Standards of Geospatial Technology in the State Programs in the United States
Date
2008
Authors
Milson, Andrew J.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education
Abstract
Given that K:-12 education in the United States is driven significantly by curriculum standards and standardized tests, we examined the standards in each of the states of the United States to determine which states give explicit attention to geospatial technologies in their high school geography standards. Our investigation was guided by the following five questions: 1) In which states do the geography standards explicitly mention Geographic Information Systems (GIS)?; 2) Which states' standards mention Global Positioning Systems (GPS)?; 3) In which states is there reference to the analysis of geographic data and information using technological support systems?; 4) Which states require the study of geography as a high school graduation requirement?; and 5) What is the nature of the language that is used in the standards when referring to GIS, GPS, or to the analysis of the geographic information? We offer three recommendations to the authors of future standards that should help students advance their knowledge and skills related to geospatial technologies.
Description
Keywords
geography, geospatial technology, geography standards, GIS, GPS
Citation
Milson, A.J. (2008). Standards of geospatial technology in the state programs in the United States. Research in Geographic Education, 10(1), pp. 60-85.