Research on geography teaching and teacher education in Portugal

Abstract

This article aims to contribute to the debate on the significance of geographical education as part of the development of a society in which information and communication technologies have made profound changes. It starts with the discussion on how Geography is taught at international scale, and then addresses the intersection between research produced in the reports on the introduction to professional practice and related study plans, concerning the 2nd cycle of the teaching of History and Geography, in force since 2010 in Portugal. Based on the outcomes of the discussion, we will consider the research trends and whether or not they are suited to the latest recommendations on geographical education, in particular the training of Geography teachers, according to the assessed proposals which were submitted following the new law regulating the training of Geography teachers in Portugal. Among the main outcomes, we highlighted the diversity of topics addressed in the internship reports and the growing attention to new technologies in the cycle of studies under analysis, which suggests the adequacy of the future Masters in the Teaching of Geography at the University of Porto (starting in 2015/16) to the European recommendations on these matters.