Geographic research and the teaching of geography: an example regarding the initial phase of the Covid-19 crisis in Spain

Abstract

This article presents research framed in the initial phase of the coronavirus crisis in Spain, a work that began to be developed at the time when the Government of Spain decreed the state of alarm and the Spanish population was confined to their homes. Undoubtedly, the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 will mark a before and after point in the present and future of Spanish healthcare, but on this still uncertain path, many questions and doubts revolve around the management and strength of public health in Spain. In this line of research, the paper takes the opportunity to analyse where the Spanish health system is placed, both in comparison to elsewhere in Europe and in the rest of the world, and to critique internal differences within the country itself through a comparative analysis between autonomous regions. The methodology used in this research opts to review prestigious national and international reports and statistical databases and select and represent cartographically the most relevant indicators in the geography of health. The second part of the study puts forward a didactic proposal to teach reflective and critical geography based on the interpretation and assessment of some of the political speeches collected in the national mainstream media because of the coronavirus crisis. The results of contrasting these speeches with the previously consulted and analysed indicators on public healthcare in Spain revealed the intentionality and bias of the information published in the media, hence the need to promote critical literacy among students through geography teaching.