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Changing Horizons in Geography Education - HERODOT Network ...

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ContextUtrecht University is a large, classical university with a wide range of courses andapproximately 25,000 students. Its schools and research <strong>in</strong>stitutes are embedded <strong>in</strong>seven Faculties, one of which is the Faculty of Geosciences. “Human <strong>Geography</strong> andPlann<strong>in</strong>g” is one of the four departments of this faculty. This department is among thelargest of its k<strong>in</strong>d <strong>in</strong> Europe, with roughly 750 students and a scientific staff of about40 full staff equivalents (fse). The Faculty of Geographical Sciences as a whole hasa scientific staff of 172 fse (apart from 106 fse PhD students) and about 1,950 registeredstudents (2004). The Department of Human <strong>Geography</strong> and Plann<strong>in</strong>g offersa three year bachelor programme and eight Master’s programmes. The ma<strong>in</strong> fieldsof specialization are urban geography, economic geography, regional geography,<strong>in</strong>ternational development studies and GIS/cartography. Research is concentrated<strong>in</strong> the Urban and Regional Research Centre Utrecht (URU). Most staff time is spenton teach<strong>in</strong>g.About ten years ago Utrecht University started to counterbalance the traditionalpolicy focus on research and to give more weight to teach<strong>in</strong>g and learn<strong>in</strong>g. It wasdecided that everybody <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> teach<strong>in</strong>g and learn<strong>in</strong>g should have a teach<strong>in</strong>gqualification (either a junior or a senior qualification, see Keesen and Vermeulen2005). The university board also started a policy of more flexible career paths,<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g more and better career possibilities for staff members who ma<strong>in</strong>ly spendtheir time on teach<strong>in</strong>g. The Board also started annual university-wide conferencedays exclusively dedicated to issues of teach<strong>in</strong>g practice, that by now have becomea ‘tradition’ <strong>in</strong> the university.These decisions revitalised the role of the Faculty Development Department,which is part of the wider University Centre for Teach<strong>in</strong>g and Learn<strong>in</strong>g (IVLOS).This Centre plays an important role <strong>in</strong> qualify<strong>in</strong>g the teach<strong>in</strong>g staff and improv<strong>in</strong>gtheir skills. They offer a wide set of courses that can be attended by staff memberson a voluntary basis. For new teachers some of these courses are compulsory, <strong>in</strong>order to get a junior teach<strong>in</strong>g qualification. For all university teachers IVLOS offers‘personal consultancy’, which means that everybody <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> teach<strong>in</strong>g can ask foradvice <strong>in</strong> the design or daily practice of courses, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g observations and advice<strong>in</strong> a classroom situation.The Department of Human <strong>Geography</strong> and Plann<strong>in</strong>g has a long tradition <strong>in</strong>improv<strong>in</strong>g its curriculum and course modules. Part of this tradition is the overallattitude towards teach<strong>in</strong>g: it is considered as normal (although not always welcomed)that the staff are stimulated permanently to improve their skills as teachers and theircourses.Multilevel approach to professional developmentWe now want to discuss aspects of professional development at various levels <strong>in</strong>Utrecht University: at the level of the university as a whole, at the Faculty level, thelevel of the School of Human <strong>Geography</strong> and Plann<strong>in</strong>g and f<strong>in</strong>ally the level of deliberationamong peers (staff). This short paper does not allow us to discuss the roleof students, directly and <strong>in</strong>directly, nor will it be possible to elaborate all the <strong>in</strong>stru-184

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