Facilitating the transition from being a geography student to becoming a geographer in Spain: the role of professional identity

ABSTRACT

The transition between university studies and workplace is often described as a difficult and challenging process. In this paper, we propose a series of modifications to the curriculum of geography studies based on an exploration of both student and professional perceptions on the image of the geography profession and how they identify with it. Based on several interviews, we suggest a series of recommendations for curriculum design to reconcile the disagreement found between student and professional perceptions and to foster students’ identification with professional images.

KEYWORDS:

• Professional identity
• curriculum studies
• transition
• professional images

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The complete interview protocol can be obtained by request from the authors.

2. Autocad is a computer-aided design (CAD) and drafting software application.

3. ArcGIS is a geographic information system (GIS) software application for managing maps and geographic data.

4. Miramon is a geographic information system (GIS) software tool used to display, consult and edit raster and vector maps.