Exeter is a leading UK and international centre for geoscience education research, with two academic staff active in this field.  The research will be most likely be carried out in the context of the UNESCO World Heritage Site (Jurassic Coast) and will be of interest to teachers and other educationalists in the fields of geoscience or geography education, depending on the project's agreed focus.  The PhD research student will work alongside myself, our Teacher Education Research Fellow (Lindsay Hetherington), local schools and other organisations in formal, non-formal and informal education (notably various Jurassic Coast working groups) to carry out the investigation, to be selected from the list below.  As necessary, the student may also liaise with UK and international colleagues, for example, in the International Geoscience Education Organisation.

The research focus will be negotiated with the successful applicant and will be selected from the following, although there is scope for combining several of these into a single topic. Each is given as a broad research field 

1. Perceptions and misconceptions of geological (deep) time, linking with Exeter's current research within and beyond the Jurassic Coast.
2. Visitors' perceptions of Jurassic Coast natural phenomena: going well beyond geological time.
3. Public/children's understanding of the Jurassic Coast designation, its natural features and geological and  geomorphological history.
4. Efficacy of interpretation strategies on the Jurassic Coast: a major opportunity to work on some rapidly-developing strategies.
5. The impact of visitors - including possible increases in visitor numbers - on the Jurassic Coast and the implications that these have for sustainable development.
6. The nature and meaning of children's interests, within or beyond geoscience, and their relevance for teaching and learning.

It is likely that geological time or children's geoscience interests will figure in the research focus, building on work done at Exeter and elsewhere in these two fields in recent years, within and beyond Jurassic Coast schools. This research is set to expand after an international workshop held in Exeter in June 2006. Subject to funding, a major 3-year international study of geological time perception is currently being established at Exeter, with the UK element including the Jurassic Coast as a key context.  The student would have the benefits of participating in a large international project investigating the nature and implications of existing deep time perceptions for a range of sectors of society, with potential implications for educators and policy-makers. 

Closing date: 23 March 2007 

For further details of this ESRC Research Studentship in geography or geoscience education, please contact

Dr Roger Trend

Senior Lecturer in Education

University of Exeter

R.D.Trend@exeter.ac.uk

Tel 01392 264768