2025 Volume 63 Issue 2 Pages 53-64
This study analyzes the current state and characteristics of GIS education in higher education through a content analysis of the 2016 revised edition of the Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge (GIS&T BoK), developed by the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS). Since its initial release in 2006, the GIS&T BoK has undergone significant revisions to address rapid technological changes and new societal needs in the field of geographic information science.
By text-analyzing the keywords and abstracts of the 242 items included in the current GIS&T BoK, several important characteristics of contemporary GIS education were revealed. Firstly, this analysis indicated a heightened emphasis on programming, big data analytics, and Web GIS technologies, reflecting the digital transformation in the GIS field. The domains of “Analysis and Modeling” and “Data Management” have been significantly strengthened, forming the core of modern GIS education. New keywords such as “programming,” “Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS),” and “big data” frequently appear across various domains, indicating their growing importance in the curriculum.
Furthermore, the study found that “Geovisual Analytics” and “Python for GIS” are among the most frequently referenced topics across different educational materials, suggesting an increasing integration between data science and GIS technologies. Additionally, the “GIS&T and Society” domain incorporates emerging topics such as participatory mapping, citizen science, and Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI), highlighting the growing importance of public participation in spatial data collection and analysis. These findings suggest that as GIS has significantly evolved into an interdisciplinary approach beyond geography and cartography, being utilized in diverse fields, the scope that GIS education must cover has expanded.
Several challenges exist in reflecting these international trends and new educational needs in Japanese GIS education. In particular, the development of educational content and materials, as well as the training of instructors who can teach relatively new areas such as programming, advanced analytical methods, ethics, and public participation, which were also suggested by the analysis in this study, are pressing issues. Furthermore, there are curricular challenges in effectively handling the comprehensive body of knowledge presented by the GIS&T BoK within limited educational time and connecting it to students’ gradual acquisition of capabilities.
