United Kingdom: Realizing the potential for GIS in the school geography curriculum

Abstract

As we write this chapter, school systems in the UK continue to experience a period of far-reaching and potentially very significant change. New national curricula, a degree of shift in emphases toward the central role of teachers in shaping these, and ongoing debate about creating a future-oriented, relevant schooling for young people make this an exciting time to be focusing on the potential role that GIS can play in twenty-first-century schools. Curriculum change is not the only salient characteristic of schools in the UK; the complexity of our 'overall school picture' is another. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland includes England,Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, each of which exhibits, to a greater or lesser degree, distinct differences in terms of its own education system. While we highlight these differences where appropriate here, our focus is on commonalities across the UK in realizing the promise of, meeting the challenges to, and articulating the prospects of teaching and learning with GIS.