I Can't Eat That, It's Purple

A Geography Field Course in Vanuatu and Fiji

Bibliographic Data

ID5877323
AuthorsJohn Connell (0000-0002-6450-2435, The University of Sydney, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume44
Issue1
Pages17-27
Publication date2006-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeographical Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1745-5863 • E-ISSN: 1745-5871
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1745-5871.2006.00357.x
OpenAlexW1967980436
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited10

A month-long field course in the Pacific island states of Vanuatu and Fiji focused on development issues, involving lectures, seminars and much informal interaction. Students completed daily journals as a means of learning, a form of self-assessment of learning, a way of evaluating their participation in the course and their perception of its value. Journal themes reflected an evolution from unsettling rhetorical questions towards notions of discovery, autonomy, reflexivity and emerging cultural sensitivity. Students developed valuable social skills, and gained first-hand experience of various concepts of development and social justice. Grading the journals was difficult because of the extent of subjectivity and diverse personal experiences. The course, and the journals, emphasised the diverse values and roles of courses both on, and particularly in, developing countries, despite the substantial costs

Autonomy · Epistemology · Geography · Pedagogy · Perception · Political science · Reflexivity · Social science · Sociology · Subjectivity · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · Geography Education and Pedagogy · Psychology · Tourism, Volunteerism, and Development

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