The Allochthon of Misfit Toys

This study provides a narrative analysis of the challenges and opportunities faced by scholars in the field of geoscience education (GED). A set of interviews was conducted with five GED professionals in 2010. Participants discussed challenges and opportunities in GED both for individual practitioners and as a discipline. Select participants were interviewed again 2 years later to reflect on their earlier statements and describe subsequent developments in their thoughts, perceptions, and lived experiences. Participants also discussed, and revisited 2 years later, the GED research topics they considered to be of widespread interest and those they did not. Their notable results were unsurprising: Practitioners in 2010 battled for acceptance and legitimacy and continue to do so. Professional isolation remains a major perceived issue, as do career prospects and accessibility of GED publications. Practitioners face an ongoing struggle with a lack of formalized training in educational research methods....