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Changing Horizons in Geography Education - HERODOT Network ...

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<strong>Geography</strong> programs and BolognaTheresa Barata SalgueiroDepartamento de Geografia, Universidade de LisboaAlameda da Universidade, 1600-214 LISBOA, Portugale-mail: tbs@fl.ul.ptAbstractUp to now modifications of the Lisbon University geographical curriculum has been theconsequence of job opportunities for the growth and transformation of geography. NowadaysBologna represents an important external push for modification, which we evaluate<strong>in</strong> three ma<strong>in</strong> dimensions: <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g competitiveness between universities, employabilityversus specialization after first cycle and competences. An analysis of course proposals <strong>in</strong><strong>Geography</strong> shows that the ma<strong>in</strong> goals are still stated <strong>in</strong> terms of scientific knowledge.Key words: <strong>Geography</strong>, curriculum, competenciesIntroductionThe 1970s and 1980s have seen a big expansion <strong>in</strong> <strong>Geography</strong> at Portuguese universities.Between 1970 and 2004 the number of public universities offer<strong>in</strong>g degrees <strong>in</strong><strong>Geography</strong> <strong>in</strong>creased from 2 to 6, plus 1 private <strong>in</strong>stitution, the number of <strong>Geography</strong>students at the University of Lisbon has multiplied by 4 (from 150 to 600) and theteach<strong>in</strong>g staff three-fold.The change was not strictly only quantitative s<strong>in</strong>ce it also <strong>in</strong>cluded diversificationof the structure of the programs, as reported by Amaral (1980) and Barata Salgueiro(2003). The successive reforms at University of Lisbon, especially the <strong>in</strong>troduction ofnew themes and perspectives, have profited from the <strong>in</strong>ternational contacts of staffalong with an <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g demand for geographers <strong>in</strong> the labour market, which hasbeen suffer<strong>in</strong>g an important transformation, as Claud<strong>in</strong>o et al. (1991) have shown.As a matter of fact, <strong>in</strong> the last 30 years, the traditional job for geography graduates,the teach<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> high school, has decl<strong>in</strong>ed quite a bit and new opportunities havearisen <strong>in</strong> plann<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>in</strong> the management and protection of natural resources, <strong>in</strong> civilprotection, <strong>in</strong> tourism, and so on.Today an external component, represented by the so-called Bologna process isvery important and adds new dimensions to the restructure discussions. My <strong>in</strong>tentis thus to br<strong>in</strong>g some <strong>in</strong>sights on this matter.Competition and social relevanceThe ma<strong>in</strong> goal of the Bologna Declaration is the build<strong>in</strong>g of a European higher educationspace which favours the mobility and employability of European citizens and is <strong>in</strong>ternationallyhighly competitive. A large proportion of the documents already produceddeal with programs comparability <strong>in</strong> order to facilitate student mobility, but there are102

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