@article{27437e675a744814adc6e4516f5b5bcd,
title = "The need for a more integrated approach between human and physical geography at university-level education in the Netherlands",
abstract = "In this paper, we deconstruct how geography is organized as an academic study in the Netherlands. We consider how human and physical foci in geography are included in undergraduate and graduate curricula. As a country with a long academic history and renowned geography programmes, the minimal integration between human and physical geography that we identified is remarkable. We reflect on one high-profile societal debate to illustrate the limitations of the current way of conceptualizing geography as a degree programme: the case of human-induced earthquakes in the Dutch province of Groningen due to gas extraction. We argue that countries with academic geography education similar to the Netherlands stand to gain from embracing the integrative aspects to the field of geography. This is particularly the case when considering processes of global change that rapidly and, arguably, increasingly influence socio-spatial inequalities and livelihoods from global to local levels.",
keywords = "Academic education, Geography education, Interdisciplinarity, Societal and environmental problems, Sustainability? Netherlands",
author = "Erik Meijles and Arie Stoffelen",
note = "Funding Information: The overview provided in Table 1 reflects that geography is formally classified at Dutch universities as being either human or physical in orientation. Under the Behaviour and Society CROHO labels, most Bachelor programmes include the term {\textquoteleft}human{\textquoteright} or {\textquoteleft}social{\textquoteright} in their names, and at the Master{\textquoteright}s level, terms such as {\textquoteleft}economic{\textquoteright}, {\textquoteleft}cultural{\textquoteright}, {\textquoteleft}urban{\textquoteright}, {\textquoteleft}human{\textquoteright} and {\textquoteleft}real estate{\textquoteright} have strong connections to only the human aspects of geography (Supplementary Table 1; see appendix). For Bachelor{\textquoteright}s programmes under the Nature – Earth Sciences label, most names refer to {\textquoteleft}earth{\textquoteright} or {\textquoteleft}environmental{\textquoteright} only. At the Master{\textquoteright}s level, terms as {\textquoteleft}earth{\textquoteright}, {\textquoteleft}hydrology{\textquoteright} and {\textquoteleft}marine{\textquoteright} have strong association with the physical aspects of geography. It is striking, however, that specifically the term {\textquoteleft}environmental{\textquoteright} is used in the context of both the human as the physical geography-oriented programmes, both at the Bachelor{\textquoteright}s and at the Master{\textquoteright}s level. Programmes at Wageningen University form a special case. Based on the titles, the content of many programmes here seems to bridge between human and physical geographical perspectives. Yet these programmes are not positioned under the classic geography CROHO labels but have been assigned to their own, exclusive CROHO sector (see above). The background of this division is related to funding in the past. Wageningen University was originally funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, whereas all other universities had their financial basis in the Ministry of Education. When the Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Societe Belge de Geographie. All rights reserved.",
year = "2021",
doi = "10.4000/belgeo.52736",
language = "English",
volume = "2021",
journal = "Belgeo",
issn = "1377-2368",
number = "4",
}