Fieldwork is an integral part of geoscience subjects, but changing career pathways and student demographics have major implications for the future of compulsory fieldwork. The ways in which fieldwork is taught and the learning outcomes it fulfils urgently need updating.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
Volcano infrasound: progress and future directions
Bulletin of Volcanology Open Access 05 April 2022
-
An actionable anti-racism plan for geoscience organizations
Nature Communications Open Access 22 June 2021
-
Using alt text to make science Twitter more accessible for people with visual impairments
Nature Communications Open Access 16 November 2020
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Bernard, R. E. & Cooperdock, E. H. No progress on diversity in 40 years. Nat. Geosci. 11, 292–295 (2018).
Stokes, A. et al. Making geoscience fieldwork inclusive and accessible for students with disabilities. Geosphere 15, 1809–1825 (2019).
John, C. M. & Khan, S. B. Mental health in the field. Nat. Geosci. 11, 618–620 (2018).
Mol, L. & Atchison, C. Image is everything: educator awareness of perceived barriers for students with physical disabilities in geoscience degree programs. J. Geogr. High Educ. 43, 544–567 (2019).
Clancy, K. B. et al. Survey of academic field experiences (SAFE): Trainees report harassment and assault. PLOS One 9, e102172 (2014).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
S.G., C.J. and N.S. are members of The Inclusion Group for Equity in Research in STEMM (https://www.tigerinstemm.org/).
Additional information
Related links
GeolSoc Accreditation Requirements: https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Education-and-Careers/Universities/Degree-Accreditation/Aims-and-Requirements-for-Accreditation
Toilet stops in the field: An educational primer and recommended best practices for field-based teaching: https://osf.io/gnhj2
AdvanceGeo In The Field: https://serc.carleton.edu/advancegeo/resources/field_work.html?fbclid=IwAR3l7tyc4Gcfe1HJfKsKVkOg4KuqmrU5DRX5xnSrBQAfs2_QrKqrDE7M2D8
Good Practice in Inclusion, Diversity and Equality in GEES Higher Education: https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/HEN-Higher-Education-Network-Annual-Meeting-2019
Confronting Barriers to inclusion - Opening the gate to accessible fieldwork: https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Events/Past-Meeting-Resources/Confronting-Barriers-to-inclusion-opening-the-gate-to-accessible-fieldwork
University Geoscience UK: ‘Future Science - a vision for the next 25 years’: https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/UGUK-GSL-17-Future-Science
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Giles, S., Jackson, C. & Stephen, N. Barriers to fieldwork in undergraduate geoscience degrees. Nat Rev Earth Environ 1, 77–78 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0022-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0022-5
This article is cited by
-
Progressing towards safe, inclusive and equitable field research
Nature Geoscience (2024)
-
Volcano infrasound: progress and future directions
Bulletin of Volcanology (2022)
-
An actionable anti-racism plan for geoscience organizations
Nature Communications (2021)
-
A UK perspective on tackling the geoscience racial diversity crisis in the Global North
Nature Geoscience (2021)
-
Using alt text to make science Twitter more accessible for people with visual impairments
Nature Communications (2020)