Vol. 17 No. 2 (2026)
Special Issue: SI_TGEO

Between Pedagogy and Privacy: Developing Geography Students’ Qualitative Research Skills in the Context of Generative AI

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Natascha Klocker
School of Social Sciences and ACCESS, University of Wollongong, Australia
Bio
Chantel Carr
School of Social Sciences and ACCESS, University of Wollongong, Australia
Laura Hammersley
School of Social Sciences and ACCESS, University of Wollongong, Australia
Bio
Figure 1. Instructions on Generative AI use provided for the final report in GEOG336 in 2025.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.48088/ejg.n.klo.17.2.135.143
Categories

Published 2026-04-22

Keywords

  • Generative AI,
  • qualitative methods,
  • research training,
  • students,
  • data protection

How to Cite

Klocker, Natascha, Chantel Carr, and Laura Hammersley. 2026. “Between Pedagogy and Privacy: Developing Geography Students’ Qualitative Research Skills in the Context of Generative AI”. European Journal of Geography 17 (2):S.135-S.143. https://doi.org/10.48088/ejg.n.klo.17.2.135.143.

Copyright (c) 2026 Natascha Klocker, Chantel Carr, Laura Hammersley

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Received 2025-12-01
Accepted 2026-04-19
Published 2026-04-22

Abstract

This short paper reflects on teaching qualitative methods to undergraduate students at a time when Generative AI is transforming higher education. We report on our experiences of teaching a skills-focused geography subject which implements an applied research project that undergoes full ethics assessment. Our recent experiences highlight the need for geography educators to make deliberate pedagogical choices that uphold research ethics and integrity when student work involves real participant data. We argue that experiential learning opportunities must be preserved in geography classrooms, however, educators must proactively manage ethical obligations and safeguard research participants’ data from insecure Generative AI platforms.

Highlights:

  • Hands-on research methods training is critical to geography students’ skills development.
  • Generative AI must be navigated proactively in research subjects involving human participants.
  • Geography educators who use qualitative data with students must protect participants’ privacy.
  • Use of Generative AI for data analysis requires greater discussion in geography journals.

Contribution to the Special Issue Topics: This paper contributes to the Special Issue themes by exploring: ‘The transformative potential and limitations of digital tools and AI in geography teaching’ and ‘Teacher agency and curriculum decision-making in times of uncertainty’.

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