UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE GEOSCIENCES AND GEOSCIENCE CAREERS: A CASE STUDY WITH A PHENOMENOGRAPHIC LENS

The climate crisis is upon us and its undeniable effects are already evident in news headline after headline. The Earth is now unlikely to remain below 1.5°C of warming (IPCC, 2023), increasing the likelihood of adverse weather events that put communities at risk. Given the mounting dangers, it can be argued that the geosciences are more relevant today than ever before, yet many people in the U.S. do not take Earth science beyond 8th or 9th grade, and those who enroll in a geoscience course in college often do so to fulfill a general education science requirement. Considering college introductory geology courses may be the last time to pique student interest in the geosciences, having a more complete picture of the perceptions of geology with which students leave their intro courses will help guide curriculum development for the immediate and near future.

Overall, there remain few qualitative studies that specifically ask students what they think of the geosciences and geoscience careers. Therefore, in order to broaden our understanding of how undergraduate students perceive the geosciences, this study utilizes a case study design with a phenomenographic lens to investigate the variations in student perceptions of the geosciences and geoscience careers after completing an introductory geoscience course. Due to its focus on person inputs and contextual affordances, the Choice Model of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) by Lent et al. (2002) is leveraged as the theoretical framework; informing design aspects such as questions in the semi-structured interviews and data analysis.

Data was collected from a public, R-1, Primarily White Institution (PWI) in the Southeastern U.S. where a total of seven participants were interviewed after an introductory geology course. To situate their responses, students were asked about their current career paths and values, and their communities and their influences. Participants also identified their biggest takeaways and interests from the course, as well as most pressing issues related to climate change and their communities. By developing a deeper understanding of the perceptions with which students leave introductory geoscience courses, educators can more effectively tailor teaching approaches, curriculum design, and engagement techniques to better support students, promote inclusivity, and enhance desired learning outcomes.