The Contribution of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to Geography Education and Secondary School Students' Attitudes Related to GIS

The purpose of this study is to determine the place of Geographic information Systems (GIS) in teaching geography, the general level of secondary school students' attitudes towards Geography information Systems and whether this changes according to different variables. The population of the research consists of the students studying in Istanbul, Ankara, Mersin, Manisa, Gaziantep, Samsun, Corum, Kutahya, and Erzurum province in 2008-2009 academic year. The sample consists of 665 students who study at 15 academic high schools and were chosen by using the triple stratified cluster sampling method according to geographical regions and socio-economic structures (upper-middle-lower) in the population chosen from the city centre. The data were gathered by using the scale which was developed by Al-Kamali (2007) in order to determine the attitudes of students related to GIS and adapted to Turkish culture (linguistic) under the current investigation. The data obtained were analyzed by using means, standard deviations, t-tests, and Pearson correlation coefficients. According to the findings, the students' attitudes towards GIS are positive, but new and widespread applications are needed for students to learn their lessons with GIS in a more motivated way.