We are delighted to announce the outcomes from the 2026 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 Jack Downs  (MSc Learning and Teaching, University of Oxford) for being awarded the Winning dissertation prize for a thesis titled: An investigation into the impact of Artificial Intelligence on pupil engagement in Year 9 geography lessons.

This is an exceptionally thorough, timely, and methodologically sound study. Investigating the intersection of Generative AI (GenAI) and classroom pedagogy, this dissertation offers an exploration of our rapidly evolving educational and technological landscape. Grounded in a critical realist framework, the researcher deployed a mixed-methods case study across nine Y9 lessons on tectonic hazards, incorporating Martin’s Motivation and Engagement Scale, pupil-voice questionnaires, teacher reflective logs, and semi-structured interviews. This study provided rich, real-world data showing that while GenAI can enhance motivation and visible participation through adaptive scaffolding and instant feedback, it can also lead to superficial cognitive engagement if pupils use it merely to obtain answers.

The candidate demonstrated critical engagement with the literature, successfully synthesizing technology-enhanced learning with subject-specific geography pedagogy. The conclusions that “human interaction remained important for making sense of feedback and judging accuracy. In summary, pupils liked GenAI most when it was responsive, set within a clear framework and specifically connected to geography learning goals. They were wary when speed, choice overload or reliability concerns became more prominent” were interesting. It provides the geography education community with some replicable research design principles, useful success criteria, and a clear framework for (which is vital) training pupils to critically analyze AI outputs in the classroom.

Many congratulations also to Harriet Bray  (MSc Learning and Teaching, University of Oxford) for the Highly Commended dissertation for a thesis titled: Global citizens: how can we better realise our department’s aim through curriculum design?

This was a compelling, reflective, and contextually relevant discussion. It addresses a highly relevant issue in curriculum design, and the candidate used an established and sustained literature base to interrogate how their department’s stated aim of fostering “global citizens” was falling short of promoting active or critical citizenship. 

Through an enquiry-led redesign of a Year 7 scheme of work (“How will Kenya close the development gap?”), the researcher embedded classroom votes, debates, and decision-making to allow students to critically confront historical and development discourses.

While the study is limited in size and sections of the work remain primarily descriptive, the panel highly commends the researcher’s rigorous and honest critical analysis of their findings. By identifying that increased global awareness occurred predominantly among higher prior attaining students, and utilizing Andreotti’s (2006) framework to show how some students still reverted to a “soft” version of global citizenship rooted in charity rather than structural inequality, this work makes a vital, realistic contribution to geography curriculum policy and the ongoing debate surrounding critical global citizenship education. In conclusion, the investigator says that “Perhaps in the context of school Geography it is worth investigating what kinds of academic barriers might hinder students in their path to becoming global citizens. Quieter students were less likely to engage in class debates and less confident students were not as keen to participate in votes or to make decisions and justify them. The accessibility of global citizenship teaching is therefore something needing further investigation.” Much food for thought for the whole education community. 

Look out for further information on both research projects, including through blog posts on the GEReCo site. 

The 2027 GEReCo Masters Dissertation Award will open for submissions soon at https://www.gereco.org/about/gereco-masters-dissertation-award/