Reflecting on ‘Directions’: Growing with the times and future developments

Abstract

This Editorial reflects on the ‘Directions’ section of the Journal of Geography in Higher Education over the last 25 years and highlights the new Co-Editors’ plans for the future of the section. We discuss how the section first emerged in the context of a heightened focus on skills development in higher education and follow this with a brief analysis of the 42 ‘Directions’ papers published to date. We reflect on how the nature of the published articles initially focused on enhancing undergraduate student assessment performance before expanding the discussion to consider broader aspects of the student experience and disciplinary learning. We recognise that while most of the articles have focused on undergraduates, many of them are also relevant to postgraduate geography students. Following a lull in submissions between 2008 and 2017, a revival of the section emerged through articles either co-authored by students and staff, or authored solely by geography students. We intend to develop this ‘students as partners’ approach with respect to future ‘Directions’ publications, by encouraging submissions co-authored by students and staff and ensuring that all articles are reviewed by both a current academic staff member and a student.