We are delighted to announce the outcomes from the 2025 GEReCo Masters Dissertation Award! This annual award is designed to celebrate and amplify the voices of emerging researchers who are shaping the future of geography education.
Many congratulations to Nona Anderson (MSc Education, Power and Social Change, Birkbeck, University of London) for being awarded the Winning dissertation prize for a thesis titled: Is climate justice racial justice? A critical analysis of a GCSE Geography textbook.
Nona’s research presents an argument that the ‘official’ geography curriculum can distort students’ geographical understanding by hiding the role played by political economy (carbon & colonial capitalism) in shaping the world. The research does so by critiquing a GCSE textbook chapter about climate change. Whilst there are other de-colonial critiques of school geography, this work is outstanding in how several lenses are brought to the critique and each is considered critically. These lenses include: Anthropocene/ Capitalocene; Powerful Knowledge/ knowledge of the powerful; Global North-South/ the abyssal line; and climate change science/ climate and racial justice. Scholarship and use of literature to build the argument is excellent and is well-supported by the deconstruction of a textbook chapter. The author’s voice is strong and clear throughout, and this dissertation makes a compelling case for revising versions of ‘official curriculum’ that hide important causes of global problems like climate change, and silence certain voices in doing so. Readers will be left with a reminder of the importance of the teacher as a critical curriculum maker – and needing to update their own versions of geography to do so.
Many congratulations also to Darragh Woods (MSc Learning and Teaching, University of Oxford) for the Highly Commended dissertation for a thesis titled: Artificial Intelligence (AI): How can we use Artificial Intelligence in Secondary School Geography?
Darragh’s research into the use of AI in Geography teaching is timely and much needed. The focus on AI and creativity in teaching and learning, is original and interesting. Scholarship is exceptional, drawing from literature in psychology and AI, as well as geography education to problematise the teacher’s and the learner’s relationship to AI. Methodologically, the research is rigorous and carefully thought through. The dissertation provokes much reflection for teachers, ultimately raising more questions than answers. Darragh’s research invites teachers to think about what it means to be creative in teaching and learning the subject, and to challenge pre-conceptions about AI – be they negative or positive. The reader is left with the notion that AI can be a collaborative partner, potentially enabling creative geography teaching…in the hands of a critical teacher.
Look out for further information on both research projects, including through blog posts on the GEReCo site.
The 2026 GEReCo Masters Dissertation Award will open for submissions soon at https://www.gereco.org/about/gereco-masters-dissertation-award/