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2
Education and Curriculum Needs in
GIS/GIScience
G eographic information systems (GIS) and geographic information
science (GIScience) demand new skills and knowledge. Profes-
sionals trained in traditional curricula in such departments as ge-
ography, civil engineering, and computer science fail to develop insights
into the critical linkages among these disciplines that are needed by
today's GIScience professionals. Consequently, curricular and structural
changes should be integral components of plans to produce the GIS/
GIScience professionals who are in such short supply. Moreover, it may
be desirable to take formal steps to ensure consistency and quality in their
preparation. Education in new specialties cannot be separated from the
research that underlies it, and as is true of any new intellectual enterprise,
geographic information systems and geographic information science
present new challenges across the pedagogical spectrum from applica-
tions to fundamental geographic and cartographic theory.
GIS/GISCIENCE TRAINING AND EDUCATION NEEDS
Maps play critical roles in any discipline that investigates phenomena
dispersed over Earth's surface. Hence, anthropologists, ecologists, epide-
miologists, foresters, geographers, geologists, meteorologists, and scien-
tists in many other disciplines make extensive use of maps and engage in
mapping. Anatomists, astronomers, genomicists, physiologists, and other
scientists who use spatial perspectives also find maps invaluable in their
work at scales less than or beyond those normally found in geographic
mapping. Technology and the growing use of spatial analysis ensure con-
27
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28 BEYOND MAPPING
tinued rapid growth of mapping in the decades to come (Hall, 1992). Be-
cause maps are such essential tools, students should learn about them as
part of their preparation as scientists, and many do in response to the
growing value of GIS skills in the job market. With widespread adoption
of GIS as a tool for environmental management, planning, and spatial
decision support, GIS courses are now routinely offered as service courses
on many campuses, and are increasingly required in programs in Earth
science disciplines. Looking toward the future, informed citizens will need
to use and understand the outputs of geographic information systems and
the rudiments of geographic information science. How else will commu-
nities be able to make sound decisions about smart growth, environmen-
tal preservation, adequate water and sewage systems, and similar issues?
Across the spectrum of GIS/GIScience competence (Sidebar 2-1),
ranging from public awareness at the most elementary level to geographic
SIDEBAR 2-1
Seven Levels of GIS Competence
Seven levels of GIS competence are, in ascending order:
1. Public awareness of GIS and its uses;
2. Basic spatial and computer understanding;
3. Routine use of basic GIS software;
4. Higher-level modeling applications of GIS;
5. Design and development of GIS applications;
6. Design of geographic information systems; and
7. GIS research and development.
Undergraduate degree programs should foster competence in all col-
lege and university graduates in the first two levels regardless of discipline
owing to the pervasive use of GIS. Students interested in employment in
agencies or firms that use GIS should be competent at level 3 in order to
use commercial off-the-shelf software. Level 4 requires abilities in spatial
analysis, computer programming, and database management. Competence
in software engineering must be added to fulfill level 5 responsibilities.
Level 6 workers must also acquire advanced analytical and technical skills,
including systems analysis, database design and development, user inter-
face design, and programming. Level 7 professionals are capable of lead-
ing research and development teams in government agencies, at software
vendors, and in colleges and universities.
SOURCE: DiBiase et al., 2006; Marble, 1997.
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EDUCATION AND CURRICULUM NEEDS IN GIS/GISCIENCE 29
information science research and development at the most advanced (the
order does not necessarily imply hierarchy or progression), the number of
professionals trained at levels 2-4 in the sidebar has expanded rapidly.
The supply of graduates prepared to assume levels 5-7 responsibilities,
however, continues to fall further behind the numbers needed (Marble,
1997).
While GIScience education was maturing, several concerns arose re-
garding its evolution:
1. Members of the GIScience community have questioned whether
academic training provides the depth of understanding needed to serve
the rapidly growing profession (Wikle, 1999).
2. Another concern has been achieving an appropriate balance be-
tween learning software and understanding the foundation concepts
needed to use geographic information systems intelligently (Marble,
1997). There is widespread uneasiness about "button pushers who know
cookbook applications but are unable to work through a problem from
start to finish" (Gober et al., 1995, 1997, p.216). Some GIS courses are too
focused on software at the expense of the critical concepts and habits of
mind required for the effective practice of evolving mapping science.
3. GIScience coursework has crowded the already full course loads of
university students. As a result, many graduates now take fewer courses
in their majors and fewer courses (such as statistics) needed for work-
place success.
4. The methods used to teach GIScience have not been sufficient to
meet the growing need for mapping science professionals, and attention
should be given to improving GIScience pedagogy (Paul, 2004).
In recent years, as GIS/GIScience organizations have worked to iden-
tify the important thrusts for research and standardization of the curricu-
lum, there has been a proliferation of applicable books and journals. In
fact, a search of Amazon.com found more than 2,503 entries for "geo-
graphic information systems." One of the most complete listings of GIS
materials is maintained at the Virtual Campus Library of the Environ-
mental Systems Research Institute (http://campus.esri.com/campus/li-
brary/bibliography/ [accessed 24 May 2006]), which provides a useful
breakdown of the 147 books listed on its site: business (4), cartography
(13), data and databases (13), education (3), environment (9), geography
and social sciences (5), geostatistics (8), government (14), health (2), intro-
duction to GIS (29), managing GIS (6), philosophy and design (6), remote
sensing (5), software tutorials (18), spatial analysis (4), standards (2), and
technical issues (6).
Moving beyond the basic ability to use commercial off-the-shelf
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30 BEYOND MAPPING
software requires the ability to visualize, analyze, manipulate, transform,
and interpret geospatial information (skills more advanced than those
needed for advanced word processing), capabilities that are comparable
in conceptual complexity to those taught in statistics courses. Curriculum
designers in the disciplines that employ GIS face questions familiar to
those who dealt in an earlier era with the need for students to acquire
statistical skills--should they be taught by statistics faculty or should the
skills be taught by specialists within the subject department itself? To date,
no clear consensus on this recent incarnation of a hoary question has
emerged in the country's colleges and universities, so a variety of pre-
dominantly ad hoc arrangements are in place.
NEW CURRICULAR CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES
Since the late 1980s, academic experts at leading research universities
have initiated a series of undergraduate curriculum planning projects in-
tended to increase the supply of qualified graduates in GIScience. Interest
in such curricula among four-year institutions has waned even as the ini-
tiatives have grown increasingly ambitious. Meanwhile, workforce devel-
opment specialists have attempted to identify the roles that geospatial
technology professionals are expected to play, and the competences re-
quired for success in those roles.
The National Science Foundation's 1987 solicitation for a National
Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) included as
one of its four goals "to augment the nation's supply of experts in GIS and
geographic analysis in participating disciplines" (NSF, 1987). In 1988,
shortly after receiving the National Science Foundation award, the NCGIA
consortium developed "a detailed outline for a three-course sequence of
75 one-hour units" (Goodchild and Kemp, 1992, p.310). Fifty leading
scholars and practitioners were recruited to prepare draft units. More than
100 institutions worldwide agreed to implement the resulting three-course
sequence (introduction to GIS, technical issues in GIS, and application
issues in GIS) and to share assessment data with the NCGIA. Lecture notes
and laboratory exercises were revised extensively in response to user com-
ments and subsequently published in July 1990 as the NCGIA Core Cur-
riculum (Coulson and Waters, 1991). The Core Curriculum print version
was requested by over 1,500 institutions and translated into several lan-
guages. In 1995, the NCGIA announced plans to develop a revised and
expanded New Core Curriculum in GIScience to incorporate new devel-
opments. The revised curriculum was to include at least 176 hour-long
units. One-third of the planned units were completed over a four-year
period, but the project was abandoned in 2000, because the need for it
waned within the higher education community owing to the rapid spread
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EDUCATION AND CURRICULUM NEEDS IN GIS/GISCIENCE 31
of GIS instruction in North American educational institutions and the pro-
liferation of commercially published textbooks on GIS/GIScience.1
In 2001, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
mobilized a team of workforce development specialists at the University
of Southern Mississippi to investigate the needs of the geospatial indus-
try. The Geospatial Workforce Development Center (GWDC) convened
workshops involving representatives of 16 leading businesses, govern-
ment agencies, and professional societies. Using focus group and group
systems methodologies, researchers asked representatives to identify the
key skills that successful employees master and the professional roles
they are expected to play. The GWDC identified 12 salient roles fulfilled
by GIS/GIScience professionals (Table 2-1), and it derived 39 basic
competences on which those skills are based, organized under four ma-
jor headings: Technical, Business, Analytical, and Interpersonal Com-
petences (Table 2-2). Though not wholly comprehensive (intellectual and
privacy questions are not included, for example), the list is a sound start-
ing point.
The Model Curricula initiative of the University Consortium for Geo-
graphic Information Science (UCGIS) is the latest in a series of national
attempts to identify the knowledge and skills needed for success in
geospatial technology professions. The related UCGIS Body of Knowl-
edge provides a detailed taxonomy of topics that should be included in
any comprehensive GIScience curriculum (Table 2-3). For each unit entry,
the Body of Knowledge provides a set of tasks that should be included
within the unit. For example the unit on "Elements of Geographic Infor-
mation" would include a discussion of discrete entities, events and pro-
cesses, fields in space and time, and integrated models (Sidebar 2-2).
As befits a recently developed specialty, most concern for GIS/
GIScience training to date has focused on higher education. The utility of
GIS for many tasks and the need for citizens capable of using it for daily
tasks will soon make incorporation of GIS into secondary and even pri-
mary school curricula a greater concern. Where GIS is currently taught in
kindergarten through grade 12 (less than 1 percent of all students), in-
struction is dominated by the software provided by a single vendor--the
Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI). Although recent issues
of ESRI software are much more user-friendly than earlier versions, the
full featured desktop GIS software is designed for use by professionals,
not novices. Considerable progress is being made by the vendors to create
1A remote sensing core curriculum project was undertaken under the auspices of the
American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (Estes et al., 1993; Foresman et
al., 1997).
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32 BEYOND MAPPING
TABLE 2-1 Twelve Roles Played by Geospatial Technology
Professionals as Identified by the Geospatial Workforce Development
Center
Role Description
Applications development Identify and develop tools and instruments to satisfy
customer needs
Data acquisition Collect geospatial and related data
Coordination Interorganizational facilitation and communication
Data analysis and interpretation Process data and extract information to create
products, drive conclusions, and inform decision-
making reports
Data management Catalog, archive, retrieve, and distribute geospatial
data
Management Efficiently and effectively apply the company's
mission using financial, technical, and intellectual
skills and resources to optimize the end products
Marketing Identify customer requirements and needs, and
effectively communicate those needs and
requirements to the organization, as well as promote
geospatial solutions
Project management Effectively oversee activity requirements to produce
the prescribed outcomes on time and within budget
Systems analysis Assess requirements to produce the desired outcomes
on time and within budget
Systems management Integrate resources and develop additional resources
to support spatial and temporal user requirements
Training Analyze, design, and develop instructional and
noninstructional interventions to provide transfer of
knowledge and evaluation for performance
enhancement
Visualization Render data and information into visual geospatial
representations
NOTE: Roles were defined as subsets of 39 particular competences (Table 2-2). Competences
rated as "important" by at least 50 percent of role experts were deemed core competences.
SOURCE: Gaudet et al., 2003, p. 25.
customized desktop and Web-based applications that simplify interaction,
thereby flattening the learning curve and becoming more cost-effective in
classroom settings. GIS competence, however, is not a component of
teacher training in most colleges and universities; the few elementary and
secondary school teachers who offer GIS instruction typically have taken
ESRI courses (NRC, 2006a). Compounding these impediments and con-
straints, GIS equipment is costly and expensive to maintain, especially at
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EDUCATION AND CURRICULUM NEEDS IN GIS/GISCIENCE 33
TABLE 2-2 Thirty-Nine Competences Required for Success in
Geospatial Technology Professions as Identified by GWDC
TECHNICAL COMPETENCES
· Ability to assess relationships among geospatial technologies
· Cartography
· Computer programming skills
· Environmental applications
· GIS theory and applications
· Geological applications
· Geospatial data processing tools
· Photogrammetry
· Remote sensing theory and applications
· Spatial information processing
· Technical writing
· Technological literacy
· Topology
BUSINESS COMPETENCES
· Ability to see the "big picture"
· Business understanding
· Buy-in/advocacy
· Change management
· Cost-benefit analysis and ROI
· Ethics modeling
· Industry understanding
· Legal understanding
· Organizational understanding
· Performance analysis and evaluation
· Visioning
ANALYTICAL COMPETENCES
· Creative thinking
· Knowledge management
· Model-building skills
· Problem-solving skills
· Research skill
· Systems thinking
INTERPERSONAL COMPETENCES
· Coaching
· Communication
· Conflict management
· Feedback skills
· Group process understanding
· Leadership skills
· Questioning
· Relationship building skills
· Self-knowledge/self-management
NOTES: Each professional role listed in Table 2-1 requires a subset of the technical, analyti-
cal, business, and interpersonal competences listed here; Boldface type indicates
competences identified as core competences by GWDC; GI S&T = geographic information
science and technology; GWDC = Geospatial Workforce Development Center.
SOURCE: Gaudet et al., 2003.
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34 BEYOND MAPPING
TABLE 2-3 Knowledge Areas and Units from the UCGIS GI S&T Body
of Knowledge 2006
Knowledge Area AM, Analytical Methods
Unit AM1 Academic and analytical origins
Unit AM2 Query operations and query languages
Unit AM3 Geometric measures
Unit AM4 Basic analytical operations
Unit AM5 Basic analytical methods
Unit AM6 Analysis of surfaces
Unit AM7 Spatial statistics
Unit AM8 Geostatistics
Unit AM9 Spatial regression and econometrics
Unit AM10 Data mining
Unit AM11 Network analysis
Unit AM12 Optimization and location-allocation modeling
Knowledge Area CF, Conceptual Foundations
Unit CF1 Philosophical foundations
Unit CF2 Cognitive and social foundations
Unit CF3 Domains of geographic information
Unit CF4 Elements of geographic information
Unit CF5 Relationships
Unit CF6 Imperfections in geographic information
Knowledge Area CV, Cartography and Visualization
Unit CV1 History and trends
Unit CV2 Data considerations
Unit CV3 Principles of map design
Unit CV4 Graphic representation techniques
Unit CV5 Map production
Unit CV6 Map use and evaluation
Knowledge Area DA, Design Aspects
Unit DA1 The scope of GI S&T system design
Unit DA2 Project definition
Unit DA3 Resource planning
Unit DA4 Database design
Unit DA5 Analysis design
Unit DA6 Application design
Unit DA7 System implementation
Knowledge Area DM, Data Modeling
Unit DM1 Basic storage and retrieval structures
Unit DM2 Database management systems
Unit DM3 Tessellation data models
Unit DM4 Vector and object data models
Unit DM5 Modeling 3D, temporal, and uncertain phenomena
Knowledge Area DN, Data Manipulation
Unit DN1 Representation transformation
Unit DN2 Generalization and aggregation
Unit DN3 Transaction management of geospatial data
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EDUCATION AND CURRICULUM NEEDS IN GIS/GISCIENCE 35
TABLE 2-3 Continued
Knowledge Area GC, Geocomputation
Unit GC1 Emergence of geocomputation
Unit GC2 Computational aspects and neurocomputing
Unit GC3 Cellular automata models
Unit GC4 Heuristics
Unit GC5 Genetic algorithms
Unit GC6 Agent-based models
Unit GC7 Simulation modeling
Unit GC8 Uncertainty
Unit GC9 Fuzzy sets
Knowledge Area GD, Geospatial Data
Unit GD1 Earth geometry
Unit GD2 Land partitioning systems
Unit GD3 Georeferencing systems
Unit GD4 Datumsa
Unit GD5 Map projections
Unit GD6 Data quality
Unit GD7 Land surveying and GPS
Unit GD8 Digitizing
Unit GD9 Field data collection
Unit GD10 Aerial imaging and photogrammetry
Unit GD11 Satellite and shipboard remote sensing
Unit GD12 Metadata, standards, and infrastructures
Knowledge Area GS, GI S&T and Society
Unit GS1 Legal aspects
Unit GS2 Economic aspects
Unit GS3 Use of geospatial information in the public sector
Unit GS4 Geospatial information as property
Unit GS5 Dissemination of geospatial information
Unit GS6 Ethical aspects of geospatial information and technology
Unit GS7 Critical GIS
Knowledge Area OI, Organizational and Institutional Aspects
Unit OI1 Origins of GI S&T
Unit O2 Managing the GI system operations and infrastructure
Unit OI3 Organizational structures and procedures
Unit OI4 GI S&T workforce themes
Unit OI5 Institutional and interinstitutional aspects
Unit OI6 Coordinating organizations (national and international)
NOTE: Boldface type indicates units identified as core units by DiBiase et al. (2006).
aA reference datum is a known and constant surface which can be used to describe the
location of unknown points. On Earth, the normal reference datum is sea level.
SOURCE: DiBiase et al., 2006. Reprinted with permission from the Association of
American Geographers.
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36 BEYOND MAPPING
SIDEBAR 2-2
UCGIS Body of Knowledge Unit CF4:
Elements of Geographic Information
The concepts below form the basic elements of common human con-
ceptions of geographic phenomena. Concepts from many units in this
knowledge area have been synthesized to create general conceptual mod-
els of geographic information. Attempts to resolve the object-field debate
have led to attempts to create comprehensive models that bridge these
views. Consideration of this unit should also include formal models of these
elements in mathematics and other fields. Knowledge area "DM Data
Modeling" discusses the representation of these elements in digital models.
Topic CF4-1 Discrete Entities
· Discuss the human predilection to conceptualize geographic phe-
nomena in terms of discrete entities;
· Describe particular entities in terms of space, time, and
properties;
· Describe the perceptual processes (e.g., edge detection) that aid
cognitive objectification;
· Compare and contrast differing epistemological and metaphysical
viewpoints on the "reality" of geographic entities;
· Identify the types of features that need to be modeled in a particular
GIS application or procedure;
· Identify phenomena that are difficult or impossible to conceptual-
ize in terms of entities;
· Describe the difficulties in modeling entities with ill-defined edges;
· Describe the difficulties inherent in extending the tabletop meta-
phor of objects to the geographic environment:
- Evaluate the effectiveness of GIS data models for representing
the identity, existence, and lifespan of entities;
- Justify or refute the conception of fields (e.g., temperature, den-
sity) as spatially intensive attributes of (sometimes amorphous and
anonymous) entities;
- Model "gray area" phenomena, such as categorical coverages
(also called "discrete fields"), in terms of objects; and
- Evaluate the influence of scale on the conceptualization of
entities.
Topic CF4-2 Events and Processes
· Compare and contrast the concepts of continuants (entities) and
occurrents (events)
· Compare and contrast the concepts of event and process
· Describe particular events or processes in terms such as identity,
categories, attributes, and locations;
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EDUCATION AND CURRICULUM NEEDS IN GIS/GISCIENCE 37
· Evaluate the assertion that "events and processes are the same thing,
but viewed at different temporal scales";
· Apply or develop formal systems for describing continuous spa-
tiotemporal processes;
· Describe the actor role that entities and fields play in events and
processes; and
· Discuss the difficulty of integrating process models into GIS soft-
ware based on the entity and field views, and methods used to do so.
Topic CF4-3 Fields in Space and Time
· Define a field in terms of properties, space, and time;
· Identify applications and phenomena that are not adequately mod-
eled by the field view;
· Identify examples of discrete and continuous change found in spa-
tial, temporal, and spatiotemporal fields;
· Differentiate various sources of fields, such as substance properties
(e.g., temperature), artificial constructs (e.g., population density), and fields
of potential or influence (e.g., gravity);
· Formalize the notion of field using mathematical functions and cal-
culus;
· Relate the notion of field in GIS to the mathematical notions of
scalar and vector fields;
· Recognize the influences of scale on the perception and meaning
of fields;
· Evaluate the representation of movement as a field of location over
time [e.g. = f(t)]; and
· Evaluate the field view's description of objects as conceptual
discretizations of continuous patterns.
Topic CF4-4 Integrated Models
· Discuss the contributions of early attempts to integrate the con-
cepts of space, time, and attribute in geographic information, such as Berry
(1964) and Sinton (1978);
- Illustrate major integrated models of geographic information,
such as Peuquet's Triad, Mennis' Pyramid, and Yuan's Three-Domain;
- Determine whether phenomena or applications exist that are
not adequately represented in an existing comprehensive model;
- Discuss the degree to which these models can be implemented
using current technologies; and
- Design data models for specific applications based on these
comprehensive general models.
SOURCE: DiBiase et al., 2006. Reprinted with permission from the Asso-
ciation of American Geographers.
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38 BEYOND MAPPING
instructional laboratory scales. Confronting and resolving these obstacles
to providing youngsters with basic GIS capabilities at an early age should
be part of the profession's current and long-term plans for bolstering GIS/
GIScience. The conceptual and strategic ways GIS and GIScience can en-
hance education, especially at the K-12 level but with more comprehen-
sive implications, are covered in detail in NRC (2006a).
ASSURING QUALITY IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING
The general absence of standards and accountability for academic cer-
tificate programs led one GIScience professional to note that "today any-
body can teach anything and call it GIS education. . . . Who knows whether
the skills being taught in these programs are needed to become a GIS
professional?" (Huxhold, 2000, p.25). Another argued earlier that the
"low-level, non-technical" character of undergraduate GIS education pro-
duces graduates who are unprepared "to make substantial contributions
to the ongoing development of GIS technology" (Marble, 1997, p.28).
There remains considerable ambiguity regarding the qualifications of
employees in GIScience. Surveying usually requires a license in order to
practice. In fact, surveying is usually regulated by the same state board
that oversees professional engineering. GIS and GIScience are largely un-
regulated by states. The qualifications, apprenticeship requirements, and
examinations needed to become qualified to be a professional surveyor
are well defined and generally follow model laws developed by the Na-
tional Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. While most
states do not license GIScience professionals, South Carolina recently ini-
tiated a category of GIS surveyor. It remains to be seen whether other
states will adopt similar requirements.
A middle ground between a totally unregulated profession and one
that is controlled by state licensure regulation is certification. As the
UCGIS Body of Knowledge observes, "Certification is the process by
which organizations award credentials to individuals who demonstrate
certain qualifications and/or competencies." The American Society of
Photogrammety and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) has operated a certifica-
tion program for GIS for several years. In 2004 the Geographic Informa-
tion Systems Certification Institute (GISCI) was created to provide sys-
tematic oversight of certified geographic information systems (GIS)
professionals who meet a set of minimum standards for ethical conduct
and professional practice (http://www.gisci.org [accessed 24 May 2006]).
More than 1,000 individuals now hold this level of certification. The aca-
demic community has been concerned with developing qualified pro-
grams that lead to undergraduate and graduate degrees. Several academic
departments do offer certificate programs in GIS and related specialties.
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EDUCATION AND CURRICULUM NEEDS IN GIS/GISCIENCE 39
The UCGIS Body of Knowledge provides a basis for determining sound
content for certification processes (DiBiase et al., 2006).
As of mid-2006, the demand for professional certification in GIS ap-
pears to be broad, but not deep. Established accreditation mechanisms are
not well suited to the undergraduate sector of the personnel infrastruc-
ture, which is inherently multidisciplinary. An innovative approach to
accreditation of individual courses and programs in the postgraduate sec-
tor may become desirable as offerings proliferate. Portfolio-based certifi-
cation does not assure individual competence, but may encourage con-
tinuing professional development.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGES
Academic programs and structures change deliberatively, for sound
reasons. Faculty members make long-term commitments to their special-
ties, and colleges and universities make long-term commitments to fac-
ulty members in the forms of tenure and institutional arrangements
to organize their productivity. As a new set of ideas and skills with wide-
spread applicability, GIS/GIScience has attracted the attention of a
number of traditional academic disciplines (Figure 2-1). Originating in
geography and cartography,2 GIS quickly attracted the interest of the
photogrammetry and remote sensing, forestry, geological, and soil
science communities, among others. In general, GIS/GIScience was in-
herently and intuitively attractive to any specialty focused on geographi-
cally dispersed resources, and demand for GIS software and profession-
als who could use it grew rapidly in the public and private sectors.
Because of its intrinsic reliance on computer technology and because it
presented some novel intellectual and practical challenges, the computer
science (and by extension electrical engineering) community also took
up GIS/GIScience in the 1980s. Subsequently, a large number of distinct
specialties and subdisciplines began to offer GIS courses and address
problems in GIScience. Consequently, GIS/GIScience resides in a variety
of departments on college and university campuses, most commonly in
geography, but in other programs ranging, in all likelihood if a compre-
hensive list were compiled, from anthropology to zoology (Figure 2-1).
Beyond departments, many colleges and universities have instituted
such supradepartmental structures as centers, institutes, interdisciplinary
committees and programs, and joint faculty appointments to permit and
promote collaboration among departments on topics of common interest.
2Roger Tomlinson coined the term "GIS" and put it into practice in Canada in 1963
(Tomlinson, 1997) prior to Ian McHarg's Design with Nature (1969).
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40 BEYOND MAPPING
FIGURE 2-1 The three subdomains comprising the GI S&T domain, in relation to
allied fields. Two-way relations that are half-dashed represent asymmetrical con-
tributions between allied fields. The image shows innovations pushing society
beyond mapping into a far more versatile and powerful vision of mapping that
draws on many additional sciences and technologies.
SOURCE: DiBiase et al., 2006. Reprinted with permission from the Association of
American Geographers.
The effectiveness of such varying arrangements in meeting internal col-
lege and university needs and the demand for GIS/GIScience profession-
als varies from place to place. Faculty members may be reluctant to com-
mit fully to GIS/GIScience if the specialty is not a core component of their
disciplines, and students attracted to careers in GIS/GIScience may not be
served best by programs that are or appear to be ad hoc in nature, second-
ary in stature, or both. Among academic institutions, private institutions
seem to have instituted structural changes more rapidly in response to the
opportunities offered by GIS/GIScience, perhaps owing to greater flex-
ibility to reprogram resources. Public colleges and universities have
moved more slowly, owing perhaps to their generally larger sizes and
stronger tradition of sharing governance between faculty and administra-
tors (with notable exceptions, such as the University of Texas at Dallas
[Sidebar 1-5]). For-profit academic institutions, less tied to traditional cur-
ricula and organizational forms, are able and willing to respond quickly
to student demand and the markets for their products. One example of
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EDUCATION AND CURRICULUM NEEDS IN GIS/GISCIENCE 41
private education moving to meet market needs was the two-day work-
shop on "Unleashing the Power of GIS and GPS" offered at the 2006 an-
nual meeting of the Association of American Geographers by Informa
Learning (formerly TFI Learning), an international provider of specialist
information and services for the academic, professional and business com-
munities. This type of offering is likely to be imitated more frequently in
the future.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
information science
