Geography Teachers’ Attitudes Towards the Use of Digital Geographic Information Systems (Digital GIS) in Teaching and the Difficulties of Their Use

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the attitudes of secondary school geography teachers in Riyadh towards employing digital geographic information systems (GIS) in teaching, and the difficulties they face in using them. The study relied on the descriptive survey approach, and its population represented all secondary school geography teachers in Riyadh, numbering (141) teachers. The sample consisted of (103) teachers who were randomly selected according to the Morgan table. The researcher sent the questionnaire to them, and the study reached a number of results, the most prominent of which are: Geography teachers showed very high positive attitudes towards employing digital geographic information systems in teaching, as the arithmetic mean reached (4.21), which is higher than the hypothetical mean (3.00) with statistically significant differences at the level (0.01), which indicates the extent of their awareness of the importance of this technology in enriching the learning process. The degree of actual use of digital geographic information systems was high with an average of (3.87), which indicates that teachers employ this technology in a number of educational fields such as explaining natural and human phenomena. The average difficulty score was 3.12, indicating that geography teachers face moderate difficulties in implementing digital geographic information systems (GIS). The most prominent of these difficulties are the weak technical infrastructure and the lack of equipment. In light of these results, the study presented a number of recommendations, most notably: Strengthening educational training programs for geography teachers on digital GIS applications. Providing schools with the necessary hardware and software to activate spatial technologies. Integrating GIS content into curricula within applied geography units. Encouraging teachers to design field activities and projects that employ GIS.