Fieldwork in geography undergraduate degree programmes of Turkish Universities: status, challenges and prospects

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines the issues related to fieldwork in undergraduate geography degree programmes in Turkish higher education institutions. The organizational, structural, didactic, and financial aspects of fieldwork were investigated. A questionnaire prepared for this purpose was administered to all the departments of geography and geography education in Turkey. The results showed that although fieldwork is perceived and regarded as being a very important part of undergraduate geography education, fieldwork is not well integrated into the degree programmes. Geographers in Turkish universities carry out more fieldwork than what is specified in their curriculum. Approaches to fieldwork vary greatly among departments in terms of structural, organizational, and financial aspects. Although some components of fieldwork are integrated into the curriculum, fieldwork is mostly done unsystematically and in traditional ways, such as field trips and field teaching, often without specifying learning outcomes or involving data collection. Fieldwork needs to be more scientific, done more systematically and better integrated into the undergraduate curriculum.