Journal of the Korean Geographical Society ISSN:1225-6633(Print) 대한지리학회지

Considering that GIS (Geographic Information Systems) has not been widely adopted by teachers despite educators’ considerable efforts to incorporate it into secondary education, if some teachers voluntarily participate in GIS in-service education without guaranteed benefits, those teachers deserve attention. This study investigates why teachers actively participated in a GIS staff-development program offered by Seoul National University in South Korea. Questionnaires were distributed to teachers and interviews were conducted. Results indicate that active participants are mostly young teachers who are expected to have had experiences with GIS during pre-service education. Teachers see the potential of GIS, but they also worry about several issues. Participating teachers’ primary motivation was to learn enough about GIS to incorporate it into their teaching. Suggestions to facilitate the incorporation of GIS into education are provided.