hybrid learning practices and environments

Disability, accessibility and inclusive practices

Institutional policies, metrics and governance

Marketisation, austerity and institutional change

Resistance, reform and reimagining educational practices

GeogEd AGM
2026-09-11 17:00 - 18:00 | Online – advanced booking required
All are welcome to join our Annual General Meeting!

Please register for this zoom meeting.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Please add this information to your calendar (links to add below)
